I have searched and read through a lot of threads about batteries, but cannot seem to find this information. I am having trouble with a new HD battery. When I'm home and the K9 is on the tender, all is good. But when I'm on the road and it's not on the tender every night, it drops off and won't turn the bike over. Talking to the local HD dealer, he wants to know... what is the manufacturer's cranking amp requirement? Does anyone know? Thanks in advance.
Hey Willy. A Harley battery should crank your K9 just fine. That Harley dealer could also do a load test on the battery to determine if it functions properly. And if you read the other threads, you know to get a 10mm wrench and tighten the battery cables and also check the battery ground and starter leads. Then get a voltmeter to see how many volts your battery has before you start the bike. It should read 12.5 or so up to 13.8. Then start the bike and the volts should jump up above 14. When you see the running bike puts out more volts (look for 14+) than the sitting battery does, you know the bike is making juice. If the voltage reads the same running and not running, check your circuit breaker. It's a small box attached to your battery box ('passenger' side). You'll find a little plunger about the size of the lead in a lead pencil. If you can dross it and it stays in, you've re-set the breaker and put the charging system back online. Now your voltmeter will read over 14. Electrical problems beyond that are over my pay grade, but guaranteed someone else will pipe up---we love this stuff. Let us know what happens--we like feedback.
210-320 CCA, A HD Battery should be just fine. Make sure your charging system is working properly. And! ALL CONNECTIONS are CLEAN & TIGHT!!! Click on the link at the bottom of my Signature Block........... Maintenance is....
Ok. Took battery out, looked for any wires I might have missed... as I can get in a hurry at times. Everything looks ok. Reconnected battery, making sure everything is nice and tight again, as it was before. Ground wire is tight too. Trickle charger says the battery is good to go, and volt meter shows 12.9. Pulled the choke, gave her a little gas and turned it over. She cranks for less than 2 seconds, then starts to click. Not enough juice to get her going. After cranking for 2-3 seconds, now battery shows 12.4 volts. Now it's recharging to try again. Not sure if compression releases are working...? I should have mentioned before, I have a Wires Plus system... no ehc. Ideas?
Why don't you just try with an other battery? Like the one you have in your car, if using jumper cables do not run the car engine! Maybe the battery is bad... Tapio
Yep. Started right up when I jumped it off the car. When running at idle, volt meter shows 13.7. So I'm thinking the charging system is working properly. Maybe a bad cell in the battery..?
Agreed. I'm no expert by any means, but the drop in voltage after a couple of seconds cranking sure makes me think battery. You can take it to any store or back to the HD dealership,and get it load tested. I managed to short out my starter motor on the way home from Sturgis. I thought it might have been the battery, so I tried a new one and it started the bike. Next stop it wouldn't start....got it home to find the starter was broken and pulled waaaay too many amps. Brand new battery would work, but just barely. Do you have the expertise to use a voltmeter to see what happens to the battery voltage when you try to start it? To see if your comp releases are behaving, just put your finger on top of the plastic cover and bump the starter. You'll feel them depress.
Ok. I'll check them. Thanks. I'll get the battery back to HD over the next several days. Appreciate the help guys.
Here's the part number you need if you buy a battery from Harley 65989-97C. I'd suggest that you put the new battery on a tender for at least 12 hours before use to make sure it's fully up and charged...
Thanks Brew. Yes, that is the battery that I have in the bike. Yanked it out this morning and took to Auto Zone. According to their tester, it is BAD. So, after pulling my hair out and worrying about all the possible things that COULD be wrong, it looks like it's just a bad battery from HD.
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