I have a new battery and has been kept on a battery tender. Jumped on bike and drove 1 1/2 hours no problem. Bike sat for a good 6 hours, jumped on bike it fired right up. On my way home, the lights dimmed, speedometer went to zero, bike back fired and then died. Would not restart. A passerby was nice enough to stop to lend me a hand, he had a pair of jumpers and hooked me up, although we had to keep them connected for awhile. Finally the bike started up again and was fine. Drove it to a friends house where it sat for 2 days. Picked it up today and the thing fired right up. I don't trust it.

Is it the Stator, voltage regulator, both??? Any help would be great.

Its a 1998 Heritage Softail Classic.

 

Much appreciated.

 

would make sure everything is tight and no loose connections, start at the battery, usually would rule out a charging system issues since once the quit usually the dont work again. start at battery cables , clean and tight ,both ends. then check the regulator plug and harness then go on to the stator . betting it a loose connection or dirty connector, really sounds a lot like a bad ground

 

A tender will also not keep a battery charged like riding it once a week will. No matter what they tell they, this has been my experience.

Drew

 

Had a similar problem with my 94 FXSTC....pulled the plug from VR to Stator and had burn/arc marks. You can use a multimeter and check your VR as well as your stator using the pins in each to rule them out usually. The description you gave is similar to my experience and the jump barely managed to get me home as with the stator not working right, it wasnt charging properly while I rode so once it exhausted the charge, started to misfire and die..check plug, use meter, make sure the VR plug retainer is still in place to keep it tight to case? I am sure others more knowledgable than I will chime in with solid suggestions...

 

Sidecar Bob,

The first time this happened, I did just that and found the Negative cable from the battery to frame was loose. I cleaned it and reattached it with some locktight. Thought I had that defeated.