Ironhead Died on the way home from work.

[rjwatters38]

So I take off from work, everythings fine for about 1/2 a mile then WHAM. engine just cuts out and all power is gone. not gradual at all, just running and BAM not.

No hard starts (first try almost instantly every time) and very little hooked up to the circuit.

When I try to crank it, there is nothing. no lights, and no attempts at turning over.

I had to leave it at work, and my bike is too old for them to let any techs work on it there (fuck me, break down at a harley dealership and they won't work on my fucking harley, AND I FUCKING WORK THERE.) so i'll have to see if I can get it running in the parking lot. Since I cant really test or anything and I live far enough that my free towing won't help me any suggestions as to what I might be looking at so that I can better prepare myself to fix it in the parking lot would be appreciated.

I talked to one of the service writers and he said I'm free to try any of the batteries they have there to see if it's the problem, otherwise I'm SOL


Bike is an 83 1/2 (Alternator, ect., but titled 83) Ironhead. no switches. key turns ignition. no horn or signals.

anyhelp would be awesome. Lets hope for something cheap otherwise I'm fucked and will end up losing my job

[klondikekid64]

Grab a 12 volt test light, see if you have power at the battery, check your ground wire from battery, make sure it's not loose, use test light to follow the juice, see where it stops, Sounds like it's between the battery and ignition switch if lights and auxiliary stuff has no juice. Bad ground or bad ignition switch, broken wire? You should be able to narrow it down with just a test light though.

[Guest]

From what you've described and the fact that you have all power going though a key switch I'd bet the switch is the problem.

[rjwatters38]

From what you've described and the fact that you have all power going though a key switch I'd bet the switch is the problem.

I didn't think the bike would lose all power if the switch crapped out. a whole new and equally as inexpensive of a solution. thanks!

[farmall]

That's bizarre they won't let a tech touch it. Any car dealer would laugh at that shit because a real mechanic can be dropped in front of ANY vehicle then troubleshoot using theory of operation. Modern motorcycle franchises are turning a special kind of gay...

Some general tips may help others:

Key switches are easy to bypass and if you have to you can swap in a toggle switch for the ignition line or just straight wire it then disconnect after you limp home. If you use a key switch for your electric starter always be ready to bypass it at the starter relay. I put brass acorn nuts on large relays and solenoids nowadays so I can drop a screwdriver across them and not care because it won't arc-damage the terminal studs. (Looks better too, but I treat my rides like farm equipment so IDGAF.)

Most key switches aren't good quality and good ones age, so always have a mental plan to bypass them when they eventually shit the bed. Have a complete mental picture of your wiring on any custom bike (there ain't much there). If your key switch does NOT operate an electric starter you can tape a quarter across the terminals in an emergency. This powers everything of course. It's also the reason to lock your motorcycle because that switch doesn't protect shit.

Older bikes require a well-stocked tool bag or two. (I carry 'em on any bike since if someone else breaks you'll have the gear handy.) I include a small set of jumper cables, a test light, test lead with alligator clips, wire, electrical tape, crimp connectors, side cutters and a lot more. I always wear a Leatherman.

Riding ancient vehicles means relentlessly and obsessively studying every aspect of their operation before they malfunction. Be able to sketch important segments of your wiring diagram from memory and know without external reference what every segment does. I'm not kidding and it's not hard but most people don't think to do it. If you always know where power should be present it's quick to find what malfunctioned.

.pdf service manuals fit nicely on smartphones.

[Clockwork444]

well if you get along with the techs at all, wait till after work and throw them a couple bucks to help you at least find the problem in the parking lot. the dealership can't stop them from helping out a buddy on their own time.

[Motorradfahrer]

Let us know (once you figure it out) what the problem was with your bike. With the sudden and total loss of power I would think that your negative battery cable came loose.

[rjwatters38]

Let us know (once you figure it out) what the problem was with your bike. With the sudden and total loss of power I would think that your negative battery cable came loose.

Another good possible. The battery is less than 6 months old, it's an AGM and it should last longer than that.

That being said I wish I had more time to sit and take a look at it, as it was I was already late to meet up with my FIL who was watching my kids but needed to be somewhere so I had to walk it back to the shop and lock and run. I'm sure the techs would be willing to help me out after work, but the problem is that they were all gone and It was just me. the shop itself won't and I have no way to get to it until tomorrow. I have a tool bag but I'm completely ignorant to the wiring/electric system of my (or any) bike or whatever. I used to do VW bugs in HS and after, but had a pretty bad experience being electrocuted a couple times and a very bad (4day hospitalization because of chemical pneumonia) experience with sulfuric acid. now I always let someone else do electric work when I can. Now it's biting me in the ass lol.

will bring out my testers but I think if the switch is bad I might take it somewhere and have them rewire it. Hopefully I'll be able to wiggle the battery around and fix it without having to pay for anything!

