biscuit
Junior Member
Here’s an issue that may help someone someday.
Out for a ride yesterday with two of my brothers: no problems whatsoever. Had a 10 minute stop and when the Fatboy went to get started there was nothing. Absolutely nothing! Electrically dead.
No display of any kind on the speedo ( except for the red “armed” icon); no lights; no horn. The security FOB wasn’t recognised by the bike.
No electrical power at all.
We thought battery gone or main fuse.
With no voltmeter on hand, we checked the main fuse first. Not blown: but with no way to disarm the security, off it went. And kept on going through all its cycles until it reset.
As mentioned, the bike didn’t recognise the FOB and with no display on the speedo we couldn’t put the pin in. We, and everybody else at the cafe just had to endure. While this was screaming in our ears, we took the “opportunity “ to pull every other fuse on the bike. All good.
Checked the battery terminals- good and tight. We swapped FOB batteries- mine for his. Just in case,but futile. Time to ring for roadside assist.
The Roadside assist guy checked Volts (12.8 which is tops); continuity of battery cables and fuses ( even though we’d pulled them); and did a battery condition test. All ok.
He also managed to set the alarm off again by removing and retightening the negative terminal. Another noisy cycle.
My Brother was talking to the local dealer 80 klms away in Brisbane -whilst we were making ourselves unpopular- and who was giving him suggestions. All of which we’d done and none of which worked.
Still with an electrically dead, armed bike that we couldn’t disarm or turn off when it went off. But at least the bike battery wasn’t flat!
The alarm’s power supply quite impressed me. It eventually powered 4 or 5 complete cycles without running down. One good learning.
My brother rang the dealer again to say we were at the point of a Tilt Tray truck and the guy gave him a very vague tidbit he’d heard - somewhere, and long ago- of a faulty Ignition switch. Didn’t know; never seen it; never experienced it: and anyway yours worked today with 6 previous starts.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained: so very carefully I removed the console and turned it over. The 3 pronged clip connector came out with a slight struggle and we didn’t upset the alarm.
The “power in” wire contact from the main fuse or the solenoid or wherever it originated from had a very small amount of verdigris on it and the other two were sort of dusty. Looked a non issue.
We cleaned them with contact cleaner and scraped and swiped them as clean as we could get, put it all back together and turned on the switch.
And we got a display in the speedo! Almost anticlimactic.
The FOB still didn’t work, but we manually put the pin in and up she fired! Then my brother turned it off with the kill switch.Which set the alarm off again until we re-did entire the pin process.
I’m guessing the FOB has to reset or make friends again or do some form of black magic before it does it job.
This had ALL the hallmarks of a completely discharged battery, or a “just now failed” battery. Or a blown fuse or a bad battery connection or open circuit wires somewhere. The FOB wouldn’t work remotely and with no display, no pin can be entered. You are stranded. Unless you get access to a voltmeter as we did which proved a good battery and sent us to look elsewhere.
So if you get stuck with no power anywhere on the bike, try looking at the ignition switch as well. Not just the usual stuff.
It might make your day.
Sorry for the novella, but the more you know, the (hopefully) better off you may be one day.
Out for a ride yesterday with two of my brothers: no problems whatsoever. Had a 10 minute stop and when the Fatboy went to get started there was nothing. Absolutely nothing! Electrically dead.
No display of any kind on the speedo ( except for the red “armed” icon); no lights; no horn. The security FOB wasn’t recognised by the bike.
No electrical power at all.
We thought battery gone or main fuse.
With no voltmeter on hand, we checked the main fuse first. Not blown: but with no way to disarm the security, off it went. And kept on going through all its cycles until it reset.
As mentioned, the bike didn’t recognise the FOB and with no display on the speedo we couldn’t put the pin in. We, and everybody else at the cafe just had to endure. While this was screaming in our ears, we took the “opportunity “ to pull every other fuse on the bike. All good.
Checked the battery terminals- good and tight. We swapped FOB batteries- mine for his. Just in case,but futile. Time to ring for roadside assist.
The Roadside assist guy checked Volts (12.8 which is tops); continuity of battery cables and fuses ( even though we’d pulled them); and did a battery condition test. All ok.
He also managed to set the alarm off again by removing and retightening the negative terminal. Another noisy cycle.
My Brother was talking to the local dealer 80 klms away in Brisbane -whilst we were making ourselves unpopular- and who was giving him suggestions. All of which we’d done and none of which worked.
Still with an electrically dead, armed bike that we couldn’t disarm or turn off when it went off. But at least the bike battery wasn’t flat!
The alarm’s power supply quite impressed me. It eventually powered 4 or 5 complete cycles without running down. One good learning.
My brother rang the dealer again to say we were at the point of a Tilt Tray truck and the guy gave him a very vague tidbit he’d heard - somewhere, and long ago- of a faulty Ignition switch. Didn’t know; never seen it; never experienced it: and anyway yours worked today with 6 previous starts.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained: so very carefully I removed the console and turned it over. The 3 pronged clip connector came out with a slight struggle and we didn’t upset the alarm.
The “power in” wire contact from the main fuse or the solenoid or wherever it originated from had a very small amount of verdigris on it and the other two were sort of dusty. Looked a non issue.
We cleaned them with contact cleaner and scraped and swiped them as clean as we could get, put it all back together and turned on the switch.
And we got a display in the speedo! Almost anticlimactic.
The FOB still didn’t work, but we manually put the pin in and up she fired! Then my brother turned it off with the kill switch.Which set the alarm off again until we re-did entire the pin process.
I’m guessing the FOB has to reset or make friends again or do some form of black magic before it does it job.
This had ALL the hallmarks of a completely discharged battery, or a “just now failed” battery. Or a blown fuse or a bad battery connection or open circuit wires somewhere. The FOB wouldn’t work remotely and with no display, no pin can be entered. You are stranded. Unless you get access to a voltmeter as we did which proved a good battery and sent us to look elsewhere.
So if you get stuck with no power anywhere on the bike, try looking at the ignition switch as well. Not just the usual stuff.
It might make your day.
Sorry for the novella, but the more you know, the (hopefully) better off you may be one day.
