Sputtered and Died
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Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 550
Likes: 8
From: Syracuse, NY
Sputtered and Died
2010 WG: Was making a few short trips (less than 10 miles total) and on the way home it sputtered once and died. Checked battery (new this season) and it was at 10 volts. Started up three times prior to that (leaving house, gas station, grocery store), so not sure how battery got that low. The last few weeks or so i've noticed that when i start my bike up the spedo goes back to mileage and i usually leave the clock on (not sure if thats relevant) and before it would stay at whatever i left it. Checked for codes , says none or no response -- but it does show pn's . Does that mean those parts are no good, or if you had errors codes that part would be the culprit? Got the battery on the charger now and will check to see how many volts the stator is putting out later. Any help / suggestion are appreciated . Thanks
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 2,066
Likes: 259
From: Northstreet, michigan
Ten volts is too low. Charge it and see if it starts. If it does, verify your stator/voltage regulator are doing their jobs. You should charge at 14.6 volts. The speedo is resetting because of the battery voltage issue. Codes dont tell you what to replace, they tell you what the fault is so you can perform diagnostics. Check the charging voltage and report back.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 3,238
Likes: 3,683
From: oxford, pa
as said, that voltage is way too low, likely a bad battery, but charge it fully, get the bike started and follow one of the multitude of videos that can be found on testing your stator and voltage regulator........
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,840
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From: Philly Suburbs
Maybe a long shot, but is it possible the issue is the battery terminal spacer situation currently being discussed in this thread?
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...nnections.html
You did say the battery is recent... Just a thought!
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...nnections.html
You did say the battery is recent... Just a thought!
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Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 550
Likes: 8
From: Syracuse, NY
Appreciate the input -- battery is charged up, bike started, voltage meter shows 14.36 when running at idle, and 12.5 resting. I'll keep an eye on the terminal screws, but pretty sure they weren't super loose when i pulled the battery.
The speedometer mileage/clock issue has me worried -- if the battery voltage dropped enough to trigger the speedo going to the default odometer, it wouldn't seem like the bike would start in the morning...? yet it has been ?
Could the voltage regulator or stator intermittently not work?
I guess i'll keep an eye on it and not travel to far from home in the meantime
The speedometer mileage/clock issue has me worried -- if the battery voltage dropped enough to trigger the speedo going to the default odometer, it wouldn't seem like the bike would start in the morning...? yet it has been ?
Could the voltage regulator or stator intermittently not work?
I guess i'll keep an eye on it and not travel to far from home in the meantime
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 3,011
Likes: 1,190
From: New Hampsha
If it started up at the beginning of the day, and you made a few short trips and eventually it wouldn't start due to a dead battery, I'd bet money that it's just not charging the battery. Don't waste your time on anything else until you've charged it up, started it up, and tested the charging system.
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Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 550
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From: Syracuse, NY
When you say check the charging system, is there more to it than just seeing how many volts its putting out?
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Road Master
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 836
Likes: 230
From: Deep South
Short rides ...
2010 WG: Was making a few short trips (less than 10 miles total) and on the way home it sputtered once and died. Checked battery (new this season) and it was at 10 volts. Started up three times prior to that (leaving house, gas station, grocery store), so not sure how battery got that low. The last few weeks or so i've noticed that when i start my bike up the spedo goes back to mileage and i usually leave the clock on (not sure if thats relevant) and before it would stay at whatever i left it. Checked for codes , says none or no response -- but it does show pn's . Does that mean those parts are no good, or if you had errors codes that part would be the culprit? Got the battery on the charger now and will check to see how many volts the stator is putting out later. Any help / suggestion are appreciated . Thanks
maybe not riding it far-long enough for the battery to charge up good before the next drain/cranking session ...this type of riding will pull a battery down quick ....
Last edited by springers4ever; Aug 5, 2019 at 04:27 PM.
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Thread Starter
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Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 550
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From: Syracuse, NY
"maybe not riding it far-long enough for the battery to charge up good before the next drain/cranking session ...this type of riding will pull a battery down quick"
I would agree, but when it died, i was cruising at about 35 mph--seems like the battery should have been getting the 14 volts from the charging system while it was running.
I would agree, but when it died, i was cruising at about 35 mph--seems like the battery should have been getting the 14 volts from the charging system while it was running.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
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From: New Hampsha
When you say check the charging system, is there more to it than just seeing how many volts its putting out?