Bob LaRosa takes a moment to review a common question he gets. Why does my Harley ignition switch give me trouble?
He admits it’s a trick question because it might not be the ignition switch at all. You’ll have to look at the wiring harness as a whole and the charging system.
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Bob,
ya made ignition switch failure waaaaaaaaay too complicated. if switch has time/miles, like 108,000 miles on my ’01 FLSTC, then it’s probably the switch.
OK, check battery connections first, but then pull the dash, unplug switch wiring, remove switch, take out keeper-ring, & disassemble the switch. chances are you’ll find all kindsa gunk in contact area. take some ever present brake parts cleaner, paper towel, spray down all parts & dry. during re-assemble, put di-electric grease on spring-loaded contact buttons, a little H-D Super Lube on cover hinge, inside lockset, and other metal-to-metal surfaces, re-assemble, bolt back in dash, re-connect wiring, install dash. about 1 hour time.
now test it, & good possibility no more switch issues. not really a rebuild, but a cleanout. save$ $$$ installing new ignition switch.
just saying….
marklewis
Ticket 17099 I have a 2009 Heritage Classic Softtail and I want to attach a mp3/Bluetooth player identified to be for this bike. The wiring diagram has a Positive wire, Negative wire, and an ignition wire. Connecting the Pos and Neg wire no problem. However, I do not know how or where to connect the ignition wire. Please advise. Thank you for your time.
Dear William,
Thank you for contacting us. In regards to your question:
The other wire needs to be “switched power”. You should have an empty grey plug under your seat for switched accessory power.
https://www.fixmyhog.com/video/simplifying-electricity-002170/
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Mark
Fix My Hog Video Membership
I’ve had to replace my ignition switch 2 times in two months 2004 flhtpi 29000 miles on it
Also the acc works perfectly no power when in the ignition position