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Neutral Indicator not working

Hi All,

I am on the road right now with my '09 Ultra - about 150 miles from a Harley Dealership - and my neutral indicator light has gone out. I verified that the wires are plugged in - but no good. Occassionally when the rear passenger foot pad flops down - the neutral light comes on (as in - it works).

This sounds like a short - and I don't have a multi-meter with me. But I am concerned this might be a symptom of something bad. Any thoughts?
 
Likely not a short or your light would be coming on if any of the wiring was "grounding" out. More likely an open circuit, meaning broken wire path "severed" but close enough to engage when mechanically moved. Interesting that the passenger peg sometimes allows it to work

Locate the neutral safety switch, it is the has a TN wire going to the main harness, into the instrument panel, to the lamp...the hot OR wire goes back thru the harness and to the fuse block ACC fuse. Since the ACC fuse power is common to most of the instrument circuits, I am more inclined to believe the intermittant open is "down low" as your observation that the passenger pad affects it. Do you have a manual to help you troubleshoot, as the switch may be intermittant, or the routing of the TN wire and the plug connection are suspect, as well as know how to use a DMM to trace the wiring? Is this bike under warranty? You may have to test in neutral and gently tap around with an insulated screwdriver handle. Try not to disturb things too much as an intermittant problem though annoying is easier to find in some cases than an out and out failure if done correctly, especially on the road.
 
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Lots of defective neutral light switches on the trans on the 96 bikes with 6 speeds.
Try to see if the engine cranks with the clutch lever NOT pulled in and be ready for it to lurch. If it lurches (starts in gear) the neutral switch is bad. I replaced 3 of them on my 07 RK
 
I have the opposite , the light will not go out , I pulled the switch and cleaned it and it went out and worked normal for awhile then went back to staying on
 
Only replacing the switch with the latest updated suffix will fix the problem. There's been many revisions on the part so there's been many problems with them. Most dealers have a few in stock, that should tell ya something too.:D

What happens is the ball plunger sticks and it could go either way as far as staying lit or not working at all, depending on which position it's stuck in.

Usually shows up more after a wash or ride in heavy rain.
 
Thanks all. We are at a time share resort in Klamath Falls, OR. Nearest dealer is in Medford (about 70 miles away). Rode it to get groceries for the week - everything seems to work just fine (except of course the neutral light indicator does not come on). Bike is under warranty - so only concerned about this being a symptom of a bigger problem that I don't want 400 miles from home.

On the ride down, we did have the ACC switch on most of the way (it was cold and we used the heated seats). First time all summer I have had to turn on the heated seats - so that may be the culprit. I can check the ACC fuse pretty easily. NOTE: the passenger foot peg caused the light to come in neutral only once - it isn't repeatable. Also - I didn't think to turn the heated seats back on (e.g. turn on the ACC switch) as it has warmed up.

Oh - and yes, I always pack the repair manual when I go on longer trips. I didn't bring the electrical manual though.
 
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