Pretty sure my battery went south but would just like a little confirmation. It has been getting harder and harder to fire up the bike but today it wouldn't start at all. The most I could get was for the gauge to come on and the fuel pump to make noise but then when I hit the starter it just makes clicking sounds down at the starter. I put it on the trickle charger and it won't even start charging it. Used a multimeter and got no reading either. Also tried hooking it up to a car battery without starting the car and still only clicking. I assume this battery is dead? It is original on 2003 road king.

 

I would say you got your money worth out of that one. 11 years old. Go buy a new battery. go to dealer, after all that one lasted a lonnnnnggg time. Don't buy cheap, it will cost you in the long run.

 

No reading with a multimeter? That's very strange. Do good check of all connections. Even with a flat battery in the bike jumping it off your car battery should have worked.

 

Yup! Sounds like a defunct battery. But, I too suggest going to the, dealer. and they will check out the entire charging system. 11 years on the original battery is impressive! You got your money's worth.

 

Thanks for all the advice!

 

if you tried to use another battery to jump it (the bike) and it wont start you have another issue...check the connections on the battery they may be bad and depending on how you tried to jump it (connected the jumpers to the terminals to the battery and not the wires to the battery itself) if could still be the connections to the battery also check the other end of the ground (-) connection also check the (+) connection at the starter...you need to take them apart to make sure there is a good connection, as sometimes they will visually look good..also give the cables a good look at, sometimes they corrode up inside of the cables underneath the insulation, bending them with your hand will usually show you if they are bad, also ohm the cables from end to end they should have basically no resistance through the cable...BUT you may still have a bad battery on top of the other issues...before you replace the battery run it down to the local autoparts store and have them load test it, just to be sure it is bad...

 

harleys like strong batteries, low voltage/amps won't let it kick over.

 

Granted, I did not jump right to battery. I tried connecting to the pigtail I have for trickle charging. Nor did I check with multimeter to the battery directly. That, I am sure, made a difference. I am pretty confident that the battery is done though.
I will have the load test done as you suggest.

QUOTE="mrfikser;13225658"]if you tried to use another battery to jump it (the bike) and it wont start you have another issue...check the connections on the battery they may be bad and depending on how you tried to jump it (connected the jumpers to the terminals to the battery and not the wires to the battery itself) if could still be the connections to the battery also check the other end of the ground (-) connection also check the (+) connection at the starter...you need to take them apart to make sure there is a good connection, as sometimes they will visually look good..also give the cables a good look at, sometimes they corrode up inside of the cables underneath the insulation, bending them with your hand will usually show you if they are bad, also ohm the cables from end to end they should have basically no resistance through the cable...BUT you may still have a bad battery on top of the other issues...before you replace the battery run it down to the local autoparts store and have them load test it, just to be sure it is bad...[/QUOTE]

 

The pigtail can not deliver enough current to run the starter motor. As well itb has a fuse built in, probably 5A, so that would blow if your bike tried to draw more current. Oh yeah...you might want to check that you did not blow that fuse.

IMHO...after you make sure everything else is proper, replace the battery. As I said before, you got your money's worth and are now on borrowed time. I typically try to replace batteries in vehicles between 3 to 5 years. It's much easier and convenient to replace on your own terms, rather than out in the middle of nowhere. With batteries, it is not a matter of if they will fail, it is when they will fail. Sometimes they give a warning by not being able to deliver full current and the starter will run slow, other times they develop an internal short and then they are dead.

 

I've experienced it too; known good battery but ran down from leaving lights on, jumper cables wouldn't start it, a fully charged portable booster would not start the bike immediately after connection, but let it sit for a while and transfer charge to the battery it fires right up, weird but this one I haven't spent too much energy trying to figure out. Category "is what it is".