08 Softail Won't Idle, Dies Out, Difficulty Restarting
- Thread starter jagielow
- Start date
J
Jack Klarich
Guest
#7 is a cylinder head temperature sensor. If you peel back the rubber boot you will see the connector, you may have to remove your horn to get a good view. with common hand tools you can change it. I dunno if there is an ohm test for it
dolt
Well-Known Member
Pretty sure an electrical gremlin is causing the problem and they can be very difficult to diagnose. The process usually requires a lot of time checking connections, checking resistance, wiggling wires, etc.; all takes time and time is money.
A shot in the dark here but have seen similar problems solved by removing and cleaning or replacing the kill switch. A visit to the car wash or by some other means moisture has penetrated (not hard to do) the switch housing has been known to cause a similar problem. Like I said, a shot in the dark but worth a try. Cheap and easy, remove the switch housing, clean it out with WD40 or an electrical cleaner, check connections, blow/dry it out with compressed air and see what happens. Or, replace the switch. If this doesn't solve the problem, you can at least cross it off the list as the possible gremlin.
A shot in the dark here but have seen similar problems solved by removing and cleaning or replacing the kill switch. A visit to the car wash or by some other means moisture has penetrated (not hard to do) the switch housing has been known to cause a similar problem. Like I said, a shot in the dark but worth a try. Cheap and easy, remove the switch housing, clean it out with WD40 or an electrical cleaner, check connections, blow/dry it out with compressed air and see what happens. Or, replace the switch. If this doesn't solve the problem, you can at least cross it off the list as the possible gremlin.
Ok. So, we took it in to the dealer, AGAIN. Still not throwing any codes. They checked the entire fuel system and said the bike runs perfectly! However, it will still (intermittently) not hold an idle and start backfiring. Again, no rhyme or reason to it. Last week, it happened when the bike was running about 3 minutes. Brought it home, turned it off, restarted it and it seemed fine. When it happens, it will not hold the idle and starts backfiring and sputtering. I have to wonder if it could be electrical related since it is so intermittent. This is so frustrating! This is now TWO HD service appointments with it being connected to locate a "code" and nothing coming up! Please, please ... someone give us a miracle and an answer!
When I had these symptoms on my '03 UC, it was the IAC. I tried cleaning it multiple times, but it either did not work, or would resume the problems after a short period. Finally just replaced the IAC, and voila!! No more problems.
Cheers,
TQ
J
Jack Klarich
Guest
See post #9 for info on temp sensor also
Ok. So, we have replaced the cylinder head temperature sensor. It didn't fix the problem. I am so sad because now the better half has said he'd rather not ride all summer than have to deal with this issue every time. Of course, every time it acts up, it's not during service dept hours or we are nowhere near the shop to take it in and SHOW them what's going on. It seems to happen, mostly now, when hot. If he throttles down slow, it doesn't backfire but it won't hold an idle and he's got to keep the throttle open all the time. He's cleaned the IAC. Replaced the cylinder head temperature sensor. I believe he said he's checked for loose wires. Any other thoughts?