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Battery not charging properly

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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 01:42 PM
  #1  
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tsmithopt
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From: Kitchener
Default Battery not charging properly

Hi All,

Looking for some help if anyone can give me some guidance. I have a 2012 Road King with 120R crate motor. My battery light has come on intermittently and I've been stranded a couple times with no charge. I checked to make sure the +/- binding terminals were secure since everything tends to shake loose and they were fine. I checked with my voltmeter and the voltage reading went up properly when bike was running vs when it was off, so I figured I had a battery problem. I replaced the battery. Battery light came on again on second ride with the new battery and I got stranded again. So I figured my voltage regulator or stator must be shot. I put the bike on the stand and checked with my voltmeter again and it showed just over 13 volts when off and over 14 volts when running - which would make it seem like the charging system is working properly. Worse yet - it seems to prefer to drop the charge when my wife is on the back and rarely does it when I'm riding solo. It's pretty much killing my marriage - and she wants me to dump the bike and after all the $$ 120R work I'd rather not. Any help would be much appreciated!!
Thanks!!
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 02:11 PM
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lmar
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Welcome to the forum from Canada.
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 02:18 PM
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PDB17UltraRG
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Welcome to the Forum lots of great info here enjoy and learn or brush up a bit from Stuart Fl. Ride a Lot Ride Safe.

You do have to charge most batteries prior to a install they don't come fully charge maybe try and charge it up prior to the next use i use a battery tender they work when and your battery will last a lot longer
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 02:20 PM
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Welcome.

You have either:
- bad regulator
- bad battery
- bad stator
- wiring issue

intermittent problems are a PITA to find. Based upon your description, I’d suspect wiring.
- With the bike running, shake and twist all the wiring from the stator all the way to the battery, and to the starter and ground.
- Then, Disconnect the battery, then disconnect the regulator. Then set your DMM to ohms, and connect to each end of the wires from the regulator and start shaking & twisting all the wiring. Until you see the ohmeter bounce around.
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 02:49 PM
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From: Kitchener
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Thanks for the tips Trigeezer. Much appreciated. It's a PITA alright. It's been going on intermittent for 2 years. Doesn't do it for a few months and all of a sudden just hits. I had assumed the stator was OK or the trouble would be more frequent. I had been leaning towards the voltage regulator or maybe a short somewhere in the wiring.
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 03:24 PM
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Welcome to the forums from S.W. Iowa! This area is more for introductions to the group. I would post this on one of the tech threads. I'm sure you can get the help you need.
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 04:01 PM
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Welcome from Texas
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 04:37 PM
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Welcome to the forums from Ontario, Canada
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 04:40 PM
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G'day mate,

welcome to HDF.

I will be your tour guide. Be sure to read the manual before posting ok mate?

Or we will have discipline you and if you don't "get it" we will need to discipline you biker style.

Now, for your orientation. Go down the hall on your left to the 1st room. No, wait. The 1st room on your right. That is where the commissary is.

Then you will see doors marked for the mortuary, skeet shooting, a room where we make fun of In-Jun bikes, and of course we have a ahh, umm, oh yeah a across the hall.

We had a BOMB MAKING room but, well, ahhhhh, 1 of the guys just didn't understand Blasting Caps very well so..... you know.

We have our own pub .

There are several places where you can familiarize your self with the .

So don't be a wall flower watching others . Get involved.

See you around mate. I am going to the commissary now.

**** ON THE SERIOUS SIDE ****

**** I AM NOT ONE TO GIVE ADVICE ON HOW HDF WORKS BUT… ****
**** AND THE FOLLOWING IS UNOFFICIAL ****


​​​​​​​You are in the “New Members Area” where you can introduce yourself and let us know what Harley Davidson bike(s) (if any) you ride/own.

If you have questions about engines, exhaust systems, audio issues, etc… then:

1) Please go to the upper corner and Roll Over “Forums”

2) Then come down to and Roll Over “Harley Davidson Tech & Mechanical Forum”

3) Then come down to the section that would be most appropriate for your question like Audio Systems, Engine Mechanical Topics, Exhaust System Topics, etc… and CLICK on the topic you have a question about.

You will find the knowledge here is EXCELLENT and these here mates are willing to help you in any way they can. ‘juss be careful. There are some “Trolls”, so I suggest just ignoring them ‘ole farts.

See you around HDF. Come often, we have a humor thread, game thread, and a LOT of other stuff.

Have A Great Day Mate,

BuzzCap7
 
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Old Apr 15, 2019 | 04:56 PM
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Howzit and Greetings from Houston and a Displaced Cut N Shoot Texan

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