power is cutting out

[mml03102]

Bike is stalling , I was out yesterday and bike was running great , today it has been dying on me forcing me to pull over and shut the key off and on again , then it would start but not right away, this must of happened 10 plus times before getting it home , now I put the charger /maintainer on and the battery is low , it is a braille less than a year old . all wires to battery are tight.

I just washed the bike before heading out covered the ehc etc... with a rag and the seat with a plastic bag.

could it just be because it might have gotten wet?

 

[Nukeranger]

I recommend sending the Braille back for a replacement since it has a two year warranty. During the first year, you only have to pay shipping. During the second year, it is pro-rated. If I remember correctly, they will send you a new one. Then, you can send back the old one. They will put a charge on your CC but not officially charge you as long as you send back the old one.

I don't know about washing the bike since I live in Louisiana and get rained on quite a bit and have no problems.

Also, do a load test on the battery. Mine puts out over 700 CCAs!

Nuke

 

[BigDogBro1]

You need to do the basic things first and eliminate the possible causes.

Sounds like a POWER INTERRUPTION to the EHC or the ignition module.

1. Clean the battery posts and wire connections with a clean fine bristle wire brush.
2. Check that all the crimp connections on the battery post wires are tight and secure.
3. Test the charging system. Search this forum for info.
4. Load test the battery several times after a full charge. 12.8v minimum after full charge. (OFF charger and hour)
5. Check for clean and tight connections at the starter.
6. Keyswitch going bad and/or loaded with trinkets on keychain.
7. EHC harness connection cleaning and dielectric grease install. Forum info.

There are many other possibilities so do a forum search get a wiring diagram and dig in.

 

[HMAN]

Marc, just my two cents, but do you have a stock battery strap holding the battery in? Mine was missing and I didn't think too much about it, (I used a short bungee cord to hold it) but the battery would vibrate at certain speeds and move forward touching the EHC plug. It would touch and vibrate just enough to shut the bike down. It would restart as you described but took a while to figure out where the problem was.

 

[Th3InfamousI]

Get the battery load tested like these guys are stating. I would probably expect the battery to be slightly low if your stopping and starting as frequently as it seems.

Next time it stales are the headlight still on? Yank the seat and check the lights on the EHC and report back as well!

 

[mml03102]

Yes I have the stock strap and check all the connections but I believe it might be in the right hand control , I took it apart and cleaned it and let it dry over night , when I took it apart I notced there was a tear in the rubber that the control buttons attach to so looks like when I washed it I got it wet. I am hoing thats all it is so I am about to go put it back together and will take it for a ride and hope for the best, will report back when I know wwhats what , thanks!!!

 

[mml03102]

I just took it for aa ride for about 30 minutes and it didnt die on me and ran fine , time will tell though .

When the bike was running I had a solid amber light on the ehc and aa blinking green and a kind of solid red although it pulsated a little . Does this sound right??

 

[mml03102]

It continued , the starter would engage when I pushed the run button and at one point it began to turn when it was just sitting with the key on , so I took apart the hand control and I saw moisture inside the pcb between he plastic and the board itself so I dried it out and all works fine been riding all week, great!

 

[Fat_Bastard]

2004 Big Dog No Spark

Bike is stalling , I was out yesterday and bike was running great , today it has been dying on me forcing me to pull over and shut the key off and on again , then it would start but not right away, this must of happened 10 plus times before getting it home , now I put the charger /maintainer on and the battery is low , it is a braille less than a year old . all wires to battery are tight.

I just washed the bike before heading out covered the ehc etc... with a rag and the seat with a plastic bag.

could it just be because it might have gotten wet?

How to diagnose bad EHC 2004 and fix

Hi,
My 2004 Chopper cut out electricaly, no spark per item: c) below
maybe this story will help.

My "EHC" symptoms are:
a) months ago Low-Beam started to intermittantly go out; had to use Hi-Beam only; All else was OK.

b) got New Battery and trickle charged every night. Problem went away two months ago.

c) one month ago Low-Beam out again, Hi-Beam only; bike randomly just lost all power to spark plugs while riding; continued to quit electricaly (no spark, but other lights, horn, turn signals OK, but no Hi-or-Lo beams) Let it sit by side of road for ten minutes then could start and ride it home. (I knew no spark by carrying spare spark plug I connected and held to side of cylinder while cranking.) no signs of weak new battery. All else was OK.

d) rode home, checked voltages:
on same New Battery: 13.5 while on charger, 13.1 off charger; 12.5 dip at startup cranking; started engine --running it charges immediately to 14.2 volts, seems OK. But no Headlight at all.

e) Checked Headlight voltages at bulb connecter:
Yellow wire 10.5, White 7.5; with key ON or engine running. (of course checked/swapped bulbs and jumper wired temporarily off battery to be sure all were working ok).

f) Pulled Connecter to Headlight under gas tank and measured same exact voltages as at Headlight connector; Yellow wire 10.5, White 7.5; Checked ignition wire 12.1 volts.

g) Checked voltages at EHC 50 pin connector while connected and ignition key ON: pins 16 & 17 same yellow and white wires to headlight, same voltages 10.5 and 7.5

I think this means my EHC is bad --cannot get 12 volts out of the EHC to headlight...

I can only ride with no headlights for 9 miles or fifteen minutes and bike quits per item c) above.
Any help or advice is much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Fat_Bastard
Irvine, CA

UPDATE 7-5-2012
****EHC was in fact Bad****

PS: prior to all this above; bike cut out intermittantly (no-spark) the first week I owned it in 2004. EHC 50 pin connector was coming loose, think the seat was flexing down a little (maybe cause of large weight on it, LOL) into the connector and pushing it back-loose; did a double zip lock tie and that fixed it for years..

 

[Th3InfamousI]

How to diagnose bad EHC 2004 and fix


UPDATE 7-5-2012
****EHC was in fact Bad****

PS: prior to all this above; bike cut out intermittantly (no-spark) the first week I owned it in 2004. EHC 50 pin connector was coming loose, think the seat was flexing down a little (maybe cause of large weight on it, LOL) into the connector and pushing it back-loose; did a double zip lock tie and that fixed it for years..

Bingo...that was actually a recall on the 04 models. Happened to me as well.

Although, I would state that the EHC is not actually bad in this case. The EHC will work fine if you can fasten the harness to the EHC.

 

[mml03102]

IT WAS THE HAND CONTROL AND I DID SEE THE HARNESS HAS A COUPLE ZIP TIES ON IT ALSO WHEN I BOUGHT IT THE PREVIOUS OWNER TOLD ME THEY HAD TO PUT A NEW EHC IN IT BACK WHEN, I SINCE NOTICED IT HAS AN 18 LED EHC, THATS A NEWER ONE I IMAGINE?