2010 U.C. hard starting when hot, possible compensator issue
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,341
Likes: 982
From: Trinity NC
I had the same issue and it was a ACR that had gone bad. I cant remember what year Harley started putting in the ACRs but mine was on a 12 FLHTK. When the bike was hot it would make crazy noise, really embarrassing if there were people around. I burned up the started clutch before I figured it out, I was out of town on a 10 day ride not good timing. Next time the bike is hot and you turn it off when you are ready to start it open the throttle slightly before you push the start button. This will open the TB and release the compression. Turned out I had one ACR bad and one working intermittently.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Last edited by Mofo67; Oct 16, 2018 at 04:49 AM.
Thread Starter
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 3,847
Likes: 999
From: Southern Virginia
I want to thank everyone for the suggestions. Lots of good info here. I'll add a few things I thought about after reading the responses.
My motor is a 96 so no ACRs to worry with. Also I do not normally leave it connected to a battery tender because I ride it at least a couple of times a week. It never fails to jump to life as soon as I hit the starter button cold. I can even listen to the radio a while before starting it. On most bikes that may not mean much but I have a dual amp eight speaker sound system. When I have trouble starting it hot it makes a loud grinding/banging noise. As others have mentioned cracking the throttle sometimes helps. On my other two bikes when the battery is weak you can hear the solenoid clicking. Also on those the problem is reversed. If the battery is weak it may not want to start cold but once the bike runs it charges the battery and it starts hot just fine. I'm getting the impression that these touring bikes might have differences that I do not understand.
I think I will dig into the battery cables some more and check them out when I have time. I know I checked the terminals and even put a little blue loctite on the screws about a month ago. I have seen some folks talking about four gauge battery cables. Is this something that is sold as an upgrade?
I don't know if any of this additional info may shed some light on things or not. Thanks again for all the replies I really do appreciate them.
My motor is a 96 so no ACRs to worry with. Also I do not normally leave it connected to a battery tender because I ride it at least a couple of times a week. It never fails to jump to life as soon as I hit the starter button cold. I can even listen to the radio a while before starting it. On most bikes that may not mean much but I have a dual amp eight speaker sound system. When I have trouble starting it hot it makes a loud grinding/banging noise. As others have mentioned cracking the throttle sometimes helps. On my other two bikes when the battery is weak you can hear the solenoid clicking. Also on those the problem is reversed. If the battery is weak it may not want to start cold but once the bike runs it charges the battery and it starts hot just fine. I'm getting the impression that these touring bikes might have differences that I do not understand.
I think I will dig into the battery cables some more and check them out when I have time. I know I checked the terminals and even put a little blue loctite on the screws about a month ago. I have seen some folks talking about four gauge battery cables. Is this something that is sold as an upgrade?
I don't know if any of this additional info may shed some light on things or not. Thanks again for all the replies I really do appreciate them.
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 401
Likes: 8
Compensator
I had the exact issue, nasty clunk at shut down and grinding at hot start. Get a Baker or BDL compensator and a hayden or baker tensioner. Get rid of the H.D. crap.
It's an easy two to 3 hour job if you have the skills
It's an easy two to 3 hour job if you have the skills
Last edited by slider1156; Oct 16, 2018 at 04:05 PM. Reason: Add info
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 33
Likes: 8
From: SW Houston
As I said the battery fixed mine, BUT I do think I could have put a high torque starter on to compensate for the less than new condition battery. So I can't argue with a guy that says a starter, or whatever fixed his. You might try getting it hot and then hooking up jumper cables to a vehicle battery. At that point you should know you have plenty of battery. If it still bangs and starts hard, a battery may not fix yours. If the problem is non existent with a car batter jumped to your bike, then you know.
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 3,847
Likes: 999
From: Southern Virginia
Thanks again for the tips y'all. Got some new info I wanted to share.
I noticed yesterday evening when I went to start it after a stop the voltage meter dipped to below ten volts. I had never really watched it before because like the air temperature gauge it is not accurate. While riding it reads almost sixteen volts and I have checked with a volt meter and it was just a little over 14. That may indicate that the battery is too weak to reliably spin a hot starter though. Am I correct in thinking that the hot engine may have more compression than a cold one? All of my electrical memories (as well as muscle memory) are still tuned to my Shovelhead as that is the bike that I have put the most miles on, so I admit that I may not be "reading" this newer bike properly. Another thing is I did not buy this battery so I don't know how good a quality it is.
So I have decided that I may buy a new battery for safety's sake. Does anyone know of a battery that is better for the money than the Harley branded AGM units? I learned long ago not to try to save money on battery purchases. I live in a rural area though so the dealership is about the only place I can buy motorcycle batteries without going mail order.
I still wonder about the compensator sprocket but I forgot to say that this 96" motor is bone stock. I do however have a K&N filter and Rinehart exhaust and have the original Pro Super Tuner to tweak the ECM with, so it is making more power than stock but not like a big bore kit and cams would. The bike has 37,000 miles on it now. I don't know if compensators fail that early or not. If anybody knows please chime in. I know that's about all I got out of the cam chain tensioners on my Wide Glide so it is definitely in the mileage of Harley failures.
Thanks again for all the help y'all I greatly appreciate it.
