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Charging problem

You have all the symptoms of a battery that is not retaining a charge. I'd make sure the battery was OK before I'd do anything else. Especially if your battery is not new. Just curious - how old is it?
 
89 FXRS said:
OK glider I'm going to get the load test and go from there (probably tommorrow)- it'a a factory sealed HD battery. And no numbers on how much volts it should be putting out at idle? /thanks so much for all your help - fxrs
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Check this out:

(see Glider's post above!)

Also, look at these batteries and compare with the HDs:

Odyssey Drycell Motorcycle Batteries

TQ
 
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glider said:
It could be a lazy regulator or even a poor ground at the regulator or ground wires. Did you load test the battery?

Other than that the output is well within limits on the high end.

Check over the voltage regulator wiring harness where it goes down under the bracket for the regulator, they have been known to wear through there too.
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glider said:
Depending on any extras on the bike, you should see around 12V+ at idle. Sometimes with an older battery it will dip lower until the RPM's are raised. Each bike is a bit different.

Take a look here for some more info on the charging system.

Testing The Charging System - Harley Davidson Community
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glider - the Auto Zones around here will not do a load test for me neither will Pep Boys so I went on and did the test you provided - I hope I did them right

Step# 2/TO CHECK REGULATOR - meter set at 20vdc I got 0.6 on one terminal and 0.7 on the other

Step #3 MEASURE RESISTENCE -2 PINS OF THER STATOR - I did get between 0.1 and 0.2 - but my system is a 38amp TC88 not the 32amp TC88 you refered to in your instructions

Step#4 CONTINUITY - was not able to get any continuity between the pin on the plug and the engine ground

Step#5 OUTPUT FORM STATOR - I was able to get approx. 17-18 vac @1,000 rpm and approx.37-38vac @2,000 rpm

Doesn't it seem to you like everything points to a bad regulator? - do you think I still need to have that load test? - battery is almost 2 yrs. old /I keep a battery tender on most of the time and have never let it go down very far - after letting it sit without the tender on it for the last 5 days it gives a reading of 12.74,
the factory repair book says a full charge should be 12.8 but the info. that came with the new H-D battery says 12.7 - I wish they would make up their mind -LOL
 
Sounds like the stator is putting out enough but the voltage at rest on the battery isn't the absolute test at all. The load test its the only way of checking it to be sure under load.

You can hook up your meter to the battery and crank the engine to check how low the battery volts drop while cranking. You should see at least over 10-11 volts at least when doing this. The more the better.
 
glider said:
Sounds like the stator is putting out enough but the voltage at rest on the battery isn't the absolute test at all. The load test its the only way of checking it to be sure under load.

You can hook up your meter to the battery and crank the engine to check how low the battery volts drop while cranking. You should see at least over 10-11 volts at least when doing this. The more the better.
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glyder - I went to Harley and got them to do a battery/load test, it showed that the battery was good - had 556CCA with 12.95 VOLTS
it passed the charging test - idle:12.95V rev. 13.990V - my meter shows a little different - 12.3 and the rev@3600 is 14.3 As well as the starter test which stated - Cranking Volts - NORMAL:11.31Volts
But from doing the test that you posted below, it seems to point to the voltage regulator being bad, I'm a little confused on what I should do.Another thing that doesn't make much sense to me is after riding the bike when I put it on the battery tendor it takes well over an hour sometimes several hours till the green light comes on -if the charging system is working properly shouldn't it only take a couple of minutes? Does that mean that the charging system is infact not working correctly?


Step# 2/TO CHECK REGULATOR - meter set at 20vdc I got 0.6 on one terminal and 0.7 on the other

Step #3 MEASURE RESISTENCE -2 PINS OF THER STATOR - I did get between 0.1 and 0.2 - but my system is a 38amp TC88 not the 32amp TC88 you refered to in your instructions

Step#4 CONTINUITY - was not able to get any continuity between the pin on the plug and the engine ground

Step#5 OUTPUT FORM STATOR - I was able to get approx. 17-18 vac @1,000 rpm and approx.37-38vac @2,000 rpm
 
The battery tender is not a good indication of the state the battery is in because of the very low output that the battery tender puts out being 0.75 amps
 
So in your opinion what do you suggest I do - go with the test results from Harley or the results from your test which seem to indicate a bad voltage regulator? And once again thanks for your help glider - fxrs
 
From everything you posted the Harley results would hold more truth being they do it on a regular basis and may be getting better results. Hard to say but I may be tempted to replace the regulator.
 
89 FXRS said:
So in your opinion what do you suggest I do - go with the test results from Harley or the results from your test which seem to indicate a bad voltage regulator? And once again thanks for your help glider - fxrs
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You are showing voltage on the bleed-back test (#2) through the VR. This means that ANYTIME the engine is not running (and the alternator putting out), the battery is draining through the VR. It is shot. I had the same problem on mine. If you used a lower setting on your meter (like 2.5V), I would bet you would be closer to 1.5-2 volts. Anyway, whatever it is, is bad. It's draining your battery even with a battery tender on it.

Steps #3, 4, and 5 look OK.

TQ
 
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