Hey guys, I am hoping someone can give me some insight to an electrical problem i am having on my 2013 883 Iron

I have been through 3 batteries this year. It seems to me that I may have some sort of vampiric draw going on when my bike is in the garage. My dealer says that is not the case and that when running it is sending the proper voltage back to charge the battery. After the 3rd battery which was installed in September I kept the bike on a Harley 1.5amp battery tender at all times. Still, the battery never charges above 10V. I even purchased a Battery Tender Jr and that doesn't charge the battery either.

I have done only some basic mods, tank lift and wire tuck 2 years ago, and internally wired the handle bars.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

You're 'basic' mods are typical of many problems that members raise, across the whole of HDF. Internal handlebar wiring alone is a major cause of electrical gremlins, for various reasons, such as damage done to the wires, cross-connections etc. I suggest you thoroughly check and test electrical continuity in the circuits affected by your rewiring - you'll need a multimeter and the wiring diagram in your factory service manual.

 

^^^Yep^^^

Every listed mod performed has/had some type of wiring manipulation...something's got to be awry. As suggested...get a meter & start tracing/testing. Look for cracks, pinches, crimps, bad/loose connections, etc. Good luck!

 

Uncable your battery from the bike electrically and charge your battery and monitor the voltage. It should slowly go up to about 13.5, this will tell you if your charger is working OK. Keep it their over night, now disconnect the charger and for the next couple monitor the voltage on the battery, it usually comes down to about 12.5 volts and stay their. This will tell you if your battery is holding a charge. You also can take your charged battery to a auto parts store and see if they can load test it.
If the battery and the charger check good, disconnect and check all your modifications to the electrical system, unplug your internal handlebar wiring, check connections and possible rubbed wires, meter to see if any wire is shorted to ground. Spray connections with a electrical contact cleaner, reconnect with dielectric grease, tape over the wire harness where it rubs against the frame and internally in the handlebars.

 

To test for battery drain: Switch everything off on the bike. Disconnect just one battery lead. For example disconnect the Positive Battery Lead. Set your Multimeter to Amps. Connect the Positive Multimeter Lead to the Battery Positive terminal. Make sure the Positive Lead you removed from the battery does not touch anything grounded, like the Bike frame etc…. Connect the Negative Lead from the Multimeter to the Positive Lead you removed from the Battery. You should now see current drain measured in Amps. Move to the lower Amp setting on your multimeter if the current is lower than the setting on the Multimeter Low setting. Start to unplug the wires or fuses around your bike and see if the current reading goes to zero. This will point you in the direction of the current thief.

Once the multimeter is on Amps do not connect it directly across the battery and do not hit the starter button while testing for current Amps. This will cause the internal fuse in the multimeter to blow!

 

or watch this for a better understanding