Battery charging prob.

[lboos]

on my 2013 T/G the batt. seems weak after it sits for over two days even thou. it does start, I ride it once or twice a week for aprox. 20-30 miles a ride, and when I hit the starter sw it hesitates like a weak batt. most of my rides are in town most of the time.
I took it to the dealer a few weeks ago, they tested the batt. and said it was ok, but they did find the stator was bad and was only putting out 21 volts instead of 34, so they changed it and said every thing was ok, this morning it really sounded weak and almost did not turn over the motor, but did start, I took it back to the dealer which is a 45 min. drive, and there it started up ok, after the 45 min ride, and they said that the batt. checked OK, and they would have to hear them self any hesitation on the starter to replace a Bad batt. or anything else, as required by Harley, they are going keep it for a few days and check it again.
I think it's just a bad Batt. my self, BTW my warranty runs out this Jan.
any one else ever have a prob. like this? Thanks for any info. .

[Sully]

Just wondering if your starting with it in gear or neutral

My seems to start slow when it's in gear. Quick and smooth in neutral.

[lboos]

Just wondering if your starting with it in gear or neutral

My seems to start slow when it's in gear. Quick and smooth in neutral.

Hi Sully,
Always in neutral and with the clutch in, esp. the 1st start of the day, [don't want to go there again ]......It's in Cartersville now, hope to hear something soon, after the rain.

I think I saw you and some of your friends talking at the entrance about a week ago when I 1st brought it in, I saw a dark blue T/G parked out frt. thought it might have been yours .........L. Boos.

[Sully]

Hi Sully,
Always in neutral and with the clutch in, esp. the 1st start of the day, [don't want to go there again ]......It's in Cartersville now, hope to hear something soon, after the rain.

I think I saw you and some of your friends talking at the entrance about a week ago when I 1st brought it in, I saw a dark blue T/G parked out frt. thought it might have been yours .........L. Boos.

OK, they will get it corrected, and I'd like to know what it was, just in case I get that problem. You may have seen me, I go there every Sat.

I'll be looking for ya next time. I always wear a White hat with Triglide on the front.

[Bikerbozo]

1st and foremost, get the extended warranty.
Have they checked the voltage regulator? How many miles on TG? Do you look at volt gauge to see if any fluctuations when there shouldn't be (at steady speed).

[Fusionfool]

This may be a stupid question because I know you have long experience with HD, but do you use a battery tender when letting sit for days? I do notice that if I do not have on battery tender, and leave the fob in the trunk, the slight strain on starting. If I take the fob with me it does not drain as fast. I do leave mine on battery tender when I know I might not ride for a few days.
Also colder weather will be a harder start. Just hard to move the cold oils ext. I do notice the 103 is harder to start when cold than previous motors.

[Bikerbozo]

Fob will drain battery if left with trike. Mine could sit for week or two while I travel. Parked outside. No battery tender.
Only hard start is below 20'F. Just replaced battery after a good long life.

[lboos]

Bikerbozo,
I always remove the FOB when I'm not riding it, it has a little over 5500 miles on it, on the volt gauge stays between 14 and 15 volts with no fluctuations, they said they checked the elect. charging sys. out, I guess that means the voltage reg. also ??.

Fusionfool,
I do leave the batt. tender on it if it has not been rode for more then three or four days, it only takes about 30 min. for the green light to come on. but I do unplug it once the green light comes on saying that it is charged, plus I do ride it at least two times a week, sometimes more, the weather here in GA. has been hot.

When I first bought the T/G I also bought a HD batt. tender [made in China], and the 2nd time I used it the two wires shorted out, they gave me a new one, every since then I have been afraid to leave the tender on for to long.

This prob. just started about two or three weeks ago, I feel that the batt. just will not hold a charge, when I do leave the batt. tender until the green light comes on. it starts like it should.... but, they have to hear the starter hesitate themselves, maybe Wed. we'll see.

Thanks for all the comments .

[trikermutha]

compression releases working?? Did they load test the battery at the dealer?

[lboos]

compression releases working?? Did they load test the battery at the dealer?

They did a load test on the battery, said the battery was good but the compression release was not brought up.
good question though, I'll ask.

[rap47]

I wouldn"t unplug when the green light comes on. Mine stays plugged in 24/7. Have done that for the last three years. When I put it in the garage after a ride I let it cool down before plugging it back in. If I should let it set all night after a ride I just plug it back in the next morning. When I do that, it usually only takes about 30 to 60 seconds to turn green.

[MontgomeryLittle]

I use the H-D battery Tender on 4 of our bikes the other 3 don't have batteries in them. They use them but they are in a "storage" mode. I have had one Tender go bad and the dealer instructed me where to send it, Florida somewhere and the replacement was free of charge but a Battery Tender Junior is what they replaced it with. They make the H-D branded one. Also leaving them on 24/7 is supposed to be fine, as they are a "smart" charger and know when to come on or go off.

