Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 Harley-Davidson Flhtcui submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 17 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
I I WAS ON THE FWY AND POWER WENT OFF , WAS ABLE TO RESTART , NOE AT HOME I CAN START THE BIKE BUT POWER SHUTS DOWN WITH IN A COUPLE MINUTES , CAN'T RIDE HAVE CHECKED STATOR,VALTAGE REG IS NEW ? CAN'T FIND THE PROBLUM HEPL
BIKE SHUTS DOWN NO POWER NO LIGHTS EVERYTHING SHUTS DOWN
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON ULTRA CLASSIC FLHTCUI. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 80 MPH ON A HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE EHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 04V134000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). HOWEVER, THE REMEDY FAILED TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 29,000.
QUIT WHILE RIDING, TOTAL LOSS OF POWER. FORCED TO COAST TO SIDE OF ROAD WHILE DEALING WITH TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. EVENT HAS HAPPENED ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. RECALL #0113 WAS ISSUED BY HARLEY DAVIDSON ON APRIL 15, 2004. RECALL HAS BEEN PERFORMED ON THIS VEHICLE. IN ADDITION THE CIRCUIT BREAKER HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE SINCE THE RECALL. TOTAL LOSS OF POWER CONDITION CONTINUES AND HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. JUST HAPPENED AGAIN FRIDAY JULY 12, 2012. CURRENT MILEAGE IS APPROX. 19,000. *TR
TL*. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON FLHTCU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING HE EXPERIENCES UNEXPECTED INTERRUPTION OF ALL ELECTRICAL POWER TO THE MOTORCYCLE. THIS CONDITION CAUSES THE MOTORCYCLE TO STALL, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH. IN 2004 HE HAD HIS VEHICLE REPAIRED ACCORDING TO RECALL# 04V134000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS). AFTER THE REPAIR THE FAILURE RESURFACED.HE HE SPOKE WITH THE MANUFACTURER, IN WHICH A REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE EXCEEDED ITS WARRANTY THEY WOULD NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY. HE IS IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING THE VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,856. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 51,000.
SPEEDOMETER GOES TO ZERO REGARDLESS OF VEHICLE SPEED, ENGINE IDLE CONTROL DEGRADES. PROBLEM SEEM TO BE GREATER DURING HOT WEATHER. HAVE SEEN SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER RIDERS WITH SIMILAR EQUIPMENT. *TR
OCTOBER 14, 2005 I TOOK MY HARLEY DAVIDSON ULTRA CLASSIC INTO BRYAN HD SHOP TO HAVE A SAFETY RECALL COMPLIED WITH. THE SAFETY RECALL IS FOR AN INADVERTENT LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER. HARLEY DAVIDSON RECOMMENDED FIX WAS TO CHANGE OUT A CIRCUIT BREAKER. WHILE RIDING MY BIKE I HAVE EXPERIENCED FOUR OF THESE EVENTS OF WHICH TWO OF THESE EVENTS WOULD HAVE TAKEN MY LIFE HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR GOD SMILING ON ME. I WASN'T SMILING! I DON'T LIKE EXPERIENCING THE EMOTION INVOLVED WITH LOSING MY LIFE TO EQUIPMENT FAILURE. I PURCHASED THIS BIKE FROM A FRIEND. HE DID NOT BOTHER TO TELL ME OF THIS PROBLEM. HE WENT ON TO INFORM THAT HE HAD CHANGED THIS BREAKER OUT TWO OTHER TIMES, ONCE BY HIMSELF AND ONCE BY A DEALER. THE FIRST TIME I TOOK THIS INTO THE DEALER THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE BATTERY CABLES WERE LOSE. WHICH PROVED TO BE FALSE. WHEN THE CIRCUIT BREAKER POPS IT CAN TAKE UP TO 40 MINUTES FOR THE BREAKER TO RESET. DEPENDING ON OUTSIDE AIR TEMPERATURE. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM MAY BE RELATED TO A COMBINATION OF EVENTS; ( OUTSIDE AIR TEMP. COUPLED WITH A MODERATE CURRENT FLOW AND THEN AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM POPS UP FROM POSSIBLY THE FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM. THE OPERATING TEMPERATURE OF THE BIKE COUPLED WITH PREVIOUS MENTIONED ITEMS AND THE CIRCUIT BREAKER DOES ITS REQUIRED JOB AND OPENS. REPLACING THE CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS NOT THE FIX. THERE IS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WITH THE BIKE. I NOTICED THAT THE SEAT WAS HOT EACH TIME AND THE BIKE HAD BEEN AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES. EACH TIME THIS EVENT TAKES PLACE THAT CIRCUIT BREAKER WILL GET WEAKER AND WEAKER. HELP!! *NM
