Battery flat already?
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Novice
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 22
Likes: 6
From: Vancouver
Battery flat already?
Rode my 2019 Fat Bob for a over an hour on Sunda on the highway, all was fine but I did notice that it was a tad sluggish to start.
Went down to ride her to work today and nothing, the gauges don't switch on or anything, totally flat.
When I got the bike, the dealer said to hook it up to a trickle charger a few times a week, but I wasn't expecting it to go flat so quickly!
Is this normal? My parkade is usually warm but can get a bit colder at this time of the year.
Went down to ride her to work today and nothing, the gauges don't switch on or anything, totally flat.
When I got the bike, the dealer said to hook it up to a trickle charger a few times a week, but I wasn't expecting it to go flat so quickly!
Is this normal? My parkade is usually warm but can get a bit colder at this time of the year.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 32,934
Likes: 36,031
From: Carlsbad, CA
Never use a trickle charger! Use a battery tender!
if you ride it 1 hour, and you thought the battery is weak, so;ce it’s in warranty, take it to the dealer to check it out.
If you have a DMM use the info in the stickers in the electrical sub-forum to diagnose it yourself.
if you ride it 1 hour, and you thought the battery is weak, so;ce it’s in warranty, take it to the dealer to check it out.
If you have a DMM use the info in the stickers in the electrical sub-forum to diagnose it yourself.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,584
Likes: 918
From: coast to coast
Should hold charge for at least a few weeks. Could be a loose connection or bad battery.
as said tender is the way to go and you have a factory SAE lanyard attached for easy plug and play charging already hanging on the left side.
agree it’s worthy having dealer test the battery and check connections/ battery charging.
as said tender is the way to go and you have a factory SAE lanyard attached for easy plug and play charging already hanging on the left side.
agree it’s worthy having dealer test the battery and check connections/ battery charging.
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 965
Likes: 297
From: NoVa
It seems all the Harleys with any kind of security system (e.g., if it has a key fob) run down their batteries from just sitting, same as a car does, except cars have much bigger batteries so the effect is less noticeable.
Dealer telling you to connect a charger a couple times a week sounds excessive. Agree with TriGeezer that you need to be careful to use the right kind of charger for an AGM 'gel cell' battery. I myself prefer the one from Battery Minder over Battery Tender.
Def. take it to the dealer and let them run a test on the charging system.
Finally, I think the M8 motors have an automatic compression release that lets them spin faster while using less current for starting compared to Twin Cam and previous motors.
Dealer telling you to connect a charger a couple times a week sounds excessive. Agree with TriGeezer that you need to be careful to use the right kind of charger for an AGM 'gel cell' battery. I myself prefer the one from Battery Minder over Battery Tender.
Def. take it to the dealer and let them run a test on the charging system.
Finally, I think the M8 motors have an automatic compression release that lets them spin faster while using less current for starting compared to Twin Cam and previous motors.
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: coast to coast
yes my older bikes can sit for months just fine, but my Twin Cam and M8 with security get a little weak if they sit for more than 3 weeks. 1 week is way to short.
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Novice
Joined: Oct 2019
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From: Vancouver
Gave the dealership a call, they agreed that for it to go totally flat in a few days is not normal. The only scenario for that to happen is if the alarm was going off all night, which I doubt was happening.
Will hook it up to a trickle charger and see how it does tomorrow, will leave it overnight.
Will hook it up to a trickle charger and see how it does tomorrow, will leave it overnight.