Merry Xmas to All

After not riding for several weeks due to an illness I went out to give myself an Xmas treat and take a ride (live in south Florida). When I tried to start my 2012 FLHTCU I got lots of fast clicking but no start. Best I can do is one or two cranks then clicking.

This suprises me since 1) this is not the OEM battery - it was replaced in June of 2014 by the dealer, and 2) the battery has been on a 2-bank battery tender when the bike isn't in use since it was replaced,a the tender indicates it takes a charge and is fully charged and ready to go. Everything powers up, I can hear the fuel pump, etc, but no crank, just fast clicks. Even the damn radio works!

Is it possible that the batter needs to be replaced AGAIN after only 30 months or could I be looking at something else? There was no sign of trouble the last time I rode a few weeks ago. PS - my voltage regulator was allegedly not one of the ones that had an issue in 2012.

Thanks!

 

probably a dead battery--- take it out ( he said typing this for the 800th time)

charge it with a charger over night.
charger, not a tender ( but mine is the special extreme tender...no it's a tender to tend a charge, you need a battery charger)

then take it to autozone to load test it

while it is out check both cables are clean and tight each end


allowing the solenoid to chatter will damage it requiring a $600 fix ( for most riders at the dealer), so don;t do that

if you need a battery, wscott has posted on sources and prices.

my latest is the yuasa GYZ32HL at $132- previous was the batterymart $100 deka made big crank ETX30L



tender psychology;
most tenders will read "green" when the battery has accepted as many electrons as it can....if the plates are covered in sulfate, then the capacity to accept electrons is diminished.
the tender says ok, it's done it won;t accept any more electrons...it is at capacity- so it must be good, I'm turning on the green light.

I have seen batterys which would only hold 8 volts turn a light green on a tender.



"jump it"- you can do this, but risk damaging the charging system- a $100 battery problem becomes a $800 charging system problem...+ the $100 battery


jumping the bike would require the charging system to keep the bike going and to try to charge a duff battery, which if damaged internally is a huge load on the charging system...it's like dragging an anchor. the stator and or voltage regulator can be loaded beyond rating and fail


mike

 

Many battery issues can be corrected by cleaning the contact points. It's always the first thing to try. If it works, you've spent nothing.

 

Load testing will tell if the battery is bad, it's not impossible for a battery to fail after a year or so, not common but not impossible. If the battery is good, check the cables and connections, then go from there.

 

Decided to pull the battery myself rather than push the thing onto a trailer and take it to the dealer. While I'm not in any way shape or form a wrench I figured no better time like the present to learn with something simple. Went on YouTube saw how to do it and went at it. Unfortunately the video I watched first was on a bike without a security system so I learned the hard way that you have to pull the maxi fuse before disconnecting the battery. Also since I'm basically a mechanical idiot I used some tape to label the wiring harnesses I had to disconnect to get the battery cover off so I would re-connect them correctly. Went to my local O'Reilly auto parts, got a new ETX30LA and in it went. Started right up, took it for a test ride, all good.

Wont be paying the dealer to do this repair again! Thanks to all who responded.

 

nice!

Mike

 

Your owners manual tells you all you needed to know! Well done, we can all rest now. You deserve your favourite beverage.....

 

what's the yuasa number for the late model touring bikes (15) and where to buy them ?

 

[QUOTE=mkguitar;15781152]

if you need a battery, wscott has posted on sources and prices.

my latest is the yuasa GYZ32HL at $132- previous was the batterymart $100 deka made big crank ETX30L
/QUOTE]

wscott is up on prices- mine came from phatperformance, but check amazon, ebay for best pricing, look for codes.
that same yuasa can be priced at over $200 for suckers

mike

 

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Ah,since you said the dealer rep the battery 6/2014 you would think it's the same a stock/original HD maint free fact act AGM battery seems to be yet another decent quality AGM battery that has bit the dust somewhat early at approx 2.5yrs.

Your bike is a 2012 you have been thru 2 batteries of same mfg/type in approx 2.5yrs each when that battery has a rep for going 3.5-4yrs on avg (some longer) which isnt horrible but not great either.

You also said you use a maint/float charger on the current battery that crapped out kinda early and question is did you use the same maint charger (or diff one) on the 1st original battery that went bad in 2.5yrs too?

I ask that because i have seen more then a few bike batteries crap early when using maint charger on them often & or 24/7 due to overcharging.

And keep in mind " by design " AGM batteries have significantly less acid/electrolyte in them making them much more sensitive do drying out leading the plate warpage/shorting & premature failure.

!st you need to ensure all connections @ battery & maint charger are all clean & tight.

Then recharge battery & have it load tested ,if it good then you have another issue to chk out,if its bad then do this.

If you want a better result with the 3rd battery then dont do the same thing & try this next time around saving you money on the battery while getting a better quality too.

Get a Yuasa's powerfull top of the line GYZ32HL / 500cca fact activated maint free AGM battery from Phatperf online to your door for approx $132 to your door. (See link below for details)

http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/...arch.y=13&mfg=

Ensure you top the charge of a new battery prior to install.

Then change your maint charger use,do not put the charger on the bike if its going to sit only 3-4 days tops with security system,without security/alarm system can go 6-7days without charging.

When you do use you maint/float charger do not leave it on the battery 24/7 or close to that anymore,just ensure you remove the charger from the battery within 24hrs or so after battery has reached full charge and charger went into float mode charge rate until it's time to recharge again if the bike hasn't been in use.

I have a maint charger that " when in it's lower rate float mode charge holds my bike battery at 13.4v's which short term isnt that harmful,but holding a newer gen AGM battery that by design has a full charge voltage or approx 12.7-12.8 @ a consistent 13.4V's 12/4 for wks & or months @ a time is when in some cases can & dose damage an AGM battery that " by design uses less acid " prematurely drying out the plates leading to reduced srv'c life/premature failure.

Happy motoring.

Scott