Trike Won't Start??

[BinIdaho]

....and turn signals, brake lights, horn and reverse motor went out again (2nd time in a month)! All fuses show ok. Last month coming home from Carson City the above lights went out....fuse blew. Changed fuse and been running ok since...until now. Filled gas tank Thursday, rode about 100 miles and gas gauge showed 1/2 tank. Low fuel light came on Saturday, made it home and looked in the gas tank...empty!! Put a gallon of gas in tank, fuel pump light on, pump not running...no start? If loose/shorted wiring, wouldn't it "blow a fuse"? Haven't checked under seat....are there other fuses I don't know about.

Do I need to add more gas....or wait till tomorrow until shop opens and have trike towed? Any suggestions would be helpful.

I have 2009 HD Tri-Glide w/33K miles.

[msocko3]

Just for kicks try pulling the 40 amp maxi fuse and waiting about a minute before plugging it back in, its worth a try. I'm betting wire is broke or something has gone to ground, could be the ignition switch which I've been told can make some strange stuff happen.

[BinIdaho]

Mike,

Put in 1-1/2 gal gas which filled to the neck....gas gauge shows full. Only have 9-10v on gauge (normally 14.3)...fuel/oil pumps and start engine may not be enough volts. Could be battery? But wouldn't all lights be out. Is the 40 amp maxi fuse located with other fuses? There are 3 larger black ones that we switched around yesterday thinking one may be bad...no luck. Will have towed to indy shop tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's input.

Just for kicks try pulling the 40 amp maxi fuse and waiting about a minute before plugging it back in, its worth a try. I'm betting wire is broke or something has gone to ground, could be the ignition switch which I've been told can make some strange stuff happen.

[Peter A.]

Please keep us updated on your troubles - would like to know what caused the prob, tks, Pete

[HDHoggly]

low voltage? has the voltage regulator been replaced? low voltage can cause the turn signal module to act erratically

[msocko3]

Mike,

Put in 1-1/2 gal gas which filled to the neck....gas gauge shows full. Only have 9-10v on gauge (normally 14.3)...fuel/oil pumps and start engine may not be enough volts. Could be battery? But wouldn't all lights be out. Is the 40 amp maxi fuse located with other fuses? There are 3 larger black ones that we switched around yesterday thinking one may be bad...no luck. Will have towed to indy shop tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's input.

The maxi fuse is to the right of the fuse block, its quite large and red. You can see it in this picture, it says 40 on the end of it. I hope its a quick and easy fix, please keep us informed.

[americanbadass]

Sorry to hear your woows Barb! Don't rule out the battery- I have seen them go junk in just a few years-due to heat and cold extremes etc. If you are not showing real close to 13.5 volts or slightly higer, it will not start. A junk battery is my guess for sure based on what you have said.

[rhino 2]

Any thing under 12.5 V replace the battery Or at least fully charge it, start the engine stop it then check it if it doesn't read minimum 12.7 It's new battery time.

[BinIdaho]

Ah, thanks for the photo Mike....did check that yesterday...now I know what that fuse is called.
Motor won't crack....just an errrrrrrrrr (that's the best sound I can do).

The maxi fuse is to the right of the fuse block, its quite large and red. You can see it in this picture, it says 40 on the end of it. I hope its a quick and easy fix, please keep us informed.

[Mr.Wizard]

Barb... don't you have a PCV?

Reason I ask... the ECM connector was down rated from a D5 to a D3 by Delphi. That means after three removals of the connector it may not work properly and show low bad connections. Not saying this is your problem but I've seen some pretty silly stuff like this happen.

[Ol' Grey]

Any thing under 12.5 V replace the battery Or at least fully charge it, start the engine stop it then check it if it doesn't read minimum 12.7 It's new battery time.

Leaning towards this one as well. If you were to set a multi-meter on 20 VDC and touch the multi-meter leads directly to the corresponding battery terminals with key "Off", a reading of 12.5V-12.7V would be good........12.7V being ideal.

Turning the key to the "On" position, which also turns on the lights, but not hitting starter button yet, the reading would drop by a couple/few decimal points but the reading shouldn't drop below 12V. From your dash gauge, you're seeing 9V-10V, which means that the battery is suspect. You could have enough juice to power the lights, but not enough juice for fire-up.

Batteries can go south on their own, but HDHoggly brings up a good point also. Have been reading about the recall on the voltage regulators and am guessing that your model year would be included in that recall. If you haven't changed out the voltage regulator, it could be a contributing factor to a faulty battery. If you've up-graded the voltage regulator, then it might simply be a bad battery.

If it's something more hi-tech, then there's folks here who've got those bases covered for you.........

Good luck and Ride Safe

[BlueTrinity]

I've been preaching this battery sermon for years.

If a battery on a Harley is two years or more old REPLACE IT!

Yes, I know there are folks out there that are proud of the four...five years they've got on the battery, but the risk is not worth it.


When the battery on a Harley is dead (and often- even weak) so are your chances of getting it running.


Unlike an automobile (and perhaps some other brands of bikes) your Harley operates only on electrical power directly from the battery. The alternator is there solely to replace (recharge) the current the bike is withdrawing from the battery.


If the battery is dead, the bike will not run - plain and simple. And if it's on its last leg and not retaining full power from the alternator, the bike will do some very strange things because of the decreased voltage available to the bike.

[BinIdaho]

Good point Blue.....battery 4 years old.

I've been preaching this battery sermon for years.

If a battery on a Harley is two years or more old REPLACE IT!

Yes, I know there are folks out there that are proud of the four...five years they've got on the battery, but the risk is not worth it.


When the battery on a Harley is dead (and often- even weak) so are your chances of getting it running.


Unlike an automobile (and perhaps some other brands of bikes) your Harley operates only on electrical power directly from the battery. The alternator is there solely to replace (recharge) the current the bike is withdrawing from the battery.


If the battery is dead, the bike will not run - plain and simple. And if it's on its last leg and not retaining full power from the alternator, the bike will do some very strange things because of the decreased voltage available to the bike.

[Papa Zook]

Good point Blue.....battery 4 years old.

I agree! I just put a brand new Honda brand battery (Yuasa) in a trike. The battery was purchased at the local Honda dealership and we put a full, slow overnight charge in it. The trike was still doing weird things and just not cranking. I checked the fuses and even replaced the starter relay. It turned out to be another bad battery, yep it was brand new. Id say stick a new battery in her.

[kimber45]

The "errrrrr" sounds like the batery. I just replaced mine before it sounded like that.

[BinIdaho]

Local HD shop picking up trike tomorrow morning....hopefully they can find the problem. And, will ask for new battery to be installed. Thanks everyone...definitely am listening to good advice!

[screwball]

Barbara, Kinda convinced me when you said all you heard was a buzzing when you hit the start button. Sounded like Solenoid rattling because it didn't have enough voltage to hold. Very classic symptom of a dying battery. I also have an '09 trike, and in the So Cal heat batteries usually don't last 4 years. I changed mine late last year.... same 'buzzing/rattling' sound you described.

Good Luck!

[Oldmsocko]

I have found in my life time that you cannot perdict how long a battery will last. M3 had the one in his 06 Ultra go in one year. I still have the original battery in my 09 TG. I will replace it this winter. The only thing I do is when not riding it is on a battery tender,

[eagle1]

this is why i installed a remote starter under the r/h side cover.
i have to put the bike in neutral, and hook up the power wire.
see the convient hole in the frame . nice

[eagle1]

i'll try again.maybe it got lost in ciber-world.i installed a remote starter under r/h side cover of '09 t/g . i do have to hook up the hot wire.
see the convient hole that the switch fits in.