Slow crankin Slim.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 250
Likes: 25
Slow crankin Slim.
I ride my '14 Slim (103 C.I.) to work everyday and unfortunately it has to sit outside all day which is typically 10-12 hours. The last few nights when I went to leave from work the temperature outside has been in the low 40's and upper 30's F.
When I go to start the bike it cranks real slow almost like it doesn't want to start then fires up. A couple times it has fire but not started on the first fire and I'd have to push the starter button again.
My 03 Fatboy only acts like this if it's been sitting for several weeks in the cold.
Do any of you guys have the same issue with the 103" motor?
Or could I have a battery going bad way to soon (battery and bike is only 7 months old)?
Thanks.
When I go to start the bike it cranks real slow almost like it doesn't want to start then fires up. A couple times it has fire but not started on the first fire and I'd have to push the starter button again.
My 03 Fatboy only acts like this if it's been sitting for several weeks in the cold.
Do any of you guys have the same issue with the 103" motor?
Or could I have a battery going bad way to soon (battery and bike is only 7 months old)?
Thanks.
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
From: statesville NC
Small battery turning a big motor. Cold temps will reduce the amps out of the battery making it seem sluggish to start. My battery is new rating at 310 cold cranking amps and still struggles at low temps. A battery tender at night will always help
Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 673
Likes: 19
From: Folsom, CA
I would also look to see if you have a short somewhere.
When I added my Aux lights, the bulbs I had purchased were not ideal, so I had to do some splicing. The left side went out and when I tested connectivity, everything tested good...so I figured bad bulb. Well, I then purchased new bulbs, which used the connectors that I had cut off for the splice- sure enough, one of the wire crimps was loose and was causing a slow drain on the battery.
Shouldnt happen again, the "re-splice" of the correct connectors consists of twisted, soldered wires with heat shrink covers...you know...correctly spliced.
Lesson learned here.
When I added my Aux lights, the bulbs I had purchased were not ideal, so I had to do some splicing. The left side went out and when I tested connectivity, everything tested good...so I figured bad bulb. Well, I then purchased new bulbs, which used the connectors that I had cut off for the splice- sure enough, one of the wire crimps was loose and was causing a slow drain on the battery.
Shouldnt happen again, the "re-splice" of the correct connectors consists of twisted, soldered wires with heat shrink covers...you know...correctly spliced.
Lesson learned here.
2nd Gear
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: Sunnyvale, CA
I'm seeing similar slow cranking on my Slim. I put the Slim on the battery tender on most weekends, and commute on it during the week. By fridays, I can usually notice it's cranking over more slowly.
Watching the voltage on a multimeter while cranking it over when the battery is completely topped off I can see that the voltage drops to about 10.2v (hard to tell as the numbers bounce around so fast). Haven't yet gotten a good reading when it's slow cranking.
I'm going to check it some more, maybe get a multimeter that does min/max. Thinking about switching to a LiFePO4 battery from Shorai or Ballistic. The ballistic one has a smaller physical package, but the Shorai has double the amp hours. The smaller size would be nice to potentially allow other uses of the rest of the battery box for storage, future use. However Shorai's US office is in my city so that could be super helpful for warranty claims. The cost of these LiFePO4 batteries is 2-3x the AGM batteries though. Also, I haven't been able to find out much about the life of these batteries, especially on a softail where the oil tank is so close and surely heating up the battery.
Watching the voltage on a multimeter while cranking it over when the battery is completely topped off I can see that the voltage drops to about 10.2v (hard to tell as the numbers bounce around so fast). Haven't yet gotten a good reading when it's slow cranking.
I'm going to check it some more, maybe get a multimeter that does min/max. Thinking about switching to a LiFePO4 battery from Shorai or Ballistic. The ballistic one has a smaller physical package, but the Shorai has double the amp hours. The smaller size would be nice to potentially allow other uses of the rest of the battery box for storage, future use. However Shorai's US office is in my city so that could be super helpful for warranty claims. The cost of these LiFePO4 batteries is 2-3x the AGM batteries though. Also, I haven't been able to find out much about the life of these batteries, especially on a softail where the oil tank is so close and surely heating up the battery.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,718
Likes: 11
From: Punta Gorda,FL
The first thing you should do is clean the battery connections and re-tighten them.
That wont cost you any thing and a lot of times that is all that is required.
Tom
That wont cost you any thing and a lot of times that is all that is required.
Tom
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,584
Likes: 520
From: VA
I have a 14 Slim. My wife has a 14 Fatboy. These bikes are identical except for sheet metal, tire/wheels and etc. Mine has always started harder than hers and takes twice as long to charge the battery. My guess is she got a better battery from the factory. Cannot think of anything else than makes sense.
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Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 613
Likes: 17
From: Boston, MA
Tried to start my 2013 softail this morning at about 35 degrees after sitting for a week and a half and it would not start. cranked REALLY slowly and wouldn't fire. pretty bummed since today might be the last decent day to ride in MA until the spring. Always felt like it had a hard time starting even in warm weather. original battery was replaced with a new one just a couple months ago too.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 250
Likes: 25
Well it finally happened. She left me stranded at work.
It was 27 degrees when I got out of the office and she wouldn't start. Had to push her into the warehouse and take a truck home.
35 degree's she starts.
27 degrees she won't.
Guess I'll have to start going out and start her once during the day.
It was 27 degrees when I got out of the office and she wouldn't start. Had to push her into the warehouse and take a truck home.
35 degree's she starts.
27 degrees she won't.
Guess I'll have to start going out and start her once during the day.