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[Twolanerider]

Very well could be true. But did your bike ever quit after slogging through one of those gullywashers? 

Rhino

Not since the loss of distributors.  But since the loss of distributors I've never had one fail after a car wash either.  That's why it'd worry me a bit if it happened as a repeateable occurence there. 

The Harley testing bath that all the models have to go through is far more abusive than our local neighborhood car wash.  Especially if we exercise a little common sense and don't hold the spring right on top of the bike.

[Eqcons]

Beautiful weekend for riding, put on about 250 miles Saturday and was on my first poker run of the year and had put on about 80 miles Sunday and my bike quit!   Full electrical power to all dash components, the starter turned itover just nothing.  Did the old screwdriver in the spark plug wire ground and no spark.  As I was cycling the power on and off I also noticed that I could not hear the normal fuel pump pressuring up sounds.  Got out my owners manual and replaced both the 15 amp fuel pump fuse and the 15 amp ecm fuse.  Put everthing back together and the the bike fired up and ran great.  But with that what the hell caused that gremlin issue in the back of my mind for the rest of the day.  Anyone got any ideas?

Funnily enough it's almost the same story as me, last week....  I had my bike delivered to the house in December.  We wheeled it out of the truck and in to the house, never started it, and it sat on display in the house till last Friday, with my battery maintainer connected.  The great day dawned, and I planned the first ride on Saturday, so got the ramp in position at the steps, I wheeled it to the door, put some fuel in, turned the switch on, pressed the go button, and..... click!  No matter how many times I pressed the button, just... click!  I was kind of stuck there, as I was on my own and couldn't move it in or out!  So I called a buddy, and he headed down. While I was waiting, I tried all the fuses and all the relays.  I disconnected the HID headlamp connection to the ignition key switch start relay, as I'd fitted that, but still that same old Click!  My buddy arrived, and with the Mrs we managed to haul her back indoors.  Buddy and I spent the whole of Friday evening taking her to bits, poring over the wiring diagrams, and undoing the wiring changes I'd done (HID Headlamp, Bluetooth, wiring the passing lamps to come on on high beam as well as dip) even though we knew they were good - everything worked, after all - and even though we know that (except the headlamp) none of them had anything to do with starting.  Bike bits everywhere, and still.... click.   All we could work out was that there was no current getting to the starter relay, but we couldn't work out why!  Got to nearly 10pm, and we were stuck; we'd tried everything and still..... click!  So I said, let's put her all back together, and in the AM, I'll call the dealer to come and pick her up.  Maybe it was like this when they delivered it.  So all back together, and just for one last time, I switched on and pressed the button. VROOM!!!  Cat attached itself to the ceiling, the Mrs fainted. 

Been fine ever since. No idea what it was for sure - like I said we'd tried everything - but I suspect a bad connection in the right hand control switch connector in the fairing.  They've switch that this year from a Deutsch to a Molex, and it doesn't impress me much. (For one thing, the HID headlamp harness no longer plugs in, you have to cut and splice now, on one connector). But I can't be certain it was that. 

Jim

[harlez4me]

Jim,
My bike has done the "click" thing about 3 times now. The problem has never stayed long enough for me to start ant trouble shooting though. It seem like if I turn the ignition switch on and off again, it will respond. The click is a very light relay click, not like a solenoid click. I am not positive, but I think this problem has happened after I have used the kill switch on the right bar. I hope it has healed up and haired over. If I find out the cause, I will be sure to post.
JD

[BobD]

The electrical gremlins work in mysterious ways. This winter I had a similar experience but mine was the result of a connector separating on a wire running from under the dash to the fuse block. When the wire separated, the fuel pump lost power and the bike wouldn't fire.
Now back to car washes. I've stayed away from the temptation of using self service car washes to blast off the road grime for years now on the advice of a master H-D mechanic who warned against them strongly. The typical self serve wash puts out around 2000 psi which is far above what your wheel hub bearings are designed for let alone fragile electrical connectors which often time are relatively exposed to the elements. Blasting that high pressure water into your bearings will do long term harm and greatly increase the chance of premature bearing failure. The potential for damage to your electrical system can also be catatrophic. Best advice - use nothing stronger than a garden hose to wet down your bike and follow up with a sponge or wheel brush to get into tight places. S-100 sprayed on the engine can also aid in releasing grime without fear of damage.

