I was troubleshooting my 2014 Street Glide Special yesterday looking for the reason my horn stop working. Didn't find anything following the wires the few fuses I saw where also good.
I did undo the left hand control module to check for a loose cable near the horn button but everything seemed fine. I put the grip back and assembled the control module but suddenly my battery seems to have died.
Bike will not start at all.
Ran diagnostic the standard way using the speedo display and also through the infotainment system. Earlier that day I had no error codes. Now all of a sudden the Bike won't start and its given me these codes

Radio code B1301 for Radio Low Voltge which cleared and hasn't returned

However BCM code B2271 for low BCM Voltage keeps coming back.

The bike was on the tender overnight and apparently didn't charge a bit. The battery is good though.

Any Suggestions??? I can't get the damn thing to start.
__________________

 

Battery is bad though. HA ...What is the battery voltage with a good volt/ohm meter measured at batter terminals and then on the lead posts?



Rev. 111015
Some electrical 101 and a little more..

Remember, the best made brand new battery that has been on a maintenance charger for 3 days that has a loose or bad connection is no better then a boat anchor with a loose rope. The connection can get loose after one ride if the battery is not anchored and the wires are short and get tugged in a direction that can unscrew the bolts.

After a good 24+ hour maintenance low amperage charge, with the charge light in the solid green and the battery has set about 24 hours off charge, voltage should be about 12.8 volts.
12.8 = full charged
12.6 = 75% charged
12.3 = 50% charged (Lot of new modern cars with system protection will not even click at this point but will have good headlight beams showing)
12.0 =25% charged

Always check both the terminals at the battery lead and also at the terminal on the wire. That helps to verify connection. With a DC volt meter (one that has a feature to lock high and low reading is best) hooked across the battery terminals and reading 12.8 or so, crank motor and while its cranking it should not drop below about 9.6 volts and as soon as it starts and throttled up to 2000 rpm, voltage should read around 14.8 volts. The 2000 rpm is the bench mark standard. Ignore idle output. Ignore output above 2000rpm unless it exceeds 14.9 volts. That is a sure indication that regulator is bad.

The crank check shows a rough check of the reserve amperage capacity of the battery while cranking with a 150-200 amp load on it. The 14.8 shows a good alternator and if you leave it on a while as the regulatory will drop the voltage a little showing itself working. However, with the lights and stuff always on, it will never drop back much. If you have a lot of options, most modern bikes will not show 14.8 charging volts at idle but stock newer bikes will be close. Older bikes with lower amperage output not so much. However, 2000 rpm is the bench mark for the standard 14.8 volts.

If you think battery is good and something is draining it sitting, now would be a good time to check for drain problems. Go to Harbor Freight and get you a AC/DC meter for under $25 or so. http://www.harborfreight.com/ac-dc-d...ter-37772.html Make sure it has DC amps draw, DC voltage, resistance and AC voltage. Key off. Remove the negative cable off the battery. Set meter on DC amps. Hook the meter lead to cable and the other to battery. How many milliamps (mA) is it drawing? It should be no more then 6 mA which is the ECM (1), speedometer (1), tac,TSSM (1),HFSM (1) and voltage regulator (1)

When a battery wears out, a good charge will show fairly good voltage, but the battery can still have very low amperage capacity which will show in the crude crank test above, but it really should be checked after a good charge by removing it from bike and getting a free check at a place like AutoZone that has a fancy load meter check that gives you a print out of the battery health. Battery MUST BE CHARGED to check it. Be sure they set their meter to correct cold cranking amperage stated on the battery. Never charge the AGM absorbed glass mat battery with a regular car battery charger unless it is a newer one that says safe with this type of battery. Also, by taking battery out you now know you have good connections. Vibration tends to loosen the connections or a little corrosion will prevent charging or cause starting problems. Be forwarned, these checks quite often are incorrect due to the low amperage of these small batteries and junk checking equipment. If bike is charging , no load on battery when key is off and you are still having problems…REPLACE THE BATTERY. If battery is more then 3-4 years old.. REPLACE THE BATTERY.

