I'm new to Harley's and looking for an answer. I have an 09 ultra and it acts as if the battery is discharged, but with a meter it reads as fully charged. Another unusual thing when this began when I would start the bike the radio which was not on would come on by itself. Any help would be appreciated.

 

First

 

Could be bad battery, If over two years old replace it.

 

There is more to a battery than resting voltage. It must be able to support a load. If you have a digital volt meter, you can test this yourself. Hook up the meter and watch it when you hit the starter. If voltage drops below about 9.6 at that moment, the battery is probably on the way out. This is a shade tree test and doesn't rule out extra current draw from a tired starter or from poor connections. Getting the battery load tested at Oreilly's, AutoZone or other car place is a more trustworthy test. ANY start problem should trigger cleaning and tightening BOTH ends of the battery cables as a first action. 09 had the weak compensator from the factory, if yours has not been replaced, that may also contribute to starting problems. My THEORY on that is that the compensator absorbs most of the starter effort while slowly (relative term) moving the engine into the first compression stroke. As compression builds, there is little inertia in the flywheel to help the starter through the first compression stroke. A tight compensator transfers the starter effort right into the engine and some inertia is already built up as compression accumulates on that first stroke. The starts, both hot and cold, became crisp and "easy" after I increased spring preload in my NEW compensator..

 

Are you trying to start the bike while in gear and the clutch pulled in? The cold clutch is a drag on a start, +1 on cleaning cable ends, get a good charge on the battery, then check the start voltage or take to a car parts/bike shop store and have them load test it.

 

Interesting. I had not heard of this compensator issue. Please tell me more! (I have an 09 and have never liked the way it cranks)

 

Thanks for the quick replies. I took the battery to an auto parts dealer and the voltage was fine but it failed under a load even though it was only a few weeks old. I upgraded to one with higher cca and it's starting better than ever.
I'm also new to forums in general so I think I have posted this note of thanks in about three different locations in the forum before I got back to where I originally asked the question. So sorry for being and idiot but thanks again for the help.

 

Don;t have a clue on your level of knowledge, hope this isn't too basic. The compensator is mounted on the engine crankshaft and functions as a shock absorber to dampen engine pulses. Each power stroke tries to accelerate engine rpm, and each compression stroke retards the rotation slightly. The comp absorbs the pulses in each direction and smooths the flow of power into the transmission. Harley offered a "Screaming Eagle" compensator for those who modified their engines to put out more power. When the 96 ci engine came along, and especially the first 103s the stock engines would load or over load the standard compensator much like the user modified engines before. The compensator would be moved to its limit and slam against the stop placing a shock load on the engine and transmission. The most noticeable symptom was a loud metallic bang when the starter was energized. A very few did not experience that, but many did. The other symptom was described as a "box of rocks" noise coming from the primary case along with drive line roughness or harshness typically below 2000 to 2500 rpm. The SE compensator used "Belleville springs" conical washers made of spring steel, rather than the fairly light coil spring used in the stock version. The first few versions of the SE compensator had a design problem that kept enough oil from circulating in and lubricating the hub area causing wear and fretting. While I got about 70,000 miles out my first generation SE comp, many weren't so fortunate and have done several replacements along the way. The "latest and greatest" version addressed the lubrication problem with radial holes drilled in the hub area and collector cup added to the outer primary cover which would catch some of the oil flying around inside the primary case and drip it onto the hub area of the compensator and centrifugal force would then sling the oil where needed in the hub. It seems Harley can't do some things 100% right and this latest comp has problems also. The springs either have a QC problem or are just prone to being slightly under size and they don't put enough spring preload on the moving pieces so even the new comp will often rattle. My new comp began doing that after about 2000 miles. Initially Harley replaced many of these comps under warranty and the problem would return They finally figured out the problem and issued shim packs that would take out the slack in the springs and increase the preload. My pet theory for a permanent fix would be to just replace the smallest spring with a thick shim and have the medium and large springs do the work. In effect that is what I have done with mine and so far so good, but even with the relatively mild winters in Oklahoma, I don't ride much until spring. There are videos on youtube and picture series in here on replacing the compensator. There is NO currently available compensator or solid sprocket that I know of that doesn't REQUIRE replacing the stock rotor on a 96 or 103 engine through 2010, the 11s came from the factory with an SE style comp.so that rotor won't need to be replaced. If you are not familiar, the rotor is like a flywheel with strong magnets embedded in the sidewall which spin past coils of the stator mounted to the crank case below, and inside the rotor. . The rotor and stator make up the mechanical pieces of the alternator.. I did this job myself years ago so I haven't watched any of the videos. In case they don't make the point, the magnets in the rotor are quite strong, if you lose control of the rotor or have your fingers under the lip, you WILL get a very painful finger pinch, about like smacking a finger with a hammer. The parts from Harley will run in the $500 to $600 range. Shop labor, if you decide to go that way may well push the total cost over $1000. Some independent shops do it for a bit less. I hope you didn't "ask what time it is" and I went on to tell you how to build the clock. If you need more info, I or others should be happy to add more. .