I OWN A HARLEY DAVIDSON 2003 ULTRA CLASSIC FLHTCUI AND EARLY AUGUST I HAD VOLUNTARY RECALL 113 REPLACE 40 AMP WITH 50 AMP CIRCUIT BREAKER. THEN OCTOBER 1ST WAS RIDING THE MOTORCYCLE AND IT MOMENTARILY SHUTDOWN FOR AN ESTIMATED 4-5 SECONDS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. ALL POWER SHUT OFF THEN POWER RETURNED AND MOTOR STARTED AUTOMATICALLY AS I LEFT IT IN GEAR. THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE I WOULD SAY WAS AROUND 70 DEGREES F. HAD NOT BEEN OVERHEATING THE BIKE IE. SITTING IN TRAFFIC VERY LONG. THEN ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER AT A STOP LIGHT (I HAD JUST PULLED UP TO IT) ALL POWER SHUT OFF AND MOTOR STOPPED. AFTER PULLING IT OUT OF TRAFFIC AND A FEW MINUTES LATER IT STARTED AGAIN, BREAKER RESET AUTOMATICALLY AS IT IS SUPPOSED TO. I HAD ONLY BEEN USING A FEW ACCESSORIES AND AFTER THAT I USED NO ACCESSORIES AND HAD NO FURTHER PROBLEMS. OTHER HISTORY IS I HAD THE 15AMP ACCESSORY FUSE BLOW TWICE BEFORE IN THE LAST YEAR VERY INTERMITTENTLY. AFTER THE MAIN BREAKER INCIDENT I LOOKED AT MOST WIRING AND FOUND WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE THE FAULT THAT THE HORN POWER WIRE WAS CHAFED THROUGH ON THE UPPER MOUNT BRACKET. I REPAIRED AND HAS NOT BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE. I HAVE ALSO BYPASSED THE HARLEY 50 AMP MAIN BREAKER AND MOUNTED IN PLACE A MAXI FUSE HOLDER WITH A 50A MP FUSE, SINCE THE BREAKER WAS NOT DEPENDABLE. *JB
I OWN A HARLEY DAVIDSON ELECTRA GLIDE MODEL MOTORCYCLE. I HAVE HAD INTERMITTENT USABILITY OF THE HORN. RANGING FROM WORKING AS EXPECTED TO BARELY NOT WORKING AT ALL. HAS BEEN THIS WAY SINCE I BOUGHT THE MOTORCYCLE. PLUS HAVE HEARD MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THIS MODEL WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS.*JB
I HAVE A 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON ULTRA CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE THAT WILL SHUT COMPLETELY OFF WHILE DRIVING. THIS HAS CAUSED SOME TENSE MOMENTS BECAUSE I HAD TO COAST TO A STOP NEAR THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. ALL ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS ARE OFF INCLUDING THE ENGINE. THIS HAS HAPPENED SHORTLY AFTER SITTING IN TRAFFIC AT A RED LIGHT. A RECALL WAS COMPLETED BY THE DEALER LAST YEAR TO UPGRADE THE CIRCUIT BREAKER. *JB
2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON FLHTCUI DEVELOPED PROBLEMS WITH STALLING AND LOSS OF ALL POWER.*MR PRIOR TO HAVE THE RECALL WORK DONE THE CONSUMER'S MOTORCYCLE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH STALLING. SINCE HAVING THE CIRCUIT BREAKER REPLACED THE VEHICLE STALLS AND LOSES POWER. THE RECALL WAS ON THE 40 AMP MAIN CIRCUIT BREAKER WHICH COULD OPEN FOR REASONS OTHER THAN WHICH IT WAS DESIGNED. *NM
RECEIVED WARRANTY RECALL LETTER IN APRIL 04. BIKE WAS SERVICED @ DEALER(TWIN CITIES HD, LAKEVILLE, MN) ON 5/11/05 ODOM. @ 2213, I ALSO REPORTED THIS TO HD CUSTOMER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE (REFERENCE SERVICE #297379). ON 6/05/05 I HAD THE 10,000 MILE CHECK COMPLETED @ THE DEALER (TWIN CITIES HD, LAKEVILLE, MN) PER MFG RECOMMENDATIONS. ON JUNE 12TH, 2005 WHILE RIDING THE BIKE I HAD COMPLETE POWER FAILURE AND WAS ABLE TO PULL TO SIDE OF ROAD, ODOM. @10,800. BIKE RESTARTED AFTER A FEW MINUTES. I CALLED DEALER (TWIN CITIES HD) AND MADE APPOINTMENT FOR SERVICE. DEALER COMPLETED SERVICE ON 6/16/05 STATING THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM , THEY CHARGED ME $63 TO GET MY BIKE BACK. ON JULY 17TH, 2005 I HAD A COMPLETE POWER FAILURE AGAIN WHILE RIDING WITH MY SPOUSE, I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO SIDE OF ROAD. BIKE RESTARTED AFTER A FEW MINUTES. I IMMEDIATELY DROVE TO THE DEALER AND ASKED FOR THEM TO SERVICE THE BIKE FOR THIS FAILURE. THE BIKE IS IN THE SHOP 3 DAYS NOW, THEY HAVE TEST DROVE IT AND SAID THEY CAN NOT FIX THE PROBLEM "BECAUSE IT IS A GHOST" I AGAIN REPORTED THE ISSUE TO HD CUSTOMER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE, THEY STATED THEY WOULD CALL DEALER AND HELP THEM SOLVE PROBLEM, THIS HAS NOT OCCURRED PER THE DEALER SERVICE MANAGER. *NM
