Was told I need a new EHC

Energy One
JamesPersinger

JamesPersinger

Member
Hey all. I just got a 2007 K-9 a few weeks ago. Was having a issue when I took the dog out for a ride, I'd get a half mile down the road and the bike would do a quick sputter and die. All lights would go out and the motor would shut off completely. Took it to a buddy of mine that works on bikes and ATVs for a living, and he just told me that the control module was shot. He is telling me that it needs a full replacement and that will include all of the wiring harnesses. Also, the K-9 has air ride and he gave me a quote for the parts and it is coming in at $900. Please tell me someone out there has had a similar issue with a much less expensive fix.
 
Little-Boo

Little-Boo

Well-Known Member
Troop Supporter
JamesPersinger said:
Hey all. I just got a 2007 K-9 a few weeks ago. Was having a issue when I took the dog out for a ride, I'd get a half mile down the road and the bike would do a quick sputter and die. All lights would go out and the motor would shut off completely. Took it to a buddy of mine that works on bikes and ATVs for a living, and he just told me that the control module was shot. He is telling me that it needs a full replacement and that will include all of the wiring harnesses. Also, the K-9 has air ride and he gave me a quote for the parts and it is coming in at $900. Please tell me someone out there has had a similar issue with a much less expensive fix.
Click to expand...

Well son if you make a proper introduction as required by the forum and tell us a little more about you and the bike. Keep in mind the this is a custom bike and not an ATV. This is a Big Dog Motorcycle and I will admit there have been some issues with the electrical system but it is not always the EHC.

How many miles on your bike, is it carbureted or fuel injection, does it have any modifications like exhaust, Air intake filter, cam, heads, and you get the drift. It could be your ignition switch that is lose, wiggle it when the bike is running and see if it shuts off. It could be a lose wire or bad ignition module, or bad crank sensor, lose ground cable at the battery, or lose connections at the EHC, bare wires under the gas tank causing a short with the vibrations, and some many things that could be just a few bucks to fix.

There is a vendor on here by the name of Curtis who is very knowledgeable with BDM and sell parts as well, he can even test your EHC to make sure it is in working condition, which will satisfy you curiosity. He can be reached at http://wildsteedworx.com/ or at 619-823-8557. It is best to e-mail him as he may not be able to take your call , however leave a message he will call you back. $900 for parts sounds like your buddy is trying to :sex: do you wrong. Also let us know if you have a service manual

Carlos :chopper:
 
Last edited:
JamesPersinger

JamesPersinger

Member
Carlos, I apologize for the lack of an introduction. My manners escaped me for a bit. My name is James. I'm married with 3 wonderful kids. I live in Columbus, IN, but originally am from Brownstown, IN.I work for an exhaust manufacturing company called Faurecia as a Manufacturing engineer. I have been there for almost 2 years now. Before that, I was an engineer at Cummins for 6 years.

My bike is a 2007 BigDog K-9. It is a 117 cu. in. S&S motor (carburated). K&N cone intake with Vance & Hines aftermarket exhaust. There are 5,300 miles on the bike, but sadly, only about 5 are from myself. There wasn't an original service manual that came with the bike, but I was able to find one on-line.

I have been riding for about 6 years now. I've had my endorsement for 4 of those years. My first bike was a 1981 Honda GS500. My last bike, before the K-9, was a 1996 Kawasaki Vulcan 500LTD. I had that bike for the last 4 years.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will shoot Curtis an email right now. I'd like to think that my buddy isn't trying to maliciously do me wrong. He sent me the link to the place he was looking at the EHC. The listed price is $675, but with the air ride system, the store required additional equipment. Took the total damn near $900.
 
francoblay1

francoblay1

The Spaniard
JamesPersinger said:
Carlos, I apologize for the lack of an introduction. My manners escaped me for a bit. My name is James. I'm married with 3 wonderful kids. I live in Columbus, IN, but originally am from Brownstown, IN.I work for an exhaust manufacturing company called Faurecia as a Manufacturing engineer. I have been there for almost 2 years now. Before that, I was an engineer at Cummins for 6 years.

My bike is a 2007 BigDog K-9. It is a 117 cu. in. S&S motor (carburated). K&N cone intake with Vance & Hines aftermarket exhaust. There are 5,300 miles on the bike, but sadly, only about 5 are from myself. There wasn't an original service manual that came with the bike, but I was able to find one on-line.

I have been riding for about 6 years now. I've had my endorsement for 4 of those years. My first bike was a 1981 Honda GS500. My last bike, before the K-9, was a 1996 Kawasaki Vulcan 500LTD. I had that bike for the last 4 years.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will shoot Curtis an email right now. I'd like to think that my buddy isn't trying to maliciously do me wrong. He sent me the link to the place he was looking at the EHC. The listed price is $675, but with the air ride system, the store required additional equipment. Took the total damn near $900.
Click to expand...
The EHC has been wrongly blamed hundreds of times.... first troubleshoot a few more common things as Carlos pointed b4. My K9 is an 06 and I am still running on my original EHC.

