[Biggerbike56]

I have a 2017 chieftain darkhorse, i rode it yesterday and everything was working fine. I went to start it today, started the fuel pump and hit the ignition. I hear a click and the bike won't start. My dash lights up and the battery has a full charge. Any ideas of what it could be?

 

[sjscabral666]

Two things come to mind. Possibly connections to the battery are a little loose; happened to me and gave me the same problem you're experiencing or battery in key fob is going to need replacing.

 

[joescian]

I have a 2017 chieftain darkhorse, i rode it yesterday and everything was working fine. I went to start it today, started the fuel pump and hit the ignition. I hear a click and the bike won't start. My dash lights up and the battery has a full charge. Any ideas of what it could be?

Battery terminals need tightening or battery stuffed

 

[Drifter666]

Battery terminals need tightening or battery stuffed

Same thing happened to my 2019 Chieftain yesterday. Shut it off ,turned it back on, everything was fine. Just checked the battery terminals 3 weeks age so I will change out the key fob battery as insurance.

 

[jayred1]

I have a 2017 chieftain darkhorse, i rode it yesterday and everything was working fine. I went to start it today, started the fuel pump and hit the ignition. I hear a click and the bike won't start. My dash lights up and the battery has a full charge. Any ideas of what it could be?

Same thing happened to my 2019 Chieftain yesterday. Shut it off ,turned it back on, everything was fine. Just checked the battery terminals 3 weeks age so I will change out the key fob battery as insurance.

Not the battery fob ... the fuel pump won't turn on if the fob is not identified.
Watch the battery voltage as you hit the starter ... it may read 12v when first turned on, but if it has a bad cell the voltage will drop to < 10v and won't be enough to start the bike.

 

[Chief Signguru]

Time for a Wicked Start battery!

 

[mfran89]

Give this a try; completely disconnected the negative battery terminal, wait maybe a minute then re-install.

It sounds odd I know but with all then electronics in these bikes you might just need to completely cycle power to the VCM.

This past Friday I get back from a nice 170 mile ride with no issues. I’m shuffling our cars around the driveway and hop on the bike to pull into the garage. I had my Buick fob in my pocket (indian fob in the house I use my code most the time) and it seemed like my 2019 Chieftain DH was not a fan at all of the Buick fob. I didn’t get prompted for my PIN and the fuel pump wouldn’t click on at all. Tried shutting down and back on 2 more times with same result. So I get off, scratch my head, think maybe I’ll put the Buick fob away and grab the Indians. Put the Indian fob in the dash and now power button won’t even get the Ride Command screen to turn on.

So I get my wife to help push into the garage, pop the seat off, removed the negative terminal, gave it a minute then reinstalled. And Boom, fires up no issue.

There were a couple diagnostic codes thrown but they went away after i shut it down and fired up again with the PIN.

 

[Chief Signguru]

Give this a try; completely disconnected the negative battery terminal, wait maybe a minute then re-install.

It sounds odd I know but with all then electronics in these bikes you might just need to completely cycle power to the VCM.

This past Friday I get back from a nice 170 mile ride with no issues. I’m shuffling our cars around the driveway and hop on the bike to pull into the garage. I had my Buick fob in my pocket (indian fob in the house I use my code most the time) and it seemed like my 2019 Chieftain DH was not a fan at all of the Buick fob. I didn’t get prompted for my PIN and the fuel pump wouldn’t click on at all. Tried shutting down and back on 2 more times with same result. So I get off, scratch my head, think maybe I’ll put the Buick fob away and grab the Indians. Put the Indian fob in the dash and now power button won’t even get the Ride Command screen to turn on.

So I get my wife to help push into the garage, pop the seat off, removed the negative terminal, gave it a minute then reinstalled. And Boom, fires up no issue.

There were a couple diagnostic codes thrown but they went away after i shut it down and fired up again with the PIN.

Instead of disconnecting the battery, go to your fuse block and pull the 2 tall fuses, and give it a few minutes, and then plug them back in. Voila... the VCM is reset!

 

[Drifter666]

OK, So I changed out the key fob battery and reset the VCM. Tightened the battery cables. Let it set for 2 days and it didn't have enough juice to activate the starter. The volt meter bar graph was reading 12 volts Put the battery tender on for about 20 min. and it started. Volt meter showed it charging during the ride 13-14 volts. so stater is working as it should.
Time for a new battery.

 

[Chief Signguru]

OK, So I changed out the key fob battery and reset the VCM. Tightened the battery cables. Let it set for 2 days and it didn't have enough juice to activate the starter. The volt meter bar graph was reading 12 volts Put the battery tender on for about 20 min. and it started. Volt meter showed it charging during the ride 13-14 volts. so stater is working as it should.
Time for a new battery.

Wicked Start battery. Extra money, but you won't be sorry. Order it directly from the manufacturer. You'll save a bunch of dollahs.

 

[Drifter666]

Still under warranty, it's a 2019 , only 1.5 years old. dealer agrees

 

[Biggerbike56]

Wicked Start battery. Extra money, but you won't be sorry. Order it directly from the manufacturer. You'll save a bunch of dollahs.

After trying everything said on this thread, I ordered the wicked start. Will update when it gets delivered