Battery Issue???
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 13,389
Likes: 26
From: Windham,Maine
Batteries going dead on concrete is a wives tale,this bike has either something electrical going bad or the battery needs replacing. Take the battery for a check you will know right away what 's next.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 66,948
Likes: 4,573
From: TOAK western branch
While this kickstand thing may be a wives tale the battery draining to ground was not. It was the old battery casings that allowed them to go dead sitting in the concrete many years ago. Not true today though.
Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 191
Likes: 11
From: Northern Utah
This was also true with black distributor caps on many automobiles years ago. This is why the higher quality manufacturers would had either gray or yellow or red distributor caps, to avoid carbon tracking. Not so this day in age as they now use other substances in the manufacturing process.
Mike.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 2,856
Likes: 127
From: Middle of Kansas
You should be able to put the kickstand on a rubber mat and check current from the kickstand to the concrete. I doubt if there will be any because it has to have a return path to the battery. My 99 Softail Custom sets for two to three months on the kickstand in my unheated garage and it always starts right up in the spring without charging. And I do not use a tender. AGM batteries do not loose a charge unless something is running it down as they have a very slow self discharge rate.
Most important is to not let the smoke out of your electrical sysem as it is very hard to put back in.
Most important is to not let the smoke out of your electrical sysem as it is very hard to put back in.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,732
Likes: 9,241
From: Snow Hill, NC
Somebody correct me if i am wrong but isn't the jiffy stand a conduit to ground when it is touching the ground? If there is a bad slight ground touching a positive wire somewhere, could it not be discharging through the ground?
I am not an electrician by no means but i remember my dad having a ground strap on the back of the cars....
I am not an electrician by no means but i remember my dad having a ground strap on the back of the cars....
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 7,476
Likes: 5
From: Republic of Texas
Intelligent answer. Good check for the problem and I thought of the tank to ecm harness. When I seen the OP's post I thought that a chaffed wire going to ground was the problem.
If you have a volt meter that can read millivolts, I would disconnect the negative wire and place the volt meter between the negative terminal and the negative wire to see what you're reading. Do it with rubber under the kickstand then again with it directly on the concrete to see if that's actually the problem.
If you're reading more than about 0.5 mV you probably have a chaffed wire somewhere that's making contact with the frame and grounding through the kickstand when it's placed on the concrete. The wires under the gas tank would be a good place to start looking.
If you're reading more than about 0.5 mV you probably have a chaffed wire somewhere that's making contact with the frame and grounding through the kickstand when it's placed on the concrete. The wires under the gas tank would be a good place to start looking.
Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 191
Likes: 11
From: Northern Utah
Somebody correct me if i am wrong but isn't the jiffy stand a conduit to ground when it is touching the ground? If there is a bad slight ground touching a positive wire somewhere, could it not be discharging through the ground?
I am not an electrician by no means but i remember my dad having a ground strap on the back of the cars....
I am not an electrician by no means but i remember my dad having a ground strap on the back of the cars....
Truth be told the actual way current flows is negative to positive but in the automotive/motorsports industry it is referred to in the traditional positive to negative path of current flow.
You have to think of the electrical system on our bikes as a complete circuit, if current is flowing it will be flowing in the entire circuit not out the positive and down into the jiffy stand and into earth. It will flow from one side of the battery to the other. For all intents and purposes we will say from positive to negative.
So things to look for would be corrosion on the battery or case in which the current could flow and create a discharge or a chafed positive wire which is not a direct short but enough to cause current flow and discharge the battery.
Other things to consider is the condition of the battery. It may merely be at a point that it can no longer retain a charge and it is coincidental that it will start after putting a barrier between the bike and the concrete, or it simply will not charge completely.
I would also test the charging system to make certain it is operating correctly. I would hate to see someone install a new battery to merely see it go bad when a stator or voltage regulator was the issue all along. It does happen.
Mike.
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LOSER
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,719
Likes: 4
From: Williamston, NC
Yes and no. "Ground" is a generic term used and sometime used incorrectly. Ground in an A/C system is an earth ground, however, on a 12 volt DC system the "Negative" is not necessarily a "ground". It is merely the return path of a complete circuit.
Truth be told the actual way current flows is negative to positive but in the automotive/motorsports industry it is referred to in the traditional positive to negative path of current flow.
You have to think of the electrical system on our bikes as a complete circuit, if current is flowing it will be flowing in the entire circuit not out the positive and down into the jiffy stand and into earth. It will flow from one side of the battery to the other. For all intents and purposes we will say from positive to negative.
So things to look for would be corrosion on the battery or case in which the current could flow and create a discharge or a chafed positive wire which is not a direct short but enough to cause current flow and discharge the battery.
Other things to consider is the condition of the battery. It may merely be at a point that it can no longer retain a charge and it is coincidental that it will start after putting a barrier between the bike and the concrete, or it simply will not charge completely.
I would also test the charging system to make certain it is operating correctly. I would hate to see someone install a new battery to merely see it go bad when a stator or voltage regulator was the issue all along. It does happen.
Mike.
Truth be told the actual way current flows is negative to positive but in the automotive/motorsports industry it is referred to in the traditional positive to negative path of current flow.
You have to think of the electrical system on our bikes as a complete circuit, if current is flowing it will be flowing in the entire circuit not out the positive and down into the jiffy stand and into earth. It will flow from one side of the battery to the other. For all intents and purposes we will say from positive to negative.
So things to look for would be corrosion on the battery or case in which the current could flow and create a discharge or a chafed positive wire which is not a direct short but enough to cause current flow and discharge the battery.
Other things to consider is the condition of the battery. It may merely be at a point that it can no longer retain a charge and it is coincidental that it will start after putting a barrier between the bike and the concrete, or it simply will not charge completely.
I would also test the charging system to make certain it is operating correctly. I would hate to see someone install a new battery to merely see it go bad when a stator or voltage regulator was the issue all along. It does happen.
Mike.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,732
Likes: 9,241
From: Snow Hill, NC
But if it is a circle of flow let's say form + to - would it be fair to say that if the positive wire was compromised a bit and near a part of the frame would this power escape to the "Ground" via the Jiffy stand? Electricity has always amazed, scared, intriqued me... Would a car be the same as a Bike? what about the ground straps or dangling chains to eleminate static electricity ....