20 Most Recent 1993 Harley Davidson XLH Sportster 883 - Page 9 Questions & Answers

How old is your battery? If it's over two years old, you need to take it somewhere and have it "load tested". Most automotive parts stores will have the equipment to do this with and it's usually a free test. If the battery test alright, you need to charge the battery up to full charge.

Once the battery is fully charged, you can check your charging system on your bike. To do this, you need a VOM (Volt Ohm Meter) Connect the red meter lead to the positive post and the black meter lead to the negative post of your battery. Put the meter's function selector switch in DC VOLTS, 50 VOLT RANGE. Start the engine and bring it to a high idle speed. Your meter should read 14.5 to 15.0 volts.

If it doesn't, you need to check the output of your alternator. Follow the two wires that come out of the bottom of the voltage regulator and go around behind the rear cylinder of your Sportster engine. You'll see a plug inline somewhere. Unplug it. Look inside the plug end coming out of the engine and you'll see two metal connectors inside the rubber plug. This is where we are going to connect our meter leads. Put one meter lead into each metal connector without allowing the leads to touch each other down inside the plug. Put the meter's function switch in AC VOLTS, 50 RANGE. Since we are measuring AC volts here. it makes no difference which meter lead goes where in the plug. Start the engine and again bring it to a high idle. Your meter should read at least 25 volts AC. If not, you need to replace the stator in your alternator inside the engine. If you read 25 volts or greater at the alternator but less voltage at the battery, you need to replace you voltage regulator.

Good Luck
Steve

remove the pins,retract caliper and it should slide off.

Check the bulbs on the left side. Look when they should be flashing and one will be not on.

If you've swapped the wire and the plug and it still won't fire, check the compression. You need a minimum of about 75 psi for the cylinder to fire. It should be up about 100-120 psi. If you have the compression and fire, then the only thing left is fuel. You've probably got a vacuum leak at the intake to head junction. Replace the intake gaskets and the carb seal where the carb plugges into the intake.

Good Luck
Steve

Check for a good spark and ensure there is fuel. There is not a lot else I can suggest without one or the other missing.
Hope you find it quickly and ask again if one of the suggestions is missing.

This is a difficult problem to give suggestions about because there can be so many different problems. And, I can't see the engine. About the only thing I can tell you to check for is to make sure that your carms are all seated to their full depth in the engine case. I usually lean the engine over on it's left side to do this job. Make sure that the cams are not sitting one the top of the "dog bones" that go between the 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 cams. You can use a flat piece of metal laid across the ends of the cams to make sure they're all completely down into their bushings in the case.

If you're using some sort of grease as an engine lube on the ends of the cams, don't use too much. If too much grease gets into the bushings, it will not allow the cams to go all the way into the bushing in either the case nor the cover.

You should not have had to remove the cam cover to replace the oil pump on a '93 model though. It doesn't have to be timed like the older models did.

This is typical. Blame it on the EPA. That organiztion requires that fumes, which are laden with oil mist, from the crankcase must be vented into the induction system so that they can be run through the engine for burning and then subjected to the action of the catalytic converter in automobiles. This oil mist builds up and eventually runs out the bottom of the air cleaner. Most people just keep it cleaned out but if the oil builds up too quickly, it could be caused by excessive blow by on the rings. This requires that the top end on the engine be rebuilt.

There are some kits on the aftermarket that will allow the crankcase fumes to be rerouted. It takes the hose that runs to air filter backing plate and reroutes it to wherever you want it to be with a filter on the end of the hose.

Good Luck
Steve

On a Sportster, the transmission and primary oil are the same. There is a drain plug underneat the bottom of the primary at the rear. The primary oil is added through the upper primary chain tensioning access hole at the top of the primary. Add about one quart of Primary and Transmission lube for Sportster. I'd recommend H-D oil.

Good Luck
Steve

It sounds more like a fuel problem to me. If I had to guess, I'd say that for some reason your bike has started to run lean. The lean mixture is causing your engine to run hot. The heat from the is "perculating" the fuel in your float bowl and causing it not to start. I've seen it before on race cars.

The mixture on your bike may be running lean for any fo several reasons. You could have trash in one of the jets in the carb or you could have a vacuum leak. I'd put my money on the later. There is a hose that comes off the backside and feeds vacuum to the VOES switch. Make sure this hose is intact and doesn't have any cracks in it. I'd also replace the intake gaskets at the heads and the carb seal provided the carb is the original CV carb.

If the carb has been changed to something else, there could be other problems as well. Also, make sure your not running gasoline that has a greater than 10% ethanol mixture in it. The greater the percentage of ethanol (alcohol) the leaner the engine will run.