My wife's 2011 Tri Glide has a similar issue with it as yours. Original battery with 15000 miles on the bike. But after leaving the tender off for over 2 weeks on hers and my 2008 FLHTP, her battery shows 12.79 volts and mine 12.83. Both in the 100% range of charged, actually a tad over. :
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/maintenance/battery.htm

I have my own load tester, both pass with flying colors. I have also performed all of the test below on the Tri Glide and the FLHTP. All are in range but some what on the lower side of the charging and they vary by RPM :
http://blog.jpcycles.com/step-by-ste...arging-system/

I used two Fluke meters a 77III and a T5-1000, both again within standards and very small margin apart as far as readings.

My 2008 did have some starter chatter on occasion this past spring but was very intermittent, I caught it one day and pulled the fuse box cover. I could feel the Starter Relay clicking. Got one at the dealer for $5 or $6 dollars no issues yet and saved me from almost buying another battery.

Check all the battery connections, the ground under the starter is a pain on the newer bikes. I use di-electric grease at all connections, fuses and relays.
I too have wondered about the compression release on these bikes, need to read up some more I guess. I always ask my wife if she has let it go thru the prime and engine off light before starting, and she says yes. I'll give her the benefit of doubt but I never have an issue starting it. She says I'm a smarty pants to put it mildly.
Any way good luck, maybe we shall cross paths next time we head to Savannah.

[Sloufoot]

When you first park your bike & it will start without a problem Let the engine cool off & do a volt drop check while cranking the engine by hooking a volt meter up to the tender plug.
Another kind of quick check would be to leave it as you would to have a hard crank condition. Hook up a volt meter to the battery tender plug & then crank the engine & watch the voltage drop.
Also check the voltage before cranking to see if the battery has dropped by itself.
Also be sure & check the battery connections at all terminals. They can change with temperature. ALWAYS use Dialectic grease on all connections & plugs.

[Condor Spirit]

Hoping you have found out what the problem is by now. As far as the battery tender, they are made to be left plugged in. Ours stay on motorcycles and lawn mower 24/7, 365. (except when in use, the cords aren't long enough for that ). As the dealer told me, once you've lost a percent of battery life, you have lost it. And since I get many years out of a battery, I tend to agree.

[lboos]

Got a call this morning from the dealer, he said that while trouble shooting it this morning they found a slight prob. with the voltage regulator, their going to replace it but they don't have one in stock, but they are going to get one from another dealer near by this PM and have it on in the morning, I ask if that does not fix it what's next ? ... he said they would swap out the battery ?

I think sometimes we live in a "to high tech." world, and that some depend to much on the computer and other hi tech. gadgets to do our thinking for us, in my low tech. world I would have changed the battery 1st, then the voltage reg. 2nd, and the stator 3rd, but then, if I had it my way I would have left the ole kick starter on as a back up to these computerized motorcycle's of today . maybe tomorrow ? .

[Condor Spirit]

LOL...I have wished numerous times they left the kick starter on, but with my old joints I probably couldn't kick it any way.
A number of years ago we had a bike that that went through a new battery I put in fairly quickly. The dealer put in a new one and that one fried too. They were going to put in a third battery... and I lost it. I kept saying it wasn't the battery, but because I'm a woman, they didn't want to hear it. We got stranded on vacation and it ruined the whole week we had planned for riding. Used a friends trailer to haul it three hours home. Turned out it was some electronic part. They ended up eating a $300 some odd dollar bill, and we never went back there for service again. A couple years later they went out of business anyway.... gee I wonder why.

[HDB0B]

YES If I was your mechanic I would put in a new battery and put yours on the shelf with a charger hooked up. If it corrected your problem I would dispose of the problem battery. If your problem persisted I would put your old fully charged battery back in and change the voltage regulator.

Work from the easiest to the hardest.

We once owned a 1984 Fiero with electronic gremlins that haunted us for months. It finally totally died on us and we had it towed in. Turned out to be HEAVY corrosion inside the engine to frame ground fuseable link cable that was completely covered from view by the outside insulation. Once they peeled back the insulation they found the problem!! They then issued a service bulletin and we found out that we were not alone!!

Bob

[lboos]

Hope I'm not boring everybody with my elect. prob, but a few ask to be informed.
I got a call from the dealer this morning, he said they had the tank off and traced all the wiring but could not find a prob. and that they replaced the stator for the second time as that was where they had found a prob. at 1st, they have replaced the voltage reg. this morning, and replaced the battery wires, and a few other wires and installed another battery for test, but said the org. battery tested good and was reinstalled, he said it was test driven in town and hi-way and no slow starts, they also said they have talked to the Harley tech. about it. any way it would be ready for pick up at 4PM today when they get it back together.

I don't feel good about it as they could not find anything for sure that caused the prob.
I guess I'll just have to ride it and see.
Thanks for all the comments.

[DTR 11TG]

not boring at all, its how we learn.

If it was my TG, I would replace the battery, yours would not be the first one that tested good, but has an internal problem, like the plates falling apart or something loose. No one likes to waste money, but no one wants to be stranded on the side of the road. OR, maybe buy one of these-

http://shop.antigravitybatteries.com/micro-start-xp-1/

[GARYD]

Batteries are funny things. I had a problem with my infotainment unit freezing up every so often. The dealer said they were having that problem a lot and it turned out to be a bad cell. I told them it had no problem starting the bike. Funny how it can start a bike but can't keep a little electrical device working.