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- hi guys.

- this is my first "dead-bike" situation with my 1996 Heritage
Softail (1340 EVO) - FLSTC.

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- yesterday night, wanted to go for short warmup ride.

- Cannot start the bike , starter turning over too slowly
(eventually refusing to turn over at all - get the dreaded
click-click sound from the starter solenoid) = DEAD battery.

- okay. Went and bought aNEW battery that night itself.
Installed it. Started right up , no problems.

- went for a nightride. Came back , shutdown for the night.

- Morning = cannot start (turning over too slowly).

- jumped the battery = started right up.

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- went for a long morning ride - can feel the battery
getting weaker during the ride as the horn/lights
get progressivelyweaker.

- got home. Shut down engine. Tried to start = dead battery.
No strength to turn over engine. Jumped it = started easy.

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- IMPORTANT : with the engine running , I disconnect
the battery = Engine dies immediately.
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Questions :

- do I have a charging system problem ?

-does an EVO1340 electrical system allow that engine to
run when you disconnect the battery ? When I disconnect
the battery (with engine running)= the engine dies. Is this
proof that there isNOcharging occuring ?

- if you guys can help me confirm that its a charging fault,
then I'll go out to buy a electric-multimeter and start the
job of isolating the fault.

- thanks alot !!!

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Not a good idea to disconect your battery while your motor is running! You can fry most of your electronics.
Check your cable conections are clean and tight, battery, frame,starter. If all's good, get a multimeter and check the voltage at the battery with the motor running. Should be >14V.

Good luck... Ben.

 

- hi 96

- noted your warning about the battery disconnection , but
on all of the cars that I have worked on , every single
one will continue torun with the battery disconnected.
Even cars with sophisticated EFI systems.

- just wanted confirmation that this is the same with
a Harley's electrics (anyone ?).

thanks.

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go to the electrical/lighting section of this fourm for good information on what and how to check your charging system. it really helped me with my Ultra to find out what was wrong. look at charging systems part 1 and 2. . . . Hawghead

 

- hi Hawg,

- went and checked it like you said and my regulator is
toast :

"Step 2. To check the regulator unplug it from the stator. Take a test light and clip it to the negative terminal of the battery and then touch first one pin and then the other on the plug that goes to the regulator. If you get even the slightest amount of light from the test light the regulator is toast.

To do this with a meter: black lead to battery ground, red lead to each pin on the plug, start with the voltage scale higher than 12vdc and move voltage scale down in steps for each pin. Any voltage is a bad regulator. "


- the service manual mentions the same test , but not in
such clear terms (and also not when you're using a multimeter).
Its called a "regulator Bleed test".

- my multimeter read a full 12 vdc ... haha.

- am sourcing a regulator now.

thanks !!
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- hi.

- problem , can't get one readily here.

- can I substitute any generic motorcycle regulator ?

- the harley one is with 4 wires
(ie , ground , stator x 2 , +ve batt).

- is the common amongst motorcycles ? If it is , I can
probably find a substitute?

thanks.

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Hey Pistole: I,m glad that worked out for you on finding your problem. There should be a factory number on the bottom of your regulator to know whatto replace it with. Just using a common motorcycle regulator probably is not a good idea. Find that number and then start by doing an internet search using that number , I'll bet youwill come up with something. Look on E-Bay too. . . . .Hawghead

 

I have replaced my voltage regulator so many times that I now carry a spare. I mounted the spare on top of the running regulator. It is wired so that all that i have to do is a easy connect next time it goes.


Check it you want the old regulator. If you can't check it, just replace it. No doubt in my mind.

 

By the way, now you have a spare battery.

 

-

- yeah , I realised that too.

- and to think I bought the new battery without
bothering to do some basic checks with a multimeter
first (augh)

- that and Harley should really be shot for deleting the
"charging" idiot-light from the instrument cluster. Cannot
understand why a manufacturer would do that to its
customers. Plain dumb. Am sure that just such a light
would have saved alot of people from being stranded.

thanks.

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