I have a 2013 Ultra Classic that seems to be having charging system issues on top of which I have Harley dealer who is reluctant to work on my bike.

So here's the story. Bike was purchased new from Manchester Harley Davidson in 2012. They installed lots of accessories for me including, Day Maker headlight and driving lights, lighted floor boards, gear indicator, lighted saddle bag rails, etc. Bottom line, lots of accessories.

In March of 2015 had the charging system fail on me while I was on a ride. American Harley Davidson in Leominster, MA serviced the bike and diagnosed the issue as a bad stater (shorted to ground). They replaced the stater, voltage regular and also installed an upgraded alternator due to the amount of accessories I have installed. Bike was returned, voltage meter reading 14.2 volts and everything seemed to be in fine.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. Low Voltage and Check Engine light come on, notice that volt meter is reading low. Bring bike in for service, voltage regulator needs to be replaced again. American Harley does the service, pick the bike up and dealer says that the bike is charging but volt meter is showing 12.4 - 13.5 volts. Dealer says put it on a charger when I get home. They put a note on the service slip saying electrical system is being overloaded. I do that but notice that when I apply breaks, volt meter drops between 10.3 - 11.3. Volt meter barely gets above 12 volts even when riding and drops the longer I ride.

Last evening, while riding volt meter dropped to the bottom of the scale and would not move. Bike went into creep mode while on interstate 1/2 mile from my home. Bike keep loosing electrical power, speedo and tach would go on and off and then bike died at the end of the off ramp where I live. Pushed the bike to a safe area, got my wife to come down and I was able to jump started the bike. Noticed that the volt meter was at 12 volts, but within a minute, volt meter was again not reading anything. Got the bike home and parked it in my driveway.

Called American Harley this morning, they say I need to talk to someone before they will schedule the service. I have an extended warranty and they aren't sure it will be covered due to my accessories.

So what would you do? Easiest thing is to find another dealer. But finding a good one who knows what they are doing is hard to do. Better question is what's going with my bike. Voltage Regulator? Stater?

Hit me with any suggestions you might have.

 

1) they shouldn't deny your claim. No basis for it without proof that the amps being pulled is beyond the system's ability to provide it. Although it seems like you have a bunch of stuff on it, it's a pretty hefty system and should provide more than enough for just running around. If it overloads when you have all the lights on, stereo full blast, lighting a cigarette, the high beams and brakes on at the same time, yeah, maybe you're overloading it... but probably not.

2) have them show you in writing the amp draw in writing (or in person). If they can't do that, they are just using it as an excuse...

3) if they replace everything again, turn all the accessories off (unplug) and get a baseline of amps pulled. If it's below what HD states, yeah, something stock on the bike is drawing too many amps. If not, start reattaching stuff while measuring. Might find something that is bad.

4) sometimes replacement parts are just crap themselves. That happens a lot with VRs and Stators for some reason. Not uncommon.

No doubt someone will follow up behind me with all the links on how to troubleshoot the problem yourself. That's good, cause I'm feeling lazy.

Good luck.

 

Id guess the stator is out again.
I'd also guess that you're not really drawing an excessive amount of current. The LED headlights, and any other LED lighting you have, should offset any draw accessory lighting will have compared to halogen/incandescent lighting. Are you running the stock sound system or and upgraded system with amps?
I'd be real curious to know why, if you were truly overloading the system, they didn't bother to warn you when they installed everything?
Personally, I'd find another dealer, this one sounds like they just want your money while looking for any technically to get out of actually helping you.
Oh, one more thing. I wouldn't let them call it to the warranty people. If they try to foist off that overload thi g, it may throw a monkey wrench into another dealer doing the work.

 

I converted to LED headlight and spots to lighten the load on my 11 Limited, but still I run (2) 50 watt driving lights, with my spots, headlight and heated gear (grips, jacket, gloves), plus whatever I have charging in the tour-pac without any issues (bike as 50k miles).

Sounds like some if not maybe all of your additions are LED, doesn't sound like something that should over tax the electrical system.

 

Battery, or maybe the battery cables? Check the battery cables at the starter and the ground. Maybe loose on that end.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. I don't believe I'm over taxing the electrical system. I did replace the stock head unit with an aftermarket Sony and Soundstream amp. Prior to that I was running the stock head unit and 6 speakers setup with two boom audio amps. The HD Boom amps have been removed as well as the additional wiring harness so if anything the load should be slightly less.

My contention has always been if this was an issue why did the original dealer install all this? I have also upgraded the alternator to the upgraded one .

I will ask about the amp draw in writing. That is a great suggestion.

 

Will an Indy work with the warranty co.? If so have him install a Cycle Electric stator same amps that you have now and a Cycle Electric regulator.

 

Volts is just one side of the story.
You need an amp gauge on YOUR bike.
You might have excessive amp pull from somewhere. With the gauge, you could isolate and single out the culprit.
Another route, you could disconnect your battery, or pull the maxi fuse, fully charge the battery, then reconnect the battery with a good digital meter connected at the battery. Look for a drain. if going down, pull fuses one at a time to find the drop. Continue the isolation to find the culprit.
In short, something may be overworking that stator.
BTW, for initial testing, don't worry so much about an amp gauge "Install" - just "Rig" one up for testing purposes. Who knows, could be component, could be a skint or grounded wire. Electricity is lazy and homesick, you need to find the problem, and not just follow behind and fix resulting issues.
Good luck!

 

Your charging circuit sounds like it's gone south. If the voltage sags when drawing current (engine running) then you're draining the battery.

 

Before charging system checks can be done, should make sure battery is good - have you had battery load tested? Then make sure fully charged. You say you upgraded the charging system, did you go with 29900028A from HD? That is recommended when running multiple amplifiers, heated seats/gear,extra lights etc. it is a 54 amp @ 4K rpm (OEM is 50 amp). The upgrade is OEM on some CVO models.