I haven't had any problems starting my bike until last weekend I tired to ride home after stopping for a few hours. When I try to start it all I hear is clicking. I was able to push start it to get it home and it seemed to ride fine after the first few miles, the lights were dim to start and then I got full power. After getting home it wouldn't start again so I took out the battery and set it on a charger over night. The battery looks full and seems good but still the bike won't start. What else could it be? If it's something basic I'd like to avoid a trip to the Harley shop. Thanks

 

How old is the battery? If it is more than a couple years old, that is the first thing I would be checking. The readings it gives you sitting on a bench aren't always going to be meaningful. It really needs to be tested when it's under load... like starting your engine. Here are a few tips... http://blog.jpcycles.com/step-by-ste...arging-system/

 

I bought the bike a year and a half ago and the battery was supposed to be new, but then again I didn't replace it myself. Thanks for the site!

 

Check your battery earth terminal. Very common for these to come loose and give the symptoms you describe.

 

I would say battery or loose connection.

 

The ground connection (negative cable from the battery), previously mentioned as "earth", at the engine block might be loose. Since you removed and re-installed the battery, I assume the battery connections are good. Also, if your bike wasn't producing power through the charging system, you wouldn't have gotten far on a fuel injected bike.
The best independent shop in the area (forget Patriot) is in Fredericksburg. A little bit of a ride for you, but these guys are fantastic and well worth the trip. They treat you well, are reasonable and WILL NOT bullshit you. There's a fooseball table in their waiting area/retail side. How cool is that?
AutoZone, or another auto parts store, will probably be able to load-test your battery, if you find all your connections are good. It's worth a call to one or two of them, anyway.
http://oldetownecycle.com/home.html
I'm assuming you're in the Old Dominion.

 

Take your battery off and charge it, if you have a good charger then it should tell if the battery is good or not, Bikes that don't get used a lot and don't get put on a trickle charger tend to die within a couple of years, Because of our bad weather during the winter and salted roads I tend to leave the chrome plated Harley in he garage, and use my other bike.

If the battery charges then it will be worth testing it should be getting a reading of 12.7-13.2 volts, then when started it up it should go over 14.2 volts, if its going above 14.8 then you have a charging problem.

if in doubt let someone who knows what they are doing, do it.

 

Everyone needs a volt meter for home and automotive. Actually, when a battery gets near the end of it's life, just voltage does not always mean a lot unless you check it with a load on it. It takes a good charge for the electric magnet to pull out the starter gear and the contact to engage the starter motor...My two cents. Get that meter. Not sure about where you live but more then half the checking equipment around here is junk. And what ever you do, do not let anyone check it on the car or bike and it must be charged a full 24 hours to check.

Rev. 101215
Some electrical 101 and a little more..

Remember, the best made brand new battery that has been on a maintenance charger for 3 days that has a loose or bad connection is no better then a boat anchor with a loose rope. The connection can get loose after one ride if the battery is not anchored and the wires are short and get tugged in a direction that can unscrew the bolts.

After a good 24+ hour maintenance low amperage charge, with the charge light in the solid green and the battery has set about 24 hours off charge, voltage should be about 12.8 volts.
12.8 = full charged
12.6 = 75% charged
12.3 = 50% charged (Lot of new modern cars with system protection will not even click at this point but will have good headlight beams showing)
12.0 =25% charged

Always check both the terminals at the battery lead and also at the terminal on the wire. That helps to verify connection. With a DC volt meter (one that has a feature to lock high and low reading is best) hooked across the battery terminals and reading 12.8 or so, crank motor and while its cranking it should not drop below about 9.6 volts and as soon as it starts and throttled up to 2000 rpm, voltage should read around 14.8 volts. The 2000 rpm is the bench mark standard. Ignore idle output. Ignore output above 2000rpm unless it exceeds 14.9 volts. That is a sure indication that regulator is bad.

The crank check shows a rough check of the reserve amperage capacity of the battery while cranking with a 150-200 amp load on it. The 14.8 shows a good alternator and if you leave it on a while as the regulatory will drop the voltage a little showing itself working. However, with the lights and stuff always on, it will never drop back much. If you have a lot of options, most modern bikes will not show 14.8 charging volts at idle but stock newer bikes will be close. Older bikes with lower amperage output not so much. However, 2000 rpm is the bench mark for the standard 14.8 volts.