I noticed yesterday evening when I went to start it after a stop the voltage meter dipped to below ten volts. I had never really watched it before because like the air temperature gauge it is not accurate. While riding it reads almost sixteen volts and I have checked with a volt meter and it was just a little over 14. That may indicate that the battery is too weak to reliably spin a hot starter though. Am I correct in thinking that the hot engine may have more compression than a cold one? All of my electrical memories (as well as muscle memory) are still tuned to my Shovelhead as that is the bike that I have put the most miles on, so I admit that I may not be "reading" this newer bike properly. Another thing is I did not buy this battery so I don't know how good a quality it is.
So I have decided that I may buy a new battery for safety's sake. Does anyone know of a battery that is better for the money than the Harley branded AGM units? I learned long ago not to try to save money on battery purchases. I live in a rural area though so the dealership is about the only place I can buy motorcycle batteries without going mail order.
I still wonder about the compensator sprocket but I forgot to say that this 96" motor is bone stock. I do however have a K&N filter and Rinehart exhaust and have the original Pro Super Tuner to tweak the ECM with, so it is making more power than stock but not like a big bore kit and cams would. The bike has 37,000 miles on it now. I don't know if compensators fail that early or not. If anybody knows please chime in. I know that's about all I got out of the cam chain tensioners on my Wide Glide so it is definitely in the mileage of Harley failures.
Thanks again for all the help y'all I greatly appreciate it.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 10,029
Likes: 5,404
From: Manitoba
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 10,029
Likes: 5,404
From: Manitoba
Thanks again for the tips y'all. Got some new info I wanted to share.
I noticed yesterday evening when I went to start it after a stop the voltage meter dipped to below ten volts. I had never really watched it before because like the air temperature gauge it is not accurate. While riding it reads almost sixteen volts and I have checked with a volt meter and it was just a little over 14. That may indicate that the battery is too weak to reliably spin a hot starter though. Am I correct in thinking that the hot engine may have more compression than a cold one? All of my electrical memories (as well as muscle memory) are still tuned to my Shovelhead as that is the bike that I have put the most miles on, so I admit that I may not be "reading" this newer bike properly. Another thing is I did not buy this battery so I don't know how good a quality it is.
So I have decided that I may buy a new battery for safety's sake. Does anyone know of a battery that is better for the money than the Harley branded AGM units? I learned long ago not to try to save money on battery purchases. I live in a rural area though so the dealership is about the only place I can buy motorcycle batteries without going mail order.
I still wonder about the compensator sprocket but I forgot to say that this 96" motor is bone stock. I do however have a K&N filter and Rinehart exhaust and have the original Pro Super Tuner to tweak the ECM with, so it is making more power than stock but not like a big bore kit and cams would. The bike has 37,000 miles on it now. I don't know if compensators fail that early or not. If anybody knows please chime in. I know that's about all I got out of the cam chain tensioners on my Wide Glide so it is definitely in the mileage of Harley failures.
Thanks again for all the help y'all I greatly appreciate it.
I noticed yesterday evening when I went to start it after a stop the voltage meter dipped to below ten volts. I had never really watched it before because like the air temperature gauge it is not accurate. While riding it reads almost sixteen volts and I have checked with a volt meter and it was just a little over 14. That may indicate that the battery is too weak to reliably spin a hot starter though. Am I correct in thinking that the hot engine may have more compression than a cold one? All of my electrical memories (as well as muscle memory) are still tuned to my Shovelhead as that is the bike that I have put the most miles on, so I admit that I may not be "reading" this newer bike properly. Another thing is I did not buy this battery so I don't know how good a quality it is.
So I have decided that I may buy a new battery for safety's sake. Does anyone know of a battery that is better for the money than the Harley branded AGM units? I learned long ago not to try to save money on battery purchases. I live in a rural area though so the dealership is about the only place I can buy motorcycle batteries without going mail order.
I still wonder about the compensator sprocket but I forgot to say that this 96" motor is bone stock. I do however have a K&N filter and Rinehart exhaust and have the original Pro Super Tuner to tweak the ECM with, so it is making more power than stock but not like a big bore kit and cams would. The bike has 37,000 miles on it now. I don't know if compensators fail that early or not. If anybody knows please chime in. I know that's about all I got out of the cam chain tensioners on my Wide Glide so it is definitely in the mileage of Harley failures.
Thanks again for all the help y'all I greatly appreciate it.
Thread Starter
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 3,847
Likes: 999
From: Southern Virginia
Thanks for the tip on the starter clutch. I don't know if I would say it is "screeching" but I'll definitely keep an ear out. If I don't find any better alternatives I may just pick up an HD AGM battery and see if it helps. While I have it out I'll check the cables real good. I'm used to carbureted bikes so I don't have a good feel for how fast this fuel infection motor has to spin before it will reliably start. Since I have the tuner module I can tweak most any setting, but this problem just crept in slowly over the past month or two, so I don't think I'll go poking through the ECM settings without good reason.
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Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 33
Likes: 8
From: SW Houston
I bought a yuasa battery from amazon. and got it the next day. I'm not saying the rest of your bike is perfect, but I am saying mine acted the same way, and batt fixed. I have not had a compensator fail, but my understanding is they make noise while riding when they are acting up. In cars, yes cold starts are harder on the battery, but on Harley's, not so much.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 10,029
Likes: 5,404
From: Manitoba
I bought a yuasa battery from amazon. and got it the next day. I'm not saying the rest of your bike is perfect, but I am saying mine acted the same way, and batt fixed. I have not had a compensator fail, but my understanding is they make noise while riding when they are acting up. In cars, yes cold starts are harder on the battery, but on Harley's, not so much.