[klondikekid64]

Those guys at your shop aren't mechanics, they are parts changers, good ole standard trouble shooting without a computer is a thing of the past, at most dealer shops I think, unless some old timers are around. Farmall is on the money though, good advice. Good luck.

[rjwatters38]

Those guys at your shop aren't mechanics, they are parts changers, good ole standard trouble shooting without a computer is a thing of the past, at most dealer shops I think, unless some old timers are around. Farmall is on the money though, good advice. Good luck.

I wish it was that simple. Its from the management down. someone brought in a 90's sporty that was pretty corroded, but a good detail (which is what he brought it in for) and it would have looked great. Wouldn't have taken more than an extra 30 mins compared to most sporty details that come in, and as long as one of the bragin' wagons the yuppies ride around here. Dude was cool paying $175 to do it, and when the detailer started working on it and the owner walked by he made him stop, refunded the dude his money, and told the service writers to never "waste a service guy's time with something old and junky. It's not worth it to them to lose money on bigger more expensive things, and I think he just really doesn't like any older harleys. Maybe he'll be different since I'm an employee, but while back I had called asking if they could swap a rear wheel ( my mags to invader swap) and when I told he writer "1983" he was like "Oh, no sorry we're not allowed to work on any bikes older than 1990 due to a company policy" I dont remember exactly what he said the reason was, something about liability maybe? But I don't think that's the real reason. He has 8 techs working 9 hour shifts, no one has downtime, and he keeps buying more used bikes so they're not going to be lightening their load anytime soon. He doesn't want to waste his time fixing an old junky "hipster chopper" (his words on my bike, no joke. I wanted to call him out on his bike and say something like "yeah, but at least no one confuses me for a sons of anarchy fanboy" but didn't want to lose a new job, i need monies lol) when he could have his techs turning around new bikes and making way more in profits that way. Like I said, maybe it will be different that I work there, I'll find out tomrrow, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[klondikekid64]

That sounds about right, some ass at the top eh? I took my old school 16"coker tire and 16" fatboy alum. rim into the Victoria BC Harley shop to have mounted, first I had to argue a little with some know it all telling me I can't put one on the front of my bike for some reason, guy comes out from the back and says ,oh sure no problem, but you'll need a tube, OK do it. got it home, 5 days later the tire is flat just from sitting in the corner. My second tire showed up, so I took that one in with the rim and wanted it mounted also, and explained that the first one went flat just sitting. When I came to pick up the service manager is all bitchy, saying what a chore it was bla bla. Then pointed to the wall showing me the new rule they came up with, unless you buy ALL your parts from them they won't install them?? My coker tires were brand new and the rims were take offs from a new bike. I bought there tubes and payed shop rate. Unless it's a fast easy buck then fuck ya eh? Well that's the last dollar they ever got from me. Oh I still advertise for them though ha ha.

[Guest]

Man if you're going to ride old iron you need to do your own work. Especially wiring. Start from scratch and wire it yourself. You don't need a "harness" either. Just make good connections and do it right. You'll have it in your head just like Farmall was saying. Getting HD service guys to look at an Ironhead.....you'd have better luck with the Maytag man. Your Ironhead will be your best friend once you get on it's level. It is what it is.....a dinosaur. But with some quality time spent and an understanding of what it is you're dealing with you'll be a step above those assholes at the dealership.

[Motorradfahrer]

Any update on this?

[RetroRob]

Mine shut down the same way. Short in the tail light kicked the breaker

[Clockwork444]

dude the harley dealer near my house is nothing like this. granted im in a small town in wisconsin, but this aint how they do business. Two friends and myself went in to get a wheel bearing kit, to go from 1" to 3/4" bearings. I called in for it, they had the kit. we stopped at 6 or 7 bars on the way out there. So we rolled in there drunk and bought the parts. The guy at the counter says "whats that for anyways?" i told him a sportster. he says.... oh are you the guy with the lane splitter lookin' sporty? i had to look for like an hour the other day to get a cross reference on that wheel for shaggy (guy i bought my wheel from)

the wheel is a front dual disc bagger wheel that i drilled out to accept my sprocket and rotor. anyways, the parts guy wasted a bunch of his time and dealt with our drunk asses at closing time on a sunday just to sell 65$ worth the parts. A week later he called us up to ride with us and we had a fuckin blast. oh and the dealership boys gave me a bunch of compliments about my bike. I wish everyone could have good experiences with HD dealerships, but i know thats not the case 99% of the time