[HawgDoc]

This symptom is often caused by a weak battery ground. The ground cable at the battery end AND where it attaches to the bike. This end should have a star washer under the connector and sometimes it has a very weak 'bite' to the connection point material, especially if there is powdercoat involved. It's a good idea to scrape the powdercoat/paint under the cable end terminal to see bare metal, use the star washer and snug that fastener down good. While you have the ground cable disconnected, check the tightness of the positive cable end fasteners too. IF THE NEGATIVE CABLE IS ATTACHED AT BOTH ENDS, anything metal you touch with the wrench as you tighten these (positive) connections will begin a welding process you won't be happy with. It's best to check this cable while you have the ground cable disconnected.

[Eqcons]

This symptom is often caused by a weak battery ground. The ground cable at the battery end AND where it attaches to the bike. This end should have a star washer under the connector and sometimes it has a very weak 'bite' to the connection point material, especially if there is powdercoat involved. It's a good idea to scrape the powdercoat/paint under the cable end terminal to see bare metal, use the star washer and snug that fastener down good. While you have the ground cable disconnected, check the tightness of the positive cable end fasteners too. IF THE NEGATIVE CABLE IS ATTACHED AT BOTH ENDS, anything metal you touch with the wrench as you tighten these (positive) connections will begin a welding process you won't be happy with. It's best to check this cable while you have the ground cable disconnected.

First thing I tried, because of previous experience!    I definitely think on mine, it was the new Molex connector for the right hand control switches.

Jim

[Eqcons]

Jim,
My bike has done the "click" thing about 3 times now. The problem has never stayed long enough for me to start ant trouble shooting though. It seem like if I turn the ignition switch on and off again, it will respond. The click is a very light relay click, not like a solenoid click. I am not positive, but I think this problem has happened after I have used the kill switch on the right bar. I hope it has healed up and haired over. If I find out the cause, I will be sure to post.
JD

Sounds like the same problem as me JD, and if you suspect that having used the kill switch did it, that might tie in with my strong suspicion of it being a problem in the Molex connector to the right handlebar control switches inside the fairing.....

Jim

[harlez4me]

Sounds like the same problem as me JD, and if you suspect that having used the kill switch did it, that might tie in with my strong suspicion of it being a problem in the Molex connector to the right handlebar control switches inside the fairing.....

Jim

That sounds very logical Jim. I have been in the fairing lots over the winter doing other electrical stuff.....I may have put some stress on a connector when zip tying harness back in place. I plan on looking inside again before I venture out on a vacation.
JD

[Eqcons]

That sounds very logical Jim. I have been in the fairing lots over the winter doing other electrical stuff.....I may have put some stress on a connector when zip tying harness back in place. I plan on looking inside again before I venture out on a vacation.
JD

Yup, sounds sensible, JD.  It's the Molex one right under the radio, especially hard to get to!    I don't like the Molex as much, I have to say...

Jim

[harlez4me]

Sounds like the same problem as me JD, and if you suspect that having used the kill switch did it, that might tie in with my strong suspicion of it being a problem in the Molex connector to the right handlebar control switches inside the fairing.....

Jim

Jim,

OK. The no start and slight click is very regular now. I have figured it out FOR SURE. It is the ignition switch. Every time it won't crank over, I noticed the radio screen does not come to life either. I very slightly turn the ignition switch counter clockwise and BINGO...everthing works. I have done this about 10 times now. You can even make it happen by playing with the switch. I don't know if your bike has the same gremlin, but thats the scoop on mine.

JD

[Jester_Red07]

I know a lot of people do this (use car wash high power wands) to wash there bikes but I've always been concerned about this. I've never personally used this method and prefer nothing more then pressure from garden hose to wash my bike.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

  I agree dood! And low pressure on the garden hose also.

[Eqcons]

Jim,

OK. The no start and slight click is very regular now. I have figured it out FOR SURE. It is the ignition switch. Every time it won't crank over, I noticed the radio screen does not come to life either. I very slightly turn the ignition switch counter clockwise and BINGO...everthing works. I have done this about 10 times now. You can even make it happen by playing with the switch. I don't know if your bike has the same gremlin, but thats the scoop on mine.

JD

Ah, the radio not coming to life is a giveaway, JD. Glad you've tracked down the source of your problem!

JIm