bike cuts off completely

[Coolbreezin]

Hello all.

Since Ive had the bike in 2005, it has periodically just turned itself off. I mean no power at all, as if Ive turned the key. Today it happened twice. First time I was doing about 20mph on a semi-bumpy road, the second time i was idling at a light. Everytime this has happened all I did was turn the key off then on; fired her up and went. This has been a sporadic event since day one.
I checked the battery cables and also the ground connection. All were tight and clean. Ive had many batteries since 05 so I dont believe its related to that. Im thinking ECH. I didnt see anything in the forum about my dilemma.
Any advice? Thank you.

 

[KaptinAmerika]

Sounds like your Key switch might be going bad.
Go through all your connections, separate them and insert a small amount of dielectric grease. Pull you're EHC connections make she they are clean and moisture free and put in dielectric.
After doing all that if you still have the issue I would recommend replacing the key switch

 

[RRRUFF]

Sounds like a problem I had. Turn out to be the key switch. I by-passed it and the problem went away so I replaced the switch.

 

[aspen874]

I have had the same issue, bike shuts down like you turned off the key. I move the key to off and then back on and then i can restart the bike.

 

[stlmikie]

Key switch.

 

[woodbutcher]

have you tried burning sage and walking around the bike backwards 3 times???

 

[KaptinAmerika]

Damn, never thought off that one WB:roll:

 

[Sven]

Something is killing the bike, then clears on ground. Key back on, bike starts.

1. 'It happened over a bump' says a loose wire. Is it main or kill switch?
2. 'Key back on it runs' says a faulty EHC. Internally, it grounds, shuts off, clears that ground. Key back on, she runs again.
3. Both battery posts tight? By-pass [key switch] as recommended; Borrow an EHC; For a short time sitting idling, meaning, as soon as it starts; tap/slap the EHC with your hand; palm the wire harness out of the EHC; pull lightly back the bunch of wires of that harness; jiggle the coil wire sides, but do not touch the studs and eyelets [move the wires rather]; move the wire harness going into the dash; into the headlight; move wires in general. After all this > Did engine stop running? Could you pinpoint what area you touched that caused it to stop; if it did?
4. If not, then as suggested in post #6, WATTS there to loose?

 

[Brew]

 

[Coolbreezin]

Sven thank you. Excellent info.

As for the key switch, I replaced that myself less than a year ago. The problem existed from the day I bought the bike.

Ill ck around on her and see if there is a big flashing arrow pointing at the problem.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Sven]

... I replaced that myself less than a year ago.

You're welcome. Well, now I'd get the bike running, then massage the key switch toggling so as not to turn it off, but to make it bounce so the contact is lost.

That means you run a wire from the hot side to the output of the key switch. Leave everything else on and wired up. All you are doing is taking an alligator clip to battery and then to the coil, basically. Then, if the bike cuts out, it was not the key switch, nor the wires up too >>>???

 

[DRBarnhart]

A couple observations...

That means you run a wire from the hot side to the output of the key switch. Leave everything else on and wired up.

If you mean a wire from the hot side of the battery to EITHER connector on the key switch that would be a BIG mistake. All the key switch does is supply a ground to the EHC.

All you are doing is taking an alligator clip to battery and then to the coil, basically.

If you supply power to one side of the coil while the other has got a ground the coil could very likey overheat...

Dennis

 

[1goodsinner]

I've heard all of these "possibilities",and more,when my bike (2005 Chopper) started doing it right after buying it Aug. '11. I went over the bike totally. Forum members cried out: "replace the EHC",and usually it's NOT!!! I even replaced the key switch...nothing changed! The bike would quit on me,like yours,most every ride.Then one day it wouldn't restart. I'm fuming now! Long story short...it was the "recall" ignition key wires they installed after the ignition key (2 orange wires about 3" long).

 

[Sven]

A couple observations...If you mean a wire from the hot side of the battery to EITHER connector on the key switch that would be a BIG mistake. All the key switch does is supply a ground to the EHC.

Think wire in/wire out. If there is a hot wire from the battery to the switch, think of that prong as not touching ground or passing current thur the switch. It's as if the switch is not there, the wire is dangling in the air, you are going to alligator clip to that post all hanging in the air [you have to think] not grounded at all, correct?

If you supply power to one side of the coil while the other has got a ground the coil could very likey overheat...

How is this box hooked up? Wire in and wire out, right? I don't care how many wires, is there a ground and a hot wire? So, does a hot wire go to the coil from the box?

Coil wise, you can't see the wires inside, but it still says, [1] wire went in/[1] wire came out. If I run a hot wire to one side of the coil, it is going to fire first. If I have a problem with the mounting of the coil and flipping it around is the better fit, where are my forward and rear coil wires? On the opposite side. Why? Because the coil does not care what side you fire first, right?

