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Thanks guys for the responses. Yes the heat can be tough here but battery is 1 month old! Not enough time for heat to get it. And the other batteries that last 1 year, this still seems strange.
Since im not sure i dont have a faulty starter, i will call dealer Tuesday and talk to service about the situation and see if they can check it without too much labor time. I have extended warranty so if needed can use it.
thanks again !
And don't forget to have them check the compression releases to make sure they are functioning correctly.
While it may or may not help solve your problem, I was going to suggest the same as Chopper Man.
I use the more expensive Battery Tender brand of solar chargers for my snowmobile that lives in an enclosed trailer.
If this was my bike, I would remove the battery and have it load tested. No matter if you think it's fine because it's new. Unless your engine has physical damage causing it to turn over slowly, batteries fail more often than starters do. Another thing to try is to hook your bike up with jumper cables to your cars battery, with the cars engine OFF, try starting it. If it spins over like it should, it's not the starter. Besides the battery possibly being bad, it might be bad connections, or the cables themselves.,,
The battery needs to be load tested and a starter current draw test done. This is basic starting system troubleshooting 101 that any halfway competent mechanic should be able to with a standard carbon pile load tester in about 10 minutes. The battery is 100% the very first thing I'd check regardless of it's age, every single amp of current to start the bike comes from it alone.
The battery needs to be load tested and a starter current draw test done. This is basic starting system troubleshooting 101 that any halfway competent mechanic should be able to with a standard carbon pile load tester in about 10 minutes. The battery is 100% the very first thing I'd check regardless of it's age, every single amp of current to start the bike comes from it alone.
glad you posted this as that will satisfy my curiosity on the starter. Will do! Appreciate it.
You can do a poor man's load test if you have a multi-meter...
Take it for about a 30 min ride to top off the battery.
Let the bike sit for about 30 minutes after the ride.
Pull the seat and take voltage measurements from the battery terminals.
Measure the battery voltage at rest. A new battery should be 12.7V or more at 100% charge......
Then measure the battery voltage when the ignition is turned on. A good battery should drop about 3 tenths of a volt when the ignition is turned on.
You may need help with the next step.... Watch the volt meter as you start the bike. The battery voltage will make a quick dip, then recover a bit.
A good battery should stay above 10v during that momentary dip... If it drops between 9.5V to 10V, the battery is weak. If it drops below 9.5 volts, the battery is toast.
IMHO....
Anytime you have an electrical issue, always start with a battery and cable check. Especially the ground cable at the frame. Once you verify a good, 12v source, THEN start looking elsewhere.
I also suggest finding the failed part, before buying any new parts. Throwing parts at an issue, unless you are lucky, can get expensive, and still leave you with a broken bike...
If your battery checks out good (load test from a good battery tester), then you may be chasing the same problem you had last time and needlessly bought a new battery....
Or, it could be the battery. At least this time, with the load test in your pocket, if there turns out to be an additional issue, you know you didn't waste money on a new battery.
Good luck with your diagnosis and keep us posted on the outcome...
Last edited by hattitude; Dec 2, 2024 at 05:02 PM.
I end up replacing the battery every winter in mine. I've tried replacing the starter thinking the stock one had high resistance, but the battery fixes it every time.
My bike is my daily driver and I think the summer heat kills them. I've done wires, grounds, you name it...
When it cools off the same thing every year, turns over once, pauses, kicks over again and starts. Put a new battery in and whamo - fires right off. and it's good for a year.
Don't go Lithium if you ride in cold weather, they aren't cold friendly. Even the warning on the box says it's dangerous to charge them below freezing, bikes start charging as soon as the engine starts so I guess we have to wait until Spring.
In my humble opinion, when you are done riding, the battery is in "storage". The battery in a Harley is located just behind the rear cylinder, so how does one store the battery below 80 degrees on a Harley? That alone tells me lithium batteries are not sutable for vehicular use. People in here have said they had good luck with lithium batteries, but this makes me believe that is exactly what it was, good LUCK.
I know many have stated not to trust the voltage gage on bike, but I'm thinking the consistency of the reading in different processes might give info.
ex: ignition on reading with new battery is always a little over 12v.
When slow turn over, below 10v.
Yesterday at noon with temp 75, hit starter and maybe 11v, very fast.
While idling, little over 14v.
15 MI use ride to gym, then 1 hour later ignitioignitilityle over 13v.
Unrelated but was wondering about a lighter weight oil in winter since when temp is warmer it fires up fast. This dispels my theory starter could be the problem, right?
also dispels battery since a short ride bike charges battery up as it should. Wouldn't a bad cell prevent this?
Food for thought.
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