I left my key on for about two days before I realized it. This obviously drained my battery severly. I called the dealership and they said all i needed was the HD trickle charger. So I bought it and hooked it up last night only to find out that the trickle charger only works if the battery is at a certain level and not drained completly. Called the dealer back and told them what was going on and they said that I need to take the battery our of the bike and take it to them becuase they have a special charger that MIGHT bring the battery back to life, but I will most likely have to buy a new battery. I have a 12volt marine/rv battery charger that I wish I could use to get a little bit of a charge on the battery and they I could use the trickle charge to get it to where it needs to be. Is that sage or should I just take the battery to the dealer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a 2008 1200 XLC (Sportser Custom)

Thanks
Brian

 

I've had the same problem with leaving the key on (on my 07 sportster) and forgetting to turn the ignition switch off om my 08 Fat Bob. You are correct the trickle charger or battery tender will only work if the battery is not completely dead. What I had to do was to charge up the battery with my car battery charger, after all the bike battery is a 12 vold, lead acid battery, the same as the car battery, just a bit smaller. It worked great for me ! Try recharging your battery at home or have a gas station recharge it before you let the dealer sell you a new battery. If you can't get it recharged, check around at, Sears, Auto Parts Supply Houses, Battery Plus, etc, and you'll probably find one with the battery you need at a better price than that dealer. The best of luck!

 

I hooked mine up to my car battery for about 30 minutes. I never turned the car on becuase someone told me that it would cause issues with the harley. So I let it sit for awhile, turned the key on, switched to run, and the lights and everything come on but it does not have enough juice to turn the engine all the way over. IT tries to turn over but can't quite make it. ARGGG

 

Get a new battery Don't charge motorcycle bats with those big 10 plus amp chargers !!

 

not usually, but if it's been totally discharged, you may have to in order to get it to take a charge at all. Not long, but put it on a 10 amp (no larger) car charger for 10 minutes, then finish charging with a trickle charger.

 

I've done the same thing, only I leave it on much longer. Try the trickle charger now that the battery is not completely dead. It may come back. Mine usually did.

 

If you only used the key--never the handlebar kill switch--you would not be the only person doing it that way.

 

I have used a regular battery charger on motorcycle batteries without any problems. You just got to make sure you don't overheat the battery. Keep close tabs on the battery while it is charging. Check the sides to see if they are getting warm. When the battery feels warm disconnect the charger. When the battery feels normal again, reconnect the charger.
Tom

 

Left the switch on all weekend. Dad used to call us knotheads, guess he was right. I've never used a charger on a battery before but my neighbor has an an old 12 Volt/4 Amp charger from Sears. I put it on about three hours ago. There is no adjustment. The needle read just under 2 amps initially, even though the battery was bone dead. It now reads almost 4 Amps. The sides of the battery are warm and I'm concerned that it might be warping the plates as some mentioned. Should I disconnect or leave it on all night like the shop said they'd be doing with their charger? Appreciate any input. The battery is not a year old and I hate to KO the thing.

 

Disconnect the charger then check voltage with a multimeter. If it's up to 11+, put a Battery Tender/trickle charger on it and it should come all the way up.