It's all about wire in/wire out. One is hot going in, one is ground coming out. What is the difference I put the ground as the key and it goes to hot? Do I still need 12v to the box? Does the toggle switch care what side you put the wires on? It either sends the hot down the wire or you flip the wires on the switch, and the ground is now the wire out to said next junction = To complete a circuit.

Say I have 7 wires out the box:
1. Right wire signal to cone cover or the advancer plate.
2. Left wire signal to the cone's advancer plate.
3. Ground to advancer plate i.e., the hall effect where the cup has the two cut windows it needs to pass thru to fire R/L cylinders, right?
4. The Right wire to the coil post.
5. The Left wire out of the box to the rear cylinder's coil post.
____________________________________
We have yet to find the hot wire for the box.
6. Whereas a VOES wire is this wire out of the box.
7. The last wire is the ground for the box, but what wire makes the box hot?
________________________________________
8. A (+) wire was attached to one of the coil's post. This now feeds one of the cylinder fire wires from the box to the coil. This is now that (+) wire that made the box [hot].
Where did that wire come from?
9. That is the alligator clip from the key's (+) side of the key switch.
Where did the (+) current come from for the switch?
10. The battery direct.

Make sense of 10 steps to wire a bike, hot which side of the coil to watt cylinder of choice and direction?

 

[BigDogBro1]

On a factory stock Bigdog, the only thing the ignition switch does is connect and disconnect battery ground to the EHC.

You have a EHC power interuption problem somewhere in the system or a short.

Have you ever checked the headlight bulb socket for melting. If they melt bad enough the wires could short to one another.

-Keyswitch
-Harness connections and at EHC main connector
-Loose wire connector crimps on the wires at the battery terminals

There is a large amount of forum information on this common problem...you can use the search function for related threads.

 

[Mickeetwo]

I had the same problem and it was a loose crimp wire at the coil.

 

[KaptinAmerika]

That's the thing about electrical
It can be almost anything

 

[BadBrad]

A couple observations...If you mean a wire from the hot side of the battery to EITHER connector on the key switch that would be a BIG mistake. All the key switch does is supply a ground to the EHC.If you supply power to one side of the coil while the other has got a ground the coil could very likey overheat...

Dennis

Sven,
After months of using sophisticated deciphering computors, there are a few on here that understand what you're saying..... and you don't know what you're saying. Your knowledge on metrics doesn't work here. You really need to buy a Bigdog and turn a wrench on one before assuming all bikes are the same. Just food for thought. Nothing personal. Just hate for someone to fry their EHC by wiring up the ignition as if it were a Honda.

 

[Sven]

Your knowledge on metrics doesn't work here. You really need to buy a Bigdog and turn a wrench on one before assuming all bikes are the same. Just food for thought. Nothing personal. Just hate for someone to fry their EHC by wiring up the ignition as if it were a Honda.

Noted.

Big difference here is, Brad, I speak more in the generic. What I need is a bigdog shop manual. Walk the wires and then could tell. Nothing personal, but I just wired a bunch of harley oem parts together in 10 steps. I can practically do it blindfolded. Those were not Japeeknees part but Delphi parts.

EYE SEA WATT you are saying. but let me ask you this:

1. Does the EHC need 12v to operate?
2. Does the EHC have a ground?
3. Does the EHC plug into the cone, i.e., the spark signal?
4. Does the EHC then send a wire to the coil?


I've just completed a complete circuit:

1. Analog = The Hall Effect from the cone goes from 0 to peak to 0 and that is 3 moves. Analog means many.

0. Digital = The box is made up of resistors and does the math. A resistor has painted stripes on them to represent a number, correct? Digital means one. So, back out is the output as if, 'for every action, watch the next move all equal in its step is the signal. So, equal out goes the input matching output signal, meaning.

1. Analog = Does the spark have a square wave? Isn't the coil all in a coil winding kind of part made? Like the injector and those coil windings making a magnetic field? They produce a resistance so the laws of math all have each part sort of balanced out so it does said function, right?

0. Cone = Isn't this the loop? Isn't this one part in the ignition cycle?
1. Box = Isn't this the crank speed reader meter? This sets the adv curve?
0. Spark = Isn't this the means to an end? You have no other parts needed in this loop, sans +/- wires to make someone hot. Because if it is not hot, then ground says:

A. Connector not connected = Which of the 3 is not hooked up?
B. Wire out of connector = Which wire is loose or about to fall out?
C. Short to ground/no signal = Wire in is one continuous wire that hits a resistance and out it goes to the next wire and then to that jobber/part/resistance value. If the wire breaks inside the sensor, we lost signal. We have lost the signal to ground, right?

So in the generic, does it matter which wire goes to (+) and which goes to (-) in the swap of things? Yes. But if you decipher this out, is the concept wrong in the generic?

Is the concept wrong you looking for a short/bad connector/no connection at all, generically speaking? :loony: :roll:

 

[Nukeranger]

******The Ignition Key Switch GROUNDS the EHC to turn it on*********** Like others above said.

The hard part is finding it if it is intermittent.:bang: