Hey fellas my sporty battery keeps getting drained... New battery installed last April. LED lights installed over summer, could the light drain battery so quickly? If I don't turn the bike on every few days it drains. Brought it i to stealer in august and paid an arm and leg to havebthem tell me it was loose wire to starter... Problem started again about 6 weeks ago... Tried to start bike tonight and battery is completely drained which is a first... Usually the lights turn on bright but when I go turn over it won't crank w enough power eventually draining battery but today even lights were barely visible.

I'm gonna disconnect led lights and recharge battery but will have to wait a few days to see if battery drains. With cold weather approaching fast I'd lie to get to the bottom of this soon... Working in the cold sux!

Any suggestions?

 

Something is wrong and battery draining means a short somewhere. Start disconnecting anything not necessary to see if the battery stays stable. Check for loose and damaged wires and make sure all connections are tight.

 

Haven't done too much with Sporty electrics but is there a charge going to the battery when the engine is operating. Usually about 13.2 volts when idling and near 14.2 volts above 2200 rpm. Could be the rectifier/regulator or stator. Check the DIY section on testing the alternator. The bikes electrics operate off the battery when the bike is running and the altenator keeps the battery charged.

 

Check for corrosion in your fuse panel...It seems to happen to Sportsters a lot..For some reason it will cause the iac to cycle on and off killing the battery every few days.

 

Install a battery tender. They're cheap.

 

I had that problem with my low rider. I have LED lights but the pull is so small it wouldn't drain the battery. I ended up having a pinched wire on the button that toggles the miles on such. The tech ended up testing wires with his electronics and found the voltage jumping. He checked the manual and that's how he found the problem.

 

Walmart.....$22

 

take it back to dealer they obviously diden`t fix it

 

I have to disagree here.. the battery does nothing but store power for starting and supplying power to a alt or generator for it to produce enough voltage and amperage as required to run all the vehicle electrical needs and recharge the battery for the next start up. the batt is essentially a gateway for all the power needs to flow and be stored..


if a battery goes dead in a short amount of time it either is bad or there is a elec draw on the system. meaning something is pulling power with the ign off. this is usually only caused by components that are fed power all the time even with the ign off, such as a relay or module of some type.

to check for a draw there is a simple but effective test using a test light. unhook the positive battery cable and install the test light in series between the batt cable and positive batt post. if the light lights up, either dim or bright there is a draw. if there is no light, there is no draw. a dim light indicates a low voltage draw, most likely a module. if the light is bright like full voltage, theres a relay, solenoid or possibly regulator stuck "on". all you have to is start disconnecting different components to see which one is drawing the power.


note:

some ecm/computers can draw a very small amount of voltage that shouldn't kill the battery but could still produce a very dim light. if the light is on real dim, do this.. while the test light is still connected hold the batt cable to the post for approx 10 seconds, this will "charge up" the ecm. now pull the cable away and watch for the light, if it takes approx 3-5 seconds for it to come back it is just the ecm looking for more power after it depleted its "charge up". if the light comes back instantly, theres a issue.




you can also use this simple test on older vehicles without a gazillion ecms and or modules in the vehicle, say 95 and back..

 

What kind of ECM do you have?