| Author | Message | ||
     Welderjosh |
Before I totally tear apart the whole bike and pull my hair out; I need some help. I have a starter issue that has been developing slowly over the summer and fall. It has gotten so bad that the bike won't start when cold now unless I put my charger on it and set it to the jump setting. Once warm the bike starts easier but still exhibits the symptoms. Trying to start the bike cold i get a fast paced clicking of the starter solenoid. This happens with a full charge on the battery. I bought a brand new battery. My first though was bad ground. I have checked, cleaned, dielectric greased, and tightened every ground. When this happens the clock resets to 1:00 causing me to think the ground issue. I had a Harley tech come over and we bypassed the electrical system by jumping with jumper cables from the ground on the battery to the engine case and from the positive to the positive post on the starter. We took the solenoid out of the equation by depressing it by hand. The bike cranked VERY slowly, like it was drawing a lot of amperage. The primary chain is adjusted correctly. I pulled the starter out and took it to have it tested today. It tested out fine loaded and unloaded. Does anyone have any ideas? | ||
| Swuly |
Even though i havenīt experienced any serious starting problems (yet) my clock also began resetting to 1:00 late this summer! Not a big deal, but not a good sign either...  | ||
| Ourdee |
Have a load test done on the new battery. | ||
| Welderjosh |
I had a load test done on both batteries. Both were 100%. Turns out I didn't need to buy a new battery after all. | ||
| Speedfreaks101 |
I have some questions. How were the batteries load tested? Do you own a volt meter? If you do, then check the battery voltage when starting the bike. What is your voltage reading? It should drop to no less than roughly 10 volts with a good battery when starting. If it drops far below 10 volts then this indicates excessive current draw. If you find excessive current draw then do the following. Disconnect the negative cable from the negative post on the motorcycle battery. Then use jumper cables to connect to a automotive type of battery. You can connect directly to the positive posts between the batteries but connect the negative from the automotive battery to the negative motorcycle cable (not the negative post of the motorcycle battery). Start the bike. How does it start now? | ||
| Welderjosh |
I don't know how the batteries were load tested. I do own a volt meter, and the voltage drops to almost 8 volts when I start it. I am away from the bike for two weeks but will try this as soon as I get home. Thanks. | ||
| Blake |
Clean all connections, making them bright, especially battery terminals, hardware, and cable tabs. They may appear okay, but a thin crust of plating can cause much trouble. 8 volts while running indicates trouble in charging system or aforementioned poorly conductive connections. Keep after it. You'll find the cause. Service manual troubleshooting guide is vital. | ||
| Speedfreaks101 |
He is not getting 8 volts while running but rather while the bike is turning over. | ||
| Welderjosh |
Exactly. Running I am at about 14 volts. | ||
| Ulyrpg |
My 08 ulysses had a similar issue but would also stall out while riding. I eventually found the ground off the battery at the screw through the battery tray to have an intermittent continuity issue. I fixed it after removing the battery tray and cleaning off all the paint where the tray mates to the frame,re tapping the hole frame and replaced the screw that retains the larger ground wire because it was actually spot melted from the intermittent contact and all the heat that it generated! That fixed those issues any way. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My 2008 uly has always cranked over slowly. I tried having them fix it under warranty but nothing has changed. Over 30,000 miles and it still starts though. Maybe the battery is just wussy. | ||
| Ulyrpg |
Mine always cranked slowly after a hot soak especially too. Until I fixed the ground and now it seems much better. | ||
| Gater |
I have a 04 XB12S my bike started doing the same thing. I got 3 years out of the HD battery and replaced it with a Interstate battery that solved my problem. | ||
| Welderjosh |
Thanks for all the help. |
