Hey guys, I have a 2001 Dyna Wide Glide. Runs great. Battery is a couple years old but fires the bike up every time. Recently I took my battery tender quick connect terminals off my Honda Shadow (that sucks down batteries like crazy) and hooked them up to my Harley. I plug it in to the tender with the quick connect terminals 100% of the time it's in my garage and it's supposed to keep the battery in tip top shape. Well, today was the second time the bike (while 50 miles from home) would not start. The first time I pushed started it and it ran fine all the way home. I thought it was a fluke. Today I push started it twice, it started but ran like it was misfiring for about 30 seconds and then stalled. I jump started it with jumper cables to a car and it fired up (with the engine light on) and stalled again. I THEN disconnected the battery tender quick connect clamps, and the thing fired up no problem and ran great the rest of the day.

Here is a link to my tender:


QUESTION;
I know I'm to hook one end up to the positive terminal on the battery, (and this is where the instructions get confusing) but where do I hook the negative??? To the negative terminal on the battery? To the frame??? Does anybody else have one of these? I'm thinking that I hooked it up wrong and was draining the battery or shorting it out or something.

Thanks!!!

 

[QUOTE=RandyMan;10254245]Hey guys, I have a 2001 Dyna Wide Glide. Runs great. Battery is a couple years old but fires the bike up every time. Recently I took my battery tender quick connect terminals off my Honda Shadow (that sucks down batteries like crazy) and hooked them up to my Harley. I plug it in to the tender with the quick connect terminals 100% of the time it's in my garage and it's supposed to keep the battery in tip top shape. Well, today was the second time the bike (while 50 miles from home) would not start. The first time I pushed started it and it ran fine all the way home. I thought it was a fluke. Today I push started it twice, it started but ran like it was misfiring for about 30 seconds and then stalled. I jump started it with jumper cables to a car and it fired up (with the engine light on) and stalled again. I THEN disconnected the battery tender quick connect clamps, and the thing fired up no problem and ran great the rest of the day.

Here is a link to my tender:


QUESTION;
I know I'm to hook one end up to the positive terminal on the battery, (and this is where the instructions get confusing) but where do I hook the negative??? To the negative terminal on the battery? To the frame??? Does anybody else have one of these? I'm thinking that I hooked it up wrong and was draining the battery or shorting it out or something.

Thanks!!![/QUOTE Is this a joke thread? You say you removed the terminals from a Honda but you don't know where to connect them on a Harley? Red positive terminal on battery,black negative terminal on battery. I've used a battery tender for years,they are great.

 

I'll bite and assume this is a serious question. The negative side of your tender can either be hooked to your frame or to the negative terminal. You just have to make sure you have a good ground if you go to the frame, use a clean bolt or the like, not a painted spot. That being said, every tender I've seen comes with a quick disconnect plug that hooks it all up at once. Your not using yours because...?

 

This is serious. The manual says that on some bikes you hook them up to the negative terminal on the battery and on other bikes you hook it up directly to the frame. I had it hooked to the frame under the seat where the negative battery terminal cable was hooked up to thus being indirectly hooked to the battery. Just don't know why when I unhooked it, the bike started right up.

 

You probably DID have it shorting out on a positive source. Hook it up to the negative and positive of the battery only to avoid it shorting out.

 

My 2010 Street Bob came standard with the Battery Tender quick-connect. It is hooked directly to the terminals. I have the same quick-disconnect setup on my Mustang. Both are on the Tender at all times when not being rode/driven. Never an issue. Mustang has been on the tender since 2006. I have had that battery since 2004.

I use the Deltran Battery Tender on my Mustang and the Battery Tender Jr. on my Street Bob.

 

A battery that is "a couple of years old" may need to be replaced.

 

Batteries don't last for ever. Test your charging system for output. If its ok and your tender is hooked up properly I would be looking at a new battery.

 

You kidding me. They better last longer than two years.For what they cost. All mine have lasted for at least seven years.

 

Sounds like you have answered your own question in your original post
Definitely has to do with wiring, if when removed you have zero problems. The wiring issue could be in how you are grounding it, shorting out somewhere, or the connectors themselves are bad.
The reason I say it could be the connectors, I find it very odd that both bikes that you have had this 'tender' hooked to are having battery issues.