Battery Advice
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 110
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Battery Advice
Wel l, either my battery just took a **** on me (fantastic HD quality) or the cold weather just got the best of it. Either way, my bike is in storage because of it, and the weather isn't what I thought it would be, so I'd like to get it out, but I need a battery. The stock battery is only two years old, so I wouldn't normally think that age would be a factor, but we all know it is with the stock batteries. Just wanted to ask you guys for your opinions on replacement batteries. I'd like to to go get my bike this week and keep riding it. The temperatures get pretty low here in Kentucky, but I normally don't ride unless it's 40 degrees. Thanks for your input!
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,335
Likes: 27
From: San Diego, CA
Did you actually take out and test the battery or even check the battery connections. Although it is not unheard of for a battery to go bad that young it is rare. It is a well known fact that the connections on the battery come loose, especially the negative terminal. First thing I would do is check the connection on both ends of the battery cables. If they are loose, check the connections for any carbon build up from the arcing that would have been happening while starting the bike while they have been loose. If carbon build up is there, either file or grind off until bare metal is all that is left. Then reinstall on battery and tighten them up good but not so tight to strip out the soft lead threads on the battery terminals. If it is not loose connections then check all the fuses. If they are all good, then take your battery to a auto parts place and have them run a load test on it. That will tell you if it really is the battery or not. If the battery tests good then you have to look deeper into other possible problems. Let us know what you find and we will go from there.
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 110
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Thanks for the reply, and thats a check for all boxes except for having it checked by a autoparts store. I frantically checked everything the eye could see while trying to get the thing to start so I could go to class. I put it in storage the same day. Figured cold weather just sucked the life out of it. That doesn't seem correct, though. There has to be a battery that will take the abuse of cold weather. Whether the battery is load tested or not, it obviously doesn't play nice with cold weather. It started the night previous in 40 degree weather, only to leave me stranded in 30 degrees the next morning.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
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From: Bedford UK
Get the poor thing tested, to check if it is actually dead. Do you use a tender? If not get one as your new battery will thank you! Your battery, or a straight replacement, will normally deal with cold weather fine.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 25,310
Likes: 2,446
From: Eastern NE
Believe it or not, HD batteries are actually decent quality...did you have it connected to a tender during long periods of non-use? If you don't have a tender, or battery charger (can also buy combo charger/tender) then time to invest. Get the battery charged/tested & see if all the cells are still good...should be @ 12.6V-12.7V fully charged.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 872
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From: Far (FAR) West Texas
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,599
Likes: 11
From: Colonial Beach, Virginia
C-man, you do not want to leave a dead battery in the bike anyway, they give off corrosive gasses, yes even the claimed sealed ones when they're dead. That gas pressure is going to get out and eat everything in its path. When you get new one, make sure it is 100% charged before installation, its a well known fact that a partially charged battery will never achieve more than 80% charge if not fully charged at install. A poor connection that inhibits the starter also inhibits charging due ta a voltage drop across the poor connection. Go to NAPA and get some High Dialectric Grease and coat the the new battery's terminals and clean the wire ends well. The grease keeps air out ot the connections.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,114
Likes: 67
From: USA
Be sure to install pigtails for using a tender with that new battery. And a $20 tender from Wally World will work just fine.
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2010
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Alright, thanks for the responses, first off. Second, the bike was ridden daily, it's my main source of transportation when it isn't in storage. So like I said, starting one ride in 40 and then about 10 hours later being dead as can be in 30 degrees is a cause for concern. The bike used to be on a battery tender consistently, especially when not ridden daily. However, I moved in August and now I don't have a garage to put it in, or way to hook it up to a tender for that matter, since its parked in a parking lot. It IS on a battery tender now, in the garage it's stored in. So the battery isnt dead as a doornail now at least, but I certainly don' trust it enough to haul it back up here and with that battery if its just going to not start when I need it to. That means cold weather. I'll have that battery tested Friday before I buy a new one. That's as soon as I can get to the bike, otherwise I'd order one right now, but I don't want to waste my money on a battery than just dies in the cold. So take that into consideration, I don't have a garage anymore, it's in a parking lot at my apartment complex, under a bike cover every night (when I have it here) and its too far away to run an extension cord to, because I've thought about that already. I probably should have added all this into my original post to save some of you guys some time