[Glenn]

1998 flht with standard radio has got me really confused. for about two months now the radio and all functions works fine untill i turn the bike off via the ignition switch. when i restart the bike the raido will not come back on unless i remove the fuse and reinsert it. there are actually two fuses, a 10 amp for power and a 15 amp for memory. i can remove either and reinsert and the raido will work fine untill i turn the ignition switch off and then i have to start the entire process over again. have checked all connections from power blocks to raido as well as all harness connections. any ideas please. thanks glenn.

[Red Rider]

I'd make dang certain that the radio itself is properly grounded. Check that, and I'll check my service manual (since mine actually covers yours, too, even though I'm on a King with no radio) and see if it gives me any clues.

[Red Rider]

OK, about 90% a ground problem. Likely is the radio's wiring to ground, but it could be the battery itself is not grounded clean. The 10% is that the radio's switch or power supply may be failing, but that is a reach by normal standards. So check for (1) radio being grounded clean (2); battery being grounded (negative (-) clean ground to frame. Feel free to use some electronics spray cleaner on your connections, too. Good luck! And let us know how it works out.

[Glenn]

ok ive checked every ground on the bike and all are clean and tight. went thru the same steps. removed the power and memory fuses, reinserted them and the radio came on and all functions worked perfect. turned the ignition off and then back on and the radio wouldnt come back on untill i went thru the ritual. this is really starting to make me mad. but thanks for the reply. glenn

[Red Rider]

What seems to be happening is that the radio is getting a capacitive charge that is screwing it up, and it is being "released" from that when you pull the fuses and it discharges. So if it is not a ground problem, it seems like it must be the radio itself. But I'd be surprised if you had a semiconductor on/off switch, which is the most susceptible to that kind of problem.

Hey, wait a minute - are you not using your "Engine" kill switch to stop the engine BEFORE turning the ignition off?

[chucktx]

hmmmmmm i dont hardly ever use my kill switch to stop the engine.........i didnt see in the manual where it should be used.......something i am missing?????...............................

[Red Rider]

The kill switch & the ignition switch work in different ways, so it is a good troubleshooting point. And if using the kill switch does not cause the same symptoms, that would be a good thing. We could then move this online troubleshooting along.

I'm thinking that since the engine kill switch only disconnects the engine/ignition module power (not accessory power), using it before turning the multi-function key ignition switch would allow the system to bleed any capacitive electrical charge off. Bike ground is not like a house ground.

[Art_NJr]

I was gonna comment on the kill switch deal, but since I don't have a radio I didn't know if that would be the issue or not. But yes, you are supposed to use it & other electronics like the speedo can mess up if you don't.

Off/Run switch should be in the Off position before starting - turn the key, flip the switch to Run, then start. When shutting down, just the opposite - Run/Off switch to Off, then turn the key off.

[Red Rider]

Yep, and the real bottom line is if the radio works fine when you use the kill switch before turning the ignition off, well - use the friggin' kill switch!

I had the speedo issue before I regularly used the kill switch. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn't. Wasn't an ALWAYS thing, but now that I use the kill switch I never have that problem anymore. And that is a good thing! Like to know how fast I'm going.....comes in handy in those school zones, amongst others...

[skull2007]

i never use the kill swich, should i? have always wondered why its there. would you guys please explain what purpose it serves

[chucktx]

as i understand it, it was installed to kill the engine incase of a stuck throttle, or some other emergency that may arrise needing imediate engine stop............

[Red Rider]

We'll need an expert on this, but I can't see it as an emergency stop switch. Has anyone ever used it for that? Not like ya run a cable to it from your body, like an outboard or jetski. I've been in a few bike emergencies (including last month) and that switch wasn't exactly convenient at the time - it was buried in the ground that last time - and the tank switch was always the easiest to get to quick then (after I crawled back to the bike, that is). But its use has cured my speedo non-op problem, as Art_Njr described.

[chucktx]

i have seen riders at rodeos using the throttle lock/lever and started falling over, grab the clutch and hit the switch...........

[Art_NJr]

We'll need an expert on this, but I can't see it as an emergency stop switch. Has anyone ever used it for that? Not like ya run a cable to it from your body, like an outboard or jetski.

I wouldn't call myself an expert on H-D electrical systems, but I believe you already answered your own question, Red Rider:

I'm thinking that since the engine kill switch only disconnects the engine/ignition module power (not accessory power), using it before turning the multi-function key ignition switch would allow the system to bleed any capacitive electrical charge off. Bike ground is not like a house ground.

That's all the Stop/Run switch does - either allow power to go to the engine's ignition system or not. With the key in the On position & the Stop/Run switch to off, everything else electrical on the bike should still work - lights, horn, et al. And as you said, the switch is not in the most convenient place for an emergency - you'd have to train yourself to hit it instinctively.

And as you found out (& I did the hard way), if you turn the key on with the switch in the Run position & start immediately, the speedo doesn't have time to go thru it's little diagnostic routine & will read incorrectly. Only have to wait a couple seconds after turning the key, but if the switch is in the Off position, you turn the key on, then switch to Run, then start, you give the speedo enough time to do it's check & be set to go. I don't know what the diagnostic routine is, but I do know that the speedo has to go thru it to work right.