Hi Guys, We fully charged our battery after the winter and installed it (we checked and even took it back to the store to be sure it was charged). Problem is that when everything is connected, the light and the horn come on and wont shut off. Not sure if the wires are all connected correctly on the battery (one black and ground on the negative and two red and one ground on the positive) or if is some other problem. Simple but frustrating... Thanks for the help!
Battery install- Horn sounding
- Thread starter Pam
- Start date
MossBerg590
Active Member
Shouldnt have any ground wires on your positive lug of battery. If the bike is stock should be one fat wire from starter,one wire from vr and one wire from ehc all to positive side, these should all be red wires. Ground cable should have fat ground from starter, and at least one more ground wire from the ehc. Should be all black wires.
Hirter6Pack
Not Quite A Guru
Yes that and I also have a ground wire going from negative post to chassis.
So sorry, misspoke. There are two thinner wires, one that does to neg and other to pos, but the factory for some reason made them both black so I was calling them both grounds when they are not. So there are three wires that go to pos and two that go to neg. Their length really makes it so you can only connect them that way. What is odd is that the with the neg all connected, when we connect the pos wires it always seems to be that thinner wire (last one on) that causes the horn and light to turn on. Didn't know if it was maybe a short or if anyone had an idea as to why it is doing that. Had the bike since 06 and done this every year without a problem. I've seen reports of a horn going off if the battery is low but doesn't seem to be that issue. Could be water gettign into the system (we did just wash it) but we had it sitting in the sun several days so should be good.
The two smaller wires slide the black covering back and look at what the wire color is. They both go to the ehc one is black to NEG and one is red to POS. Also what plug is near the larger black wire?
MossBerg590
Active Member
MossBerg590
Active Member
Also as brew said, take your ehc connectors off, clean them out, blow dry them and regrease. If you just washed it it sounds like water may have gotten in and is shorting the connectors out once power is hooked up to ehc.
Mr. Wright
Knows some things
That's an extra plug. Both Gary's K9 and Bryan's Mastiff have it too.What does the JST connector go to that has nothing in it, its right behind the heavy ground wire?
Also the ring tongue terminal by the heavy ground cable has electrical tape on it and it looks like a red wire under the tape.
BWG56
Guru
Really, I wonder what they are for? and what year are their bikes?
BWG56
Guru
That's what I was kinda thinking when I asked what year their bikes were, cause my 07' didn't have the extra plug and was thinking maybe later bikes had them.
Thanks guys. Our neighbor is a master HD mechanic and he looked at it and didnt know what the problem was. We took apart the EHC, cleaned, dried and re greased everything and the horn and light still coming on when the battery is connected. If you have any other ideas, would be much appreciated. Anybody know someone in central Ohio who still works on Big Dogs?
Marky-Marc
Well-Known Member
Even with the horn and light issue, does the bike start and run normally? If it does start and run normally, what does the light do (flicker), does the high and low beam work? Does the horn keep sounding when the bike is running?
Marky-Marc
Well-Known Member
check all your fuses. A blown fuse is may be preventing the key from resetting the box under the seat. Basically what's happening is, the RIP or EHC, whichever one you have is NOT getting a signal to reset after the battery change. Check ALL the fuses. You can try connecting the battery then turning the key on/off (don't start it) around 5 to 6 times to see if it will reset the 'box'. If it doesn't, look for a blown fuse or a blown relay.....
I would still like to know what happens when you actually start the bike up after connecting the battery, regardless if the horn and lights are on....
Also, if the key switch is not working correctly, it's not allowing the box to reset...so, give the above a try, start bike, see what it does, or just turn key on/off 5 or more times, also take a look when you turn the key to the on position that all your other lights on your speedometer come on and work as well.
I would still like to know what happens when you actually start the bike up after connecting the battery, regardless if the horn and lights are on....
Also, if the key switch is not working correctly, it's not allowing the box to reset...so, give the above a try, start bike, see what it does, or just turn key on/off 5 or more times, also take a look when you turn the key to the on position that all your other lights on your speedometer come on and work as well.