Good Luck
Steve

You have to remove the fender struts as the nuts that hold the turn signals on are between the strut and that rear fender.

Good Luck
steve

This could be a carb issue. If it is a CV type carb, make sure the vacuum hose to the VOES is in good shape, no cracks or holes etc., make sure the intake boots are not leaking by spraying WD-40 onto the boots while engine is idling, if idle speeds up, you have a vacuum leak. If all this stuff checks out ok, you will probably have to remove and clean the inside of your carb.

yes, it could be. The fuse box is probably either under the seat or under the triangular plate on the left side of the bike.

Steve

It sounds like the starter relay is making the noise. Here's check you can make. Look at the starter from the right side of the bike. there is a five sided plate on the end of the starter. Just above the plate, there's a singe wire connecting to the starter. Unplug this wire and connect a test light or volt meter to the wire. Turn the switch on and press the starter button. If the light lights up or the volt meter shows battery voltage on this wire, the problem is the starter. If no voltage is show or the light does not light up, the starter relay is bad.

The starter relay is a one inch cube looking device. Take the seat off and look for it under there. They used to be on the backside of the oil tank. Feel of it when you depress the start button. If this is what is clicking and you don't have voltage at the wire on the starter, the relay is bad. This is a common problem.

However, if you get voltage on the wire at the starter, your starter solenoid is bad and will require the replacement of the starter.

Good Luck
Steve

If your headlamp uses the halogen bulb, the socket should twist and come out the back side. If you have the sealed beam type light, it is held in a piece of rubber. Remove the outer ring and the sealed beam will come out.

Good Luck
Steve

Suspect items are the float level, accelerator pump, acc. pump inlet and exit check valves, off idle circuit, and main jet circuit. Be certain that you have no intake leaks.

Yes, when the system senses an open, like a burned out or missing lamp, it glows solid as a warning. As long as they didn't remove the flasher and circuitry, you should be able to make it work right.

There was a way the drag strips used some sort of instrument to determine the displacement of an engine without a teardown. Seems it was called a P&G tube or something like that. I've never seen one. The only way I know of telling if your engine has be bored to the 1200 cc. piston size is to take the head off of a cylinder.

The S&S carb is an old design but it's simple to tune, that's what most people like about them. The CV type carbs are much better but American riders don't like them much. Although Mikuni is making headway under the Screamin' Eagle trademark.

Now, if you bike was orginally and 883 and it was converted to a 1200, there are two ways of doing it. One, was to buy a complete kit with pistons and heads. The other was to bore the original 883 cylinders and use the original 883 heads but the pistons had to be special drop top type pistons to keep the compression to a reasonable amount. The combustion chamber of the original 883 heads are much smaller than the chamber in the 1200 head. If you don't use the special pistons, you won't be able to keep head gaskets on the engine. Wiseco makes the pistons for the conversion.

As long as the engine is running good, don't worry about it.

Ride Safe
Steve

personaly i think that the standard option is the best ,if you start playing with oversize this or that i think that in the long run you will just be asking for problems later down the line .if you want a bigger engine then fit a stock unit rather than spend hard earned cash on some so called custom job because if these engines were meant to be like this they would leave the factory like it and simply listening to all the boy racers will only cost you money in the long run ,i mean the max speed limit in most countries on this planet is 70mph .

You've already spotted the problem. 13.5 volts is not enough to keep the battery charged. It will slowly lose it's charge. You should be charging at 14.5-15.0 volts.

Check your regulator output. Look just behind the base of the rear cylinder and you'll see the wires coming out of the primary that go to the regulator. There's a plug in the line somewhere. Unplug it. You'll be measuring the output of the alternator so you'll be dealing with the wire on the alternator end of the plug. There are two metal contacts in the plug. You'll need a DVOM (digital volt ohm meter) to do this test. Set the meter's function selector switch to AC VOLTS, 50 VOLTS or greater. Start the engine and bring it to a high idle. Insert one meter lead into each metal contact. It make no difference which lead goes where as you're measuring AC voltage. Your meter should read at least 25 volts or higher. If not, your stator is bad.

If you read 25 volts or more, your regulator needs replacing.

Good Luck
steve

BTW: Early 1984 was the last year for a generator on the Sportster. Late 1984 to present, the bikes have alternators on them. Much better than the old generators. Much better.

sounds more like a lifter is not releasing it's pressure. to get the pressure off valve the motor has to be at top dead center compression for that cylinder.both rockers should have some give if at tdc. u can remove top rocker cover to check rockers. if spring is weak the valve won't open al the way or close correctly.