If you think battery is good and something is draining it sitting, now would be a good time to check for drain problems. Go to Harbor Freight and get you a AC/DC meter for under $25 or so. http://www.harborfreight.com/ac-dc-d...ter-37772.html Make sure it has DC amps draw, DC voltage, resistance and AC voltage. Key off. Remove the negative cable off the battery. Set meter on DC amps. Hook the meter lead to cable and the other to battery. How many milliamps (mA) is it drawing? It should be no more then 6 mA which is the ECM (1), speedometer (1), tac,TSSM (1),HFSM (1) and voltage regulator (1)

When a battery wears out, a good charge will show fairly good voltage, but the battery can still have very low amperage capacity which will show in the crude crank test above, but it really should be checked after a good charge by removing it from bike and getting a free check at a place like AutoZone that has a fancy load meter check that gives you a print out of the battery health. Battery MUST BE CHARGED to check it. Be sure they set their meter to correct cold cranking amperage stated on the battery. Never charge the AGM absorbed glass mat battery with a regular car battery charger unless it is a newer one that says safe with this type of battery. Also, by taking battery out you now know you have good connections. Vibration tends to loosen the connections or a little corrosion will prevent charging or cause starting problems. Be forwarned, these checks quite often are incorrect due to the low amperage of these small batteries and junk checking equipment. If bike is charging , no load on battery when key is off and you are still having problems…REPLACE THE BATTERY.

Using the maintenance charger can get more years from a battery but be careful here. You do not want the last start 5 miles from home. If it still grunts when you first hit starter or kicks back with a bang, replace it. After a few years, charge and pull battery and have it checked for cold cranking amperage ever spring. Even then, if it grunts most ever start, I would replace it. Most battery checkers at AutoZone and places like that do not do really well on the low amperage setting on small batteries. Not sure why but they tend to say they are OK when they are weak. If they have one that fits your bike, Wal-Mart's AGM absorbed glass mat battery is just as good as any for one third to half the money of a Harley Battery. Do not put an old fashion one with vent tubes on a modern TC Harley. Do not jump, push start or run bike with a half dead battery except in an emergency. If a bike battery is down and you jump it, throwing all that amps to it from a big car battery especially one that is running can wreck a bike regulator or charging system. Charging a worn out battery can kill alternator stator or the voltage regulator or both. Probably ending in a big dollar repair.

It is also a good idea to always check your battery at 2000 RPM with your meter set to AC. If by chance, the regulator goes bad, sometimes it will let AC come thru. That is a sure sign of a bad regulator. The older stators with two wires are a two phase AC system. Lot of people call it a single phase but it is two phase. The AC voltage you see appears single since you check it AC across the two wires since there is no earth ground. If you were to check one wire to an earth ground, it would show one half the voltage that you would see when you check the two wires together on the bike. Same with the other. Together they double and are two phase. The newer three-wire system is a 3-phase AC system for the higher amperage output.

Also remember, when starting a Harley, hit the starter and hold it in till it is firing on both cylinders and running before letting up. If you let up before it’s running, quiet often, it actually take an FI motor longer to start. There is a fraction of a second more for a long stroke Harley then a multi-cylinder car for it to get going. If you do not do this, it will kick back with a bang, sneeze thru the intake or crank a lot longer the second time or shame on you the third time. Also, if you have a habit of doing this, the starter solenoid switch contact will only have half the life it could. You cannot hurt the starter. The starter gear has a sprag clutch. There are drive pins in it that as the gas motor catches and run, it outruns the starter motor drive and disengages it from the electric motor. If you hold it in a little too long and listen carefully, you will hear the sprag clutch run up the ramps and slip. Makes a sizzle hum. This will show you your starter sprag clutch is OK.

 

Thanks Ripsaw, this should be a sticky.

 

How do you do that ? How does your battery look full, or seem good ?
Get it tested, or at least properly charged. Even relatively new batteries can go bad, and there is no way you can tell from looks.