RECEIVED RECALL 04V134000 CONCERNING CIRCUIT BREAKERS. CONSUMER RECEIVED NOTIFICATION FROM THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT THIS RECALL. CONSUMER SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE VEHICLE SERVICED . CONSUMER WAS FATALITY INJURED ON MAY 16,2004 WHILE RIDING THE MOTORCYCLE PRIOR TO HAVING RECALL REPAIRS. INFORMATION WAS FURNISHED BY OWNER'S SISTER NAMED ABOVE. *AK *NM
I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR MY 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON ULTRA-GLIDE REGARDING THE NEED TO REPLACE A 40 AMP CIRCUIT BREAKER ON MY MOTORCYCLE DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF IT CEASING TO FUNCTION WITHOUT NOTICE. THE LETTER I RECEIVED STATED THAT HARLEY DAVIDSON SHOULD HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE AT THE CLOSEST DEALERSHIP BY NO LATER THAN THE WEEK OF 26 APRIL 04. AS OF THIS DATE, 8 JUNE 04, THE PARTS AT THE TWO DEALERSHIPS THAT I HAVE CONTACTED TO HAVE THIS REPAIR MADE HAVE EITHER NOT ARRIVED AT ALL OR WERE NOT SENT IN SUFFICIENT QUALITY TO ALLOW ME TO HAVE MY MOTORCYCLE REPAIRED. AS PER THE LETTER SENT TO ME, I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT BECAUSE I DO NOT FEEL THAT HARLEY-DAVIDSON HAS REMEDIED THIS PROBLEM WITH MY MOTORCYCLE WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME. *AK
25 MAY, 2004 I WAS NOTIFIED OF THIS RECALL FOR MY 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON FLHTCUI IN MID APRIL. I CALLED MY DEALERSHIP, PETERSON'S HD OF MIAMI, AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE THE PART AND THAT THEY WOULD CALL ME WHEN IT WAS AVAILABLE. THEY REPEATED THIS STATEMENT THE NEXT TIME I CALLED THEM. THEY ALSO TOLD ME THAT THE RECALL WOULD NOT AFFECT MY BIKE BECAUSE IT DID NOT HAVE A BUNCH OF ELECTRICAL ACCESSORIES. I HAVE THREE ADDITIONAL REAR SPOILER LIGHTS AND FRONT XENON AND TWO HALOGEN BULBS THEY TOLD ME THAT THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH POWER TO CAUSE THE CIRCUIT BREAKER TO SHUT OFF THE BIKE. THIS MORNING, WHILE ENTERING A HIGHWAY, THE BIKE SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. BECAUSE I WAS ENTERING, I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE AND TURN OFF THE BIKE, AND TRY TO POWER UP THE BIKE (IT TOOK A COUPLE OF MINUTES BEFORE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM RESPONDED AND CAME ON). AT THE TIME OF THE CIRCUIT BREAKER INTERRUPT, I HAD MY HALOGEN PASSING LIGHTS AND THE STEREO ON. SINCE THEN, I HAVE BEEN RIDING WITHOUT THE PASSING LAMPS ON AND WITH THE RADIO OFF.+ WHEN I CALLED MY DEALER TODAY, I WAS NOW TOLD THAT THEY WOULD ORDER THE RECALL PARTS FOR ME INDIVIDUALLY AND WOULD CONTACT ME WHEN IT CAME IN, WITHOUT AN EXPECTED DELIVERY DATE. I CALLED HARLEY DAVIDSON HEADQUARTERS AND THEY WERE NOT HELPFUL EITHER AND SIMPLY TOLD ME NOT TO RIDE THE BIKE. I REPORT THIS INCIDENT WHERE MY BIKE SHUT DOWN, I HAVE NOTIFIED HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THEY WERE NOT SUPPORTIVE AT ALL. I WILL PARK MY BIKE TODAY UNTIL I CAN GET THE RECALL SERVICED BY HARLEY DAVIDSON WHO IS TAKING THEIR TIME. WHAT IS TROUBLING, IS THAT HARLEY DAVIDSON, WHO IS BENEFITING FROM RECORD REVENUES, MARKETS THEIR PRODUCT AS RELIABLE. THEN WHEN THEY HAVE A MANUFACTURING DESIGN FLAW THAT IS VERY UNSAFE, THEY DRAG BUTT IN PROVIDING DUE RESPONSE AND SUPPORT. NOW I HAVE A $23,000 DISPLAY ITEM THAT CAN'T BE RIDDEN BECAUSE IT HAS A SAFETY DEFECT. *NM
ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WITH A 2003 HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE THAT CAUSED A CRASH. *AK
2003 HARLEY FLHTC-UI EXPERIENED A COMEPLETE SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH.*MR (NAR) THE MOTORCYCLE WAS TAKEN TO A REPAIR FACILITY WHERE THEY INSTALLED A 40 AMP MAXI FUSE
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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