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2004 Sportster 1200 electrical problems

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mhatwig

New Member
I'm a novice on here but sure need help. My 2004 sportster 1200 custom was running great, stopped to gas up and then nothing, no lights, no nothing, totally dead and unresponsive. Got the trailer to haul it home and when I got back it fired right up, which makes me think the problem may be heat related. Has anybody encountered this and are there any suggestions? Is there maybe a relay gone bad? I'm stuck with this one. New battery and fairly new starter so I'm sure thats not the problem.
 
Possible insecure or corroded/dirty connection for one of the battery cables remove the 2 cables from the bike clean both ends of the 2 cables and their mount points and refit to the bike

Brian
 
Like fin_676 has stated, always start with the most common things first. Usually if a component fails do to heat it would have shut down while riding it...
 
Totally dead means no primary power from the battery, check the main cables and ground connections first, next check main 35A fuse, inspect all the connections for signs of discoloration or corrosion. Since you said the instrument cluster, headlights and turn signals are totally dead, the primary wiring (the thick wires) and battery terminals are suspect.

I have had a bad battery cause the problem...check the terminal to center threaded nut insert...I actually had an open connection there...with exactly the symptoms you have...so a through inspection is key. :D
 
Ok, thanks very much for the replies. I checked and cleaned battery connections, bike starts, but then it started after it sat for 30 minutes the other night when it died. I'm curious what would have caused it to just go totally dead, but then wait 30 minutes and its just fine.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What was the condition of the cables? Is the battery showing full charge-12.7V?
 
Thanks to all. The general consensus is that the problem centers around the battery. I will double and triple check every connection and the charging system. My problem is that I may be trying to apply automotive logic to a different beast.
Thanks again.
 
mhatwig said:
Thanks to all. The general consensus is that the problem centers around the battery. I will double and triple check every connection and the charging system. My problem is that I may be trying to apply automotive logic to a different beast.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Remove battery and bench test battery...
 
mhatwig said:
Thanks to all. The general consensus is that the problem centers around the battery. I will double and triple check every connection and the charging system. My problem is that I may be trying to apply automotive logic to a different beast.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Automotive logic will work here, Always start at the source and work out through one system at a time and you will find your electrical problem, heat causes funny things with electrical connections, and resistance, most often a weak and poorly connected battery will cause such a problem. Fully charged before load testing battery should read 12.7 volts OOPPPS, The source is the BATTERY
 
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