Bike died and speedometer acts whacky

ChopperJeff

ChopperJeff

Active Member
Yesterday after the bike fired up with no problems, the speedometer went out. First the digital readouts just went blank, then the RPM lights went off. However, the bike was running fine. I made a stop to eat, and when I fired up the bike I had the same issue. When the key was turned on, the speedo lit up as normal, but then after a few seconds it just went blank. But the bike started up and ran fine.

On the way home, while on the freeway the bike just totally died!
Coasted a bit, and was able to start it, but it died about a minute later.

Got it towed home so now I need to start looking into what's going on.

I've only had this bike now for a couple weeks (2007 K9), and the person I bought it from claims that it has an upgraded EHC.

Is there a way to verify that the EHC is the upgraded version as opposed to the original version?

I'll look into it tonight and verify the battery, which is brand new, is OK, and will check all the wires.

Any ideas other than that?
 
SCC007

SCC007

Active Member
Hopefully it is just a loose wire, check that the power and ground at the battery are good and tight, then ground to bike is also good. From there I usually start with wiring making sure that there isn't something loose or frayed (often check resistance with ohm meter). It might be in the main harness, under the tank (connection to the gauges and the handle bar - boards) also a good place to look is the handle switches (actually a PCB board) which might cause the bike to shutdown.
I'm sure one of the guys will be along shortly to help with the EHC and diagnosis (or seeing if it is a newer model) but in the mean time you can always give a shout to Curtis (wild steed worxs - also in California I believe) and he might be able to help diagnosis it as well.
 
Mikeinjersey

Mikeinjersey

Well-Known Member
To figure out which EHC you have take a picture of it. I agree with SCC007 that your issue is most likely a bad or dirty connection. The battery should read min 12.8 vdc when not running and approx 14 to 14.5 vdc when running around 2k rpm. One possible thing to check is the original halogen headlamp connector which have been known to melt and short out. Considering your speedometer was crapping out a possible chaffed wire under the tank could be the culprit. Come back if you have any additional findings to share.
 
ChopperJeff

ChopperJeff

Active Member
I'll keep you guys updated.

One thing I didn't mention is that the 'Run' button never worked right. I read that to start the bike, you first turn the key to the 'On' position, then you press the 'Run' button. On my bike though, as soon as I turn the key on, the speedometer lights up. Then when I press the 'Run' button, the speedometer appears to just turn off as everything goes dark. I then have to press it again to bring it back to life.

So, what I've been doing to start the bike is just turn the key to 'On', then I press the 'Start' button.
 
pknowles

pknowles

RETIRED
That part sounds right. You might have axels upgraded EHC. As others have said, take a picture and post it.
 
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SCC007

SCC007

Active Member
Check the board and buttons in the right hand bar...these work on ground so if it has some moisture and corrosion these switches could be the culprit too.
 
Mikeinjersey

Mikeinjersey

Well-Known Member
ChopperJeff said:
I'll keep you guys updated.

One thing I didn't mention is that the 'Run' button never worked right. I read that to start the bike, you first turn the key to the 'On' position, then you press the 'Run' button. On my bike though, as soon as I turn the key on, the speedometer lights up. Then when I press the 'Run' button, the speedometer appears to just turn off as everything goes dark. I then have to press it again to bring it back to life.

So, what I've been doing to start the bike is just turn the key to 'On', then I press the 'Start' button.
Click to expand...
This is a great video on checking out your switch and this is a pic of my connector when I checked mine out. My buttons were good but these little shavings shorted them out.



1692397086959.jpeg
 
ChopperJeff

ChopperJeff

Active Member
This is really bizarre!!!

I went out to look at the wiring of the bike. I just put the key into the 'On' position, and observed the speedometer. It lit up as expected, and stayed that way. I then started wiggling wires around to see if I could get the speedo to flicker or go off, but it stayed on.
I then smelled an odd odor, then I noticed wisps of smoke. The wisps of smoke appeared to be coming from the rear brake pedal. I figured where there's smoke, there's got to be heat, so I started feeling around the rear brake pedal area, and it turns out what's getting super hot is the hydraulic line coming off the rear brake cylinder!

WTF?!??!?

The hydraulic line has NOTHING to do with anything electrical. Does this make any sense to anybody? Sure baffles me.
And mind you, I did NOT even start the bike, so it's not like heat was coming from the motor or the pipes.

I'll look into more tomorrow.
 
ChopperJeff

ChopperJeff

Active Member
Rottweiler said:
Not sure if you have this yet.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com
Click to expand...
Wow, no, I don’t have that stuff…thank you for that! I’ll download those docs.
I’ll be looking at that pressure switch too. Makes sense if that thing is shorted and heating up, causing the hydraulic line to heat up. Will be looking at that shortly.
 
Mikeinjersey

Mikeinjersey

Well-Known Member
ChopperJeff said:
Wow, no, I don’t have that stuff…thank you for that! I’ll download those docs.
I’ll be looking at that pressure switch too. Makes sense if that thing is shorted and heating up, causing the hydraulic line to heat up. Will be looking at that shortly.
Click to expand...
I have an 07 K9 and I took a look for a potential area for a short.
Your hydraulic line has a metal shield and it is wire tied to the wire that goes to the rear brake. Follow the hydraulic cable back from the rear brake master cylinder (foot pedal) to just about under the Engine oil pump. You will see that they marry at that point over several wires in a harness . Since the cable got hot near there it is the likely spot to start looking for a frayed wire. I would disconnect the battery first before messing with it so you don't cause more damage. Follow the cable all the way back to the rear brake.
 
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ChopperJeff

ChopperJeff

Active Member
Found the problem!

I chased that wire that goes from the rear brake pedal to the rear brake pressure sensor, and as it's tie wrapped to the hydraulic line I figured that has to be the culprit. However, I just couldn't find anyplace that the wire was getting hot.

Got to thinking that I am just going down the wrong path and thought I'd check the wires under the license plate.

One reason for going there was the fact that this problem began after I installed the new plate.
Well, first thing I noticed was that the license plate light was not on.

I removed the plate, and pulled the overly long wires out, and then the license plate light came on. Also, with the key still on, the hydraulic line was no longer getting hot!

There was a small nick in the insulation of one of the license plate light wires.
Cut the wires down to the right length, reinstalled and all appears to be OK now.

Stupid me should have started with the license plate wires, but it just didn't seem like that could be the cause as those were not the wires that ran along the hydraulic line. They must meet up somewhere though where I couldn't see them.
 
ChopperJeff

ChopperJeff

Active Member
Yeah, was glad it was something so simple. Funny how easy it is to jump to the conclusion that it must be an EHC issue, but sometimes, like this time, it was just a shorted wire.

Thank you all who offered suggestions and to the one who provided a link to the Big Dog service manuals! Will definitely download for future reference.
 
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