By Mark DiPietro
Air Filter Service
After installing a “open” performance air cleaner “filter” how often should you change the filter since it’s open to more elements?
Our Friends over at Wimmer Custom Cycles had this to Say:
That of course depends on your riding area and style. Wimmer filters never require oiling, thus they can go much longer without any cleaning. When they do get dirty, simply wash with warm soapy water and reuse.
EFI Mapping and New Exhaust?
I had pretty much given up on buying a new HD and decided to keep my 02 Road Glide and 05 Road King Classic forever. My question has to deal with EFI mapping and new exhaust systems. I have Reinhart Exhausts systems on both of my bikes. If I buy a 2007 Ultra and want to put Rinharts on it, I know it needs to be remapped but is that capability still possible? EFI mapping seems to be so simple. I would like to see info about closed loop systems because I think that is really the way to go.
From Our Friends at DynoJet
You still have the capability to remap your fuel injection on the 07 models even though they have an O2 sensor. To get the full potential out of your bike and the fuel controller that you are using then it is best to override the O2 sensor. The PCIII offers you O2 sensor eliminators which allow you to remove the O2 sensor from the bike completely while still keeping the ECM from triggering a FI light. When you do this, you will have full control over the entire fuel curve range. Although running a closed loop system may sound like the ideal way to go, be careful. Since the entire way the bike runs is based on the O2 sensor reading you need to make sure the O2 sensor is getting a good reading. An intake or exhaust leak will render your fuel curve useless and so will a set of short pipes due to reversion. Also, they do not allow you to map each cylinder individually which can be a substantial performance gain on most applications. Also, what happens if the sensor goes bad, or you get a bad tank of gas? Now the ECM has been rewritten based on incorrect data. When used properly there are some closed loop systems that have the ability to work well. Having your bike put on a dyno and mapped to your exact setup is still the only way to know for sure if your bike is optimized 100%.
Clean Oil Residue
I am in the process of replacing my starter and found it to be somewhat overwhelming. My question is, while the primary cover is off, is there a spray or other product to clean the old oil residue and or contaminants out prior to reassembly? Is it acceptable to use compressed air to blow out any particles? The bike is a 1994 HD Fat Boy.
You can use most any aerosol brake cleaner to clean, whatever you think looks good at a local auto parts store. Yes, using compressed air is great for cleaning thoroughly, just make sure you remember to use safety glasses or goggles.
Chasing Starting Issue
2002 Harley FXDWG: I believe I am getting no spark. Bike just wouldn’t run one morning. No warning. Did the screwdriver in the SP wire and see if there was an arc to the plug and nothing. Have replaced the following thus far. Plugs, wires, coil module and Crank Position Sensor. Starter and battery fine. Starter cranks over but no spark.
After replacing all of those components, the first thing we would suggest is that you use a test light or multimeter & test to see if your coil is being powered correctly.
No Spark on my Wide Glide
Been troubleshooting my Harley Wide Glide having no spark. I’ve done the next step and proven there is power to the ignition coil. Coil, plugs, wires, module, map sensor and crank position sensor all new. Still no spark.
You may have a broken wire or pin/socket connection at the crank position sensor, at the coil, or ignition module plug. Sometimes a wire can break at a pin or socket crimp. Issues like this can be difficult to diagnose without a factory electrical manual and a breakout box. The electrical manual has flow charts that can be followed to isolate the problem.
That makes sense. I actually came to that conclusion this morning as well. One more question. I don’t have Deutsch pin removal tools and usually can get them off with a couple picks. I could not for the life of me figure out how to get the crank sensor pins out of the old connector, so I cut the pins off the new one and cut the connector off the old one, then spliced the two wires together, heat shrinking each wire and wrapping it in electrical tape. Would there be any issues with that? Can I just do a continuity test on the connector to test?
We would not advise hard wiring the sensor like that, but it will work fine as long as the connections are secure. You might want to try covering the wires with some split loom conduit. It can go over the electrical tape.
Brake Squeal
2008 Heritage Classic Softail – front brake squeal problem. After replacing a warped front rotor with a new float HD disc rotor 44358-00A and new HD disc pads the front brakes started to squeal when applying the brakes at low speed. This replacement was done over a year ago. The HD dealership said this was normal and would eventually stop. Unfortunately, even after regular serving as per your videos and HD maintenance manual the brake squeal is still there. Can you please advise what could be the cause of the brake squeal. Thank you.
We recommend beveling the edges of the brake pads. Also, try lightly scuffing your brake pad surfaces with sandpaper. If this does not help with your squeal, you will need to try a new set of brake pads.
Brake Pin Removal
- How do you remove the brake pin with the swing arm in the way? There is no way to get a socket on that pin.
- With the caliper on the rotor, how can the pistons be pushed back into the body? You would need to force a piece of metal between the rotor and the brake pad, therefore possibly scoring or marking the rotor. The HD forums have a post that says to remove the bolt at the rear of the swing arm, and then slide the caliper forward to remove the brake pad pin. Not sure if I want to follow a post from a forum thread in regard to brakes, because I am not sure if the caliper would rotate forward with one bolt removed. Wouldn’t I be putting stress on the banjo bolt assembly? Any insights as to how to perform this, I would appreciate it greatly. Do not want to take it to a dealer—I’m far away (1 hour) and the expense would be, as usual, outrageous. Thanks again for taking the time.
Years and models are different. Refer to your service manual. You can move the caliper forward by loosening/removing bolts #1 and #3. Before doing so, use the box end of a ¼″ wrench to loosen the pad pin. Bend back the brake line retaining clip to free the brake line. As long as you do not let the caliper hang by the line, the banjo assembly will be fine. You can gently pry against the rotor with a non-marring tool to compress the caliper pistons. This is specifically what the Harley Davidson manual tells us to do. However, if you have the caliper removed and, in your hand, remove the pads and pry the pistons back with flange pliers or large retaining ring pliers.
New Battery, No Radio
I replaced the battery on my wife’s 2010 Street Glide. Now the radio won’t come on. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
If you have no power to your radio, check for a blown fuse first.
Missing Wire Insulation
Year: 2013, Model: FLTRU
I have a tech question regarding the throttle position actuator wiring harness connector. The wire harness has rubbed the insulation off of the top wire on the connector and I am wondering if I can just cut and splice two- or three-inch extensions on all six wires to the connector without messing up the continuity of the wires. If I understand this system correctly, it uses a correlation factor to retain five volts across the high and low side of the system, and I need to know if soldering the wires could create too much resistance for this continuity to be interpreted correctly by the ECM. Apparently, the wire harness has to be replaced completely in order to correct this issue to factory specs as there are no connectors between the TCA and the main harness.
If a wire only has insulation missing in an area, we suggest that you pull the corresponding pin from the induction module plug. Repair the damaged area with heat shrink, and re-install pin into the plug. If you feel the need to replace a small length of wire, you should be fine. However, we would not disrupt any (more) wires that are still in good condition.
Twist Grip Issue
I have a Harley-Davidson 2014 Street Glide and it’s showing these codes: P1510 .2122 and 2138. The part # that is giving me is 001217-01. I want to know, what do I need?
P1510 – ETC limited performance mode
P2122 – TGS 1, low/open
P2138 – TGS correlation error.
Basically, the wiring harness for your twist grip sensor is damaged. Likely have a wire shorted to ground. This causes the motorcycle to go into “limp mode”, or limited performance mode.