Welcome to the Pound.

:cheers:

BTW, Intros here: http://www.bigdogbiker.com/forums/introductions.2/
 
BWG56

BWG56

Guru
The ESC from DOC's is another option and you can get it with the air ride option on the controller, and it keeps all the original controls the same, I don't know if the RIP 2 has that option or not.
This is from his website and it won't work with the air ride.

The plug-and-play design significantly reduces install time and the risk of installation error. This kit will maintain the functionality of the stock EHC, excluding the integrated air ride, but is much more robust. Built with an all-aluminum housing and water-resistant connections, the GEN 2 EHC R.I.P. kit will leave your EHC worries Resting In Peace.
 
JamesPersinger

JamesPersinger

Member
BWG56 said:
The ESC from DOC's is another option and you can get it with the air ride option on the controller, and it keeps all the original controls the same, I don't know if the RIP 2 has that option or not.
This is from his website and it won't work with the air ride.

The plug-and-play design significantly reduces install time and the risk of installation error. This kit will maintain the functionality of the stock EHC, excluding the integrated air ride, but is much more robust. Built with an all-aluminum housing and water-resistant connections, the GEN 2 EHC R.I.P. kit will leave your EHC worries Resting In Peace.
Click to expand...
So, if I want to keep the air ride, it's going to cost close to the $900 my buddy quoted me. But if I ditch it (not my favorite idea) it'll be closer to $600.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
 
Th3InfamousI

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
JamesPersinger said:
So, if I want to keep the air ride, it's going to cost close to the $900 my buddy quoted me. But if I ditch it (not my favorite idea) it'll be closer to $600.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Well not really if you ditch the air ride then you'll have to buy at least one new shock. So no point in losing air ride for $200 in my opinion. Now if you want to sell me your air ride for $200 I'll buy it :)

Email Curtis I know he has air ride on his K9, although I'm not sure how's he got it all wired up.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
 
Bdm4ever

Bdm4ever

Well-Known Member
Troop Supporter
Have you download the electrical manual? I would recommend cleaning the EHC, applying a new coat of dialectical grease, and testing. See how that works. Then you can begin to isolate from there. I think a few others have recommend this as well.

$900 is a bit much. The most expensive one out there I can find is about $775.00 with the air ride suspension. That's if you do the work yourself. Many of us unfortunate folks with EHC failures have chosen to replace them completely. The na sayer's will tell you it's not the EHC, theirs have lasted forever cause they do the maintenance annually, EHC's have a bad name, they get blamed for everything, bla bla bla, but you'll figure that out soon enough while troubleshooting.

Fact: EHC's have and will continue to fail!. Fact: they need replaced. No other opinion really matters after the facts are in. As with any electrical system some are okay, others are not.

I waisted thousands of $ replacing every part imaginable only to find out it was ultimately the EHC (again I stopped using high priced mechanics that were ripping me off and began doing my bikes work myself). While doing my ESC, I re-tested all the parts that I had replaced, they were/are all still GOOD. That was my mistake, don't repeat it do the troubleshooting. I did the work myself with DOC's ESC. I'm not advocating any system just make sure it supports your air ride suspension. Good luck mate.

Safe trails.. :chopper:
 
JamesPersinger

JamesPersinger

Member
pknowles said:
All you need for the air ride is a 2 way toggle switch and a place to mount it. You don't need to got thru the new RIP kit to use the air ride. Buy one of the advertised replacement units for the $675 and plug it in and ride. Your problem might not be the ehc. Sounds like something loose, but I'm definitely not a mechanic.
Click to expand...
Do you have a diagram showing how to bypass the EHC for the air ride?

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
 
JamesPersinger

JamesPersinger

Member
I don't mean to interrupt, but I have a bit of an update. Problem is, now I have more questions. So, when I turn the key to the on/start position, the light panel of the EHC lights up. All of them, with the exception of two or three. I was under the impression that there was supposed to be a single solid light when the key is turned on. Any hints/suggestions?
 
KaptinAmerika

KaptinAmerika

Guru
That indicates the micro-contoller has locked up.
It could be the EHC has internal hardware or software problems or it could be an issue in your electrical system somewhere causing the EHC's micro-controller to lock up.
With the key off push and hold the left turn signal button and turn the key on.
Continue holding the button until the EHC has either settled into certain LEDs being on continuously or it has shifted back into power up mode then let the left turn signal button go. Usually takes about 10 seocnds.
If you have the right EHC that has the built in self testing then the EHC will run through some basic self test and if everything is okay will return to power up mode generally with the left turn signal blinking.
If the EHC goes straight to all LEDs on solid then you have a micro-controller lock up again.
If certain LEDs are on beyond the standard power up LEDS then the EHC has found issues. Unfortuantely I have never been able to get my hands on a chart for that so the only way I have to find out what the issues are is with software and access to the EHC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top