2003 Road King, Trouble Starting

[PUNKYOU007]

First off I want to say that I am posting this for my father.

He rides a 2003 Road King Classic. He recently had the motor built some from a 1450cc to a 1550cc and it has ran great. About two weeks ago he had HD (who does most his work for him) install some new plug wires. Shortly after that he would have trouble starting the bike. He would have to hit the switch 2-4 times before it would start. Thinking it may be because of the recent motor work and because he was getting one anyway, he had an HD tech that he knows install a high torque starter, I am unsure of the brand.

This didn't help anything, didn't hurt either. At this point he took the bike back to HD and had them look at it. HD said it sounds like the Crank Position Sensor. So him and a couple of his buddies checked that out....didn't help.

Proceed to check the coil and that turned out fine. And since my father has had troubles with plug wires in the past I suggested the check them out. Swapped them with some that were on another bike and still had the same problem.


So I am here to ask if any of you have experienced anything like this? Any suggestions? If you need any more info please feel free to ask, I am not into motorcycles myself and dont know a great deal about them but like all the things I am into when I need help I know the best place to go is the forums, way too much knowledge to pass up.

I apologize for the length of this post too, lol.
Edit/Delete Message

 

[glider]

First off you have to be a bit more specific when you say it doesn't start. Does it crank properly without hesitation and just not fire or something else like hesitate in cranking or not crank at all or even sporadic cranking.

 

[PUNKYOU007]

Yes I'm sorry it does crank just fine...It just turns over a few times then he will get off the start button for a sec and have to try again. Some times it starts right up like it should but some times it takes 2-4 pushes of the start button before it actually fires.

 

[glider]

It just turns over a few times then he will get off the start button for a sec and have to try again.

What would happen if he didn't get off the start button, would it fire up and run?
Remember these are harleys and not a precision piece of equipment.

How often does it do this? Is it only on occasion, 20% of the time,50% of the time or more.

 

[Hoople]

HD said it sounds like the Crank Position Sensor. So him and a couple of his buddies checked that out....didn't help.

Proceed to check the coil and that turned out fine.

Check for any codes first.
The Crank sensor certainly can be an issue. "Checked it out" means very little. How was it checked out. Same with the coil. It requires very special equipment to bench test a coil. Direct substitution is almost always required. Ohm meter readings regarding Crank sensors or coils is almost meaningless. Meter readings can only tell you if they are FLAT bad. Good meter readings does not mean the part is Good.

 

[PUNKYOU007]

If he holds the start button down and keeps it down the bike just keeps turning over and back fires. 75% of the time he has to press start more than once before it actually starts.

This is a recent thing too, this had just started in the past two weeks.

 

[PUNKYOU007]

Check for any codes first.
The Crank sensor certainly can be an issue. "Checked it out" means very little. How was it checked out. Same with the coil. It requires very special equipment to bench test a coil. Direct substitution is almost always required. Ohm meter readings regarding Crank sensors or coils is almost meaningless. Meter reading can only tell you if they are FLAT bad. Good meter readings does not mean the part is Good.

Coil was replaced with a another coil, wires were replaced with another set from a similar bike and another CPS was installed.

 

[glider]

From what you have posted it narrows it down just a bit.

You replaced the plug wires but have you verified resistance in them and also that the plugs and plug tips where the wires snap on to are tight and the plugs are proper, fresh and gaped right.
I would be looking for a loose connection or possibly a poor ground somewhere in the system.

Also what has changed in the past 2 weeks when this problem started? More than one fuel up and no water in the tank? Did the problem start after a fuel up? Has any fresh fuel been added since last fuelup?

 

[PUNKYOU007]

From what you have posted it narrows it down a bit.

You replaced the plug wires but have you verified resistance in them and also that the plugs and plug tips where the wires snap on to are tight and the plugs are proper, fresh and gaped right.
I would be looking for a loose connection or possibly a poor ground somewhere in the system.

I will ask, I didn't actually do any of the work. I am just posting for my pops. He had an HD tech do the work at his house. Certainly could be a loose wire. With all the work that has been done to it lately. Me and my dad also put some new handle bars on it last week and had to put new brake lines and clutch cable since the old ones were way to short.

 

[glider]

He had an HD tech do the work at his house. Certainly could be a loose wire. With all the work that has been done to it lately. Me and my dad also put some new handle bars on it last week and had to put new brake lines and clutch cable since the old ones were way to short.

Recheck the switch housings, possible you pinched a wire there.

You also may want to get it running and do a wiggle test on the injector wires right near the plug where they join the injector and see if the engine stumbles, There was a problem with these in the earlier years like yours.