| Author | Message | ||
     Old_guy |
When this happened I took the opportunity to un-fix the charging system. When I got it started again and warmed up the battery meter would not go above 13.5 volts. I re-attached the relay to the harness and then got 14.2 volts. This strikes me as backwards. I bought the bike used from Frederick Harley and it's a 2009 so I assume the battery is 3 years old. My volt meter claims 12.47 volts from the battery with the engine off. This seems ok but I'm a noob when it comes to electrical things. Any suggestions as to what I should check? Bad battery? Regulator? I'm at a loss :P | ||
| Sparky |
When you said you "un-fixed" the charging system, what exactly did you do? Your initial results imply that you likely didn't completely remove the Upgrade Harness/Relay and return the harness back to stock condition thus still operating in 'single-phase', not fully charging. I'd get a Battery Tender with a pigtail connector for the bike and keep it plugged in whenever not riding it. That'll help keep the battery from deteriorating from non-use. | ||
| Old_guy |
I hooked a battery tender up to it Wednesday night and rode it to work on Thursday and it seemed to be charging fine, 13.5 to 14.2 volts. An hour after I got home I ran to the store, a mile and a half away, and when I came out of the store....Dead battery. | ||
| Jules |
Can yopu clarify how you "unfixed" the charging cct - merely removing the relay will actually make things worse as you're permemently a leg down. If you mean you reconnected the main harness to "how it left the factory" then yes, what you say is a bit weird, it should charge higher w/o the harness - subject to certain conditions, including the engine temperature etc... Dead after a short run would traditionally have me looking at the battery but there are a load of things you could check before swapping it out - including the connectors to the battery terminals (adding a star washer there if there isn't one already) the connection to the starter motor and doing some voltage tests when you have the issue.. Particularly repeating the 12V "engine off" test. You probably already know this but just because a battery shows a good V on a meter doesn't necessarily mean it'll provide the CCA required to start something. You could take the battery in and have it tested... But it sounds (on the limited info available) as though the battery is a good place to start. A decent battery tender (one that cysles the battery) will prolong battery life.. |
