On the way back at the end of a run today, the bike’s speedometer stopped working, and shortly afterward the bike shut down. I turned off the ignition switch for 20–30 secs, then turned the switch back on. The bike fired right up; I went another 3 miles. Lost speedometer again and the bike shut off again. Guessing it might be a relay. Hoping someone here can point me in the right direction. The bike has 50,000 miles on the clock. Any help would be appreciated.
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We can suggest a few things: Check your battery connections, and inspect or replace your main breaker. Check for possible DTCs.
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Have more questions? Check out our Q&A index page to find some answers.
crank sensor is bad
I just bought an 05 fatboy efi, the previous owners had a big bore kit and 6 speed trans put in at a reputable shop, the only issue was the speedo had zero power to it but bike ran fine, went on short run for a visit, when I went to leave she wouldn't start just starter benix clicking, charged batt and it fired up fine, left yard hit second gear and total power loss and shut down, fighting it ever since.
Heat, and vibration. That main breaker will get hot, especially on hot days and long runs. If you have a lot of extra lights, accessories, etc., that will cause it to trip, like a GFI at the house.
Pretty sure it is the voltage regulator. Went through two of them on a 2000 Fatboy. It checked okay, but finally replaced it and the problem went away.
VSS - Vehicle Speed Sensor is bad
I had the same problem, and after attempts to diagnose at 4 Harley dealers, I called corporate and they immediately knew the fix. Replacing the transmission speed sensor. No problem since that day.
check the crank sensor that is the problem
I had an issue where my bike would go a few miles and the shut off. I did not notice whether the speedometer shut down. It ended up the crank sensor was bad. Replaced that on my 2001 Fat boy, No more problem.
You didn’t say what year your bike is. Sort of the same thing happened to my 2008 Ultra when it was brand new. I would be running down the road and it would lose all throttle. Back off the throttle and reapply, it would be good for a while. Turned out to be a bare wire in the Speedo that would ground out and the drive by wire throttle would drop out.