2009 1200 spotrster battery goes dead after sitting for a day or two suspected battery replaced it no difference any ideas. whats the spec on amp draw or common problem areas. thanks

 

Did you test the new batteries before putting it in. Try putting it on a battery tender and fully charge the battery first. No sense testing the battery if it is not fully charged. How do you know the battery is dead...did you put it on a meter or it just does not start?

more info is helpful...what kind of battery, what is the CCA, what do you have on the bike that may cause parasitic drain?

As a general guide.... Battery should be 12.6 or higher. Mine reads 13.2. When you turn on lights and start, it should go no lower than 9v. When it is running, it should read more than 14v when you increase rpm.

 

When I first got my Sportster I thought the battery wasn't holding its charge but then I realized that you have to hold the starter button down and wait for a second before anything happens. This is especially true when cold starting so maybe you don't have a problem at all . Try it .

 

You can easily check for a parasitic drain as well. You might get better info from someone else more familiar with your model, but I'm willing to bet you should only be getting a few (less than a dozen??) milliamps of current with the ignition turned off.

 

Then you've got a bad connection somewhere,and it'll only get worse. My guess is a loose or corroded cable,as it gets worse,it'll start getting hot,smoking,and cause damage.

 

I’d check and see if anything’s drawing too much power while it’s not running, and then trickle charge your battery for a night. My battery was acting like it was bad but after a deep charge it was back up to full strength, and it’s been good since I charged it a couple months ago

 

No , I don't think so . I've seen quite a few reports that suggest that this is a perfectly normal characteristic of starting a Sportster . There are no loose connections on my bike . Thanks for your concern though .

 

With a sporty, If everything is in proper working condition, the starter should turn the engine over easily and instantly, unless of course it's a high compression build in which case de-comp valves should be fitted

 

There's a sticky in the electrical section on how to check the charging system.

 

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...sting-1-a.html