Hey Everyone,
Really hoping somebody could shed some light here or had same issue?
Have a 2013 Softail Slim and after a big ride last summer the battery died after I parked the bike for a few minutes and went to restart.. Battery wasnt very old and fully charged before I left so I assumed bad luck with a dodgy battery. Purchased a new battery to be safe and then the same thing happened again after riding for an hour... red battery light will come on and off on console and if i park turn off Im in trouble battery will be flat. After many more attempts same thing happens with new batterys and fully charged old battery. For some reason while I ride and battery is being drained a little and not recharged, it drains just a little bit after a 30 minute or 2 hour ride and not enough to kick her over after I turn bike off. If I charge the battery up quickly for an hour boom she starts straight up again and im good until I ride for an hour or so again.. Have taken it to "Trev Deeley Harley specialists" in Vancouver to have a look at it for me, after 2 weeks with the bike they said they checked the charging system, went over the bike and all is good with no problems... I was concerned that they didnt find anything although excited to think maybe by chance Im good now.. So took her for a ride and same thing happened.. 2 hour ride red battery light came on while riding. Rode straight home after seeing this parked the bike, turned her back on and nothing.. battery dead now... All wiring looks good cant see anything that would short it.. No rust all clean..
Thanks in advance any thoughts as I'm lost with this now??
- Damo

 

Any time you have an electrical issue, always first check all the connections/grounds you can find to make sure they are clean and tight.....If connections/grounds are all clean & tight.... time to look elsewhere...

The battery, stator, and voltage regulator are all part of the starting/charging circuit.....

When I read the first part of your post, I was thinking it was the stator and/or voltage regulator were bad and they were killing your new battery... The problem with this trilogy of parts is that if one fails, and it isn't corrected in a timely manner, it can ruin one or both of the other two.....

Did that Harley shop check the battery (load test), stator and regulator? I can't imagine a Harley shop that wouldn't know the procedure(s) to check these... but... they didn't find anything, and there is obviously a repeatable problem...

I find myself wondering what they did, or did not, do.....

It's time to dive into it yourself or take it to another shop....

 

Regardless of what the Harley shop said, I'm betting on the regulator or stator. It is possible that the stator could test good cold, but fail to charge when it heats up. Everything you've described is classic stator and/or regulator. Have you checked to see if you're throwing any codes?

There's one thing you can do. Make sure the battery is fully charged. Start the bike and using a volt meter, check the voltage at 2000-2500 rpm. Check the voltage at the battery treminals. You should read about 13.6-13.8 volts. If its not, you've got one of the problems I mentioned. Given what you've said, check it hot and cold.

 

Pretty much this. If it charges good when they are testing it, then it's likely that the issue shows itself after things are good and hot. A weak stator can do this, as can a marginal regulator. Testing a stator is very straight-forward. If it checks ok, throw a regulator on it and see what happens.

 

I'm not the OP, but I learned something here, thanks...

I was unaware the stator could test good cold but fail when hot... I'll have to add this information to my memory banks..

Come to think of it, I had a regulator go bad on a '12 bagger, and it would start to fluctuate voltage when it got hot, but was fine when cool... should have remembered that..

 

OP, did you get things figured out?

 

Hey,
I called the Harley dealer today to triple check that they actually did all the checks on the regulator and the stator. They said they did. They dont have any other ideas other than bring it back in next week and they will charge $155 an hour to go over it again. At this stage I'm not going to drop it back off to them and will see if I can investigate some more myself. I have gone over all the wires again and again. Everything looks good, its a well kept 2013 no wearing or rust etc.. I'm puzzled still.. The first time it happened with the Harley branded battery was only almost 1.5 years old and I thought the battery was a dud so I purchased an after market battery.. Its not a battery problem although you dont think its an after market battery giving me this trouble do you?

Thanks a lot for your advice..
Damo

 

Hey,
Yeah I did this today and all checks out good.. The regulators are pretty cheap so maybe I just replace mine and see what that does..? The stator is a different story. You mention that they may test good when cold and then not any good when they warm up... All is good when i do my checks myself.. The shops says all good too.. Maybe I put in a new stator? Thats an expensive cost although if I have to I have to... The battery in the bike is an aftermarket battery although never had a problem with aftermarket in my other bikes over the years. Might purchase another HD battery and stick it in there anyway..

I'm still puzzled.

Thanks for your advice.
Damo

 

Hey,
yeah Im going to try a brand new regulator this week... and hope its that... Before changing the stator as thats a bigger job.. The stator checks good when I test it.

Thanks for your advice.
Damo

 

Hey,
Unfortunately no luck as yet..
Going to throw a brand new regular in and brand new HD branded battery in this week and take for a ride Saturday and see...
Ive been reading all over the net and most people say pretty much the same thing everybody hear has been suggesting. Although all the checks come out good. 100% good battery, good regulator and good stator...

Damo