Using the maintenance charger can get more years from a battery but be careful here. You do not want the last start 5 miles from home. If it still grunts when you first hit starter or kicks back with a bang, replace it. After a few years, charge and pull battery and have it checked for cold cranking amperage ever spring. Even then, if it grunts most ever start, I would replace it. Most battery checkers at AutoZone and places like that do not do really well on the low amperage setting on small batteries. Not sure why but they tend to say they are OK when they are weak. If they have one that fits your bike, Wal-Mart's AGM absorbed glass mat battery is just as good as any for one third to half the money of a Harley Battery. Do not put an old fashion one with vent tubes on a modern TC Harley. Do not jump, push start or run bike with a half dead battery except in a real emergency. If a bike battery is down and you jump it, throwing all that amps to it from a big car battery especially one that is running can wreck a bike regulator or charging system. Charging a worn out battery can kill alternator stator or the voltage regulator or both. Probably ending in a big dollar repair in parts alone.

It is also a good idea to always check your battery at 2000 RPM with your meter set to AC. If by chance, the regulator goes bad, sometimes it will let AC come thru. That is a sure sign of a bad regulator. Older 2 wire stators have a single phase output while the newer stators with 3 wires have a 3 phase output. The 3 phase system provides a more consistent and higher current output to the voltage regulator. The voltage regulator takes the AC from the alternator, rectifies it to DC and limits the voltage level to the battery depending on the voltage reading it gets back from the battery.

Also remember, when starting a Harley, hit the starter and hold it in till it is firing on both cylinders and running before letting up. If you let up before it’s running, quiet often, it actually take an FI motor longer to start. There is a fraction of a second more for a long stroke Harley then a multi-cylinder car for it to get going. If you do not do this, it will kick back with a bang, sneeze thru the intake or crank a lot longer the second time or shame on you the third time. Also, if you have a habit of doing this, the starter solenoid switch contact will only have half the life it could. You cannot hurt the starter. The starter gear has a sprag clutch. There are drive pins in it that as the gas motor catches and run, it outruns the starter motor drive and disengages it from the electric motor. If you hold it in a little too long and listen carefully, you will hear the sprag clutch run up the ramps and slip. Makes a sizzle hum. This will show you your starter sprag clutch is OK.

 

Ripsaw, I'm saving your post for future reference. My first job was at Sears Auto Center selling batteries and man have I forgotten a lot!!

The bike was starting perfectly fine up until it suddenly wouldn't.
I ride this bike a few times a week and I do keep it on a tender to maintain the battery life.
The battery is stamped April 2014 which is when I purchased the bike.

I was troubleshooting why my horn wasn't working and the diagnostic had no error codes at all. The bike started quick and easy until I took apart the left hand control housing. At some point while the housing was apart I put the ignition into the on position and that where the battery conked out.

 

You said you undid the left hand control to check wiring, than the issue started. I'd go there and recheck under the control, you may have pinched a wire. Doesn't the 14's have a clutch switch for starting the bike? If so maybe that's the wire that got pinched?

 

Bike started up fine this morning. Battery tests very good.
however the engine sounds horrible now. WTF

 

You may have a bad vacuum leak and it was sucking the sound out of the horn.

Sorry I just had to use this old Ford Plant joke. LOL

I got nuttin on this one.

 

Started it a second time and it's sounding 99% normal. It seems a bit shakier than usual though. Still no more error codes.

I can't complain really. This was frustrating but a great learning experience. The infotainment system does way more than I imagined. I ran diagnostics on it verified there was power to ever switch on my hand controls except for the horn and back / rewind toggle switch. Read about the Canbus system briefly but gave up since it was so confusing. I'll try again on Saturday after I refill my adderall prescription.

Since you mentioned the Ford plant I'll never forget how impressed I was when I saw the one outside of Cleveland Hopkins airport in Oh. Thousands of cars in employee parking it was amazing. When I returned a year later (2006 more or less) it was empty except for a tiny group of cars at one corner of the lot. I worked for Honda back then and heard about the layoffs at the plants. They put the whole city of Parma out of work as well as parts of Brooke Park. Never seen anything sadder in my life. Then everyone praised ford for not asking the govt for bailout money and praised their forward thinking. If people only knew the truth man.

 

You should see the Ford plant now! Its gone. Just a huge open cement and gravel area in its place. Taken apart piece by piece over the past couple years.

 

Unreal Man.
They destroyed so many lives and the media spun it like it was a sound financial decision instead of the complete disregard for the entire community they employed. At least GM tried to keep as many employees as possible and didn't eat their pensions.