Hello, I.E.RoadKing here.

I'm new to this Forum thing so I apologize if this is in the wrong section. I have a 2003 Road King (Anniversery if that matters.) It's still a baby at a little over 14k on the clock. I recently started having issues with the battery dying after a few stops and starts. I keep the bike hooked to a tender when I'm not riding, So I don't think it's the battery. I first noticed the problem a few months ago after I did a freeway ride, When I exited, The bike wanted to die. I limped home and shut the bike off. After about 30 minutes of cool down time I tried to start the bike and the battery was dead. So I hooked it up to the tender and the next day I started the bike just fine, So I took it for another ride but this time it just died on the freeway and left me stranded. Luckily a buddy came and gave me a jump so I could limp it home again, I was less than 3 miles from home both times. This is my first bike, So I have no frekkin' clue what symptoms mean. Would this be a bad battery? Possibly a bad stator? I'm stuck. I would appreciate ANY help I can get in the knowledge department.

 

sounds like connection issue, if the battery was down till it died, a jump would not let you get home, a good sign that the charge sys is still putting out.
first, charge the battery and do two load tests back to back, the first one will remove surface charge and the second a truer indication of battery condition.
once the battery is ruled out, next simple thing is connections and that ruled out, to more complicated things ($$$$). do you have the FSM for test procedures?

 

Don't assume it is not the battery, in fact that is where you should start! Remove it from your bike and charge it, using a proper battery charger, not a tender. If it achieves a full charge, get it load tested at a local auto store.

At the top of this Tech Electrical section you will find two Stickies on checking your charging system. Go through them, which includes testing your battery, after which you should have a better idea of what may be wrong.

 

Could be the battery. However, judging from the fault description I'd bet on the charging system. With the battery fully charged, it cranks and starts - that should indicate good tight connections to the starter and to frame ground. Additionally, the User can operate the bike but it mysteriously 'dies' after a period of use - that might indicate the bike is operating off the battery's capacity which is gradually being depleted while the bike is in operation. Might be an idea to check the voltage measured across the battery with RPM @ 2000 rpm. It should be just over 14vdc to maintain the battery's charge with the bike in operation. If that's good, the problem is likely the battery. Good tips on checking the charging path; ie, stator output, rectifier, connections, etc.