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Nightster does not start after wash

I would use some baking soda mixed in water on a "Q" tip. The baking soda will neutralize the acid corrosion, then further clean with something like armor all and apply the dielectric grease.
 
scrname321 said:
glider, I will certainly have to try that link you gave to create a protective case for the fuse box. Thanks.

glider, question.... sorry i am new to bikes and never changed oil myself yet. how do i drop the oil? which pipe to pull?

could the water have gone in the engine itself?

Darmon, no i haven't hooked my batter to a battery tender this winter. I guess I should do that. But this was brand new bike i just bought right before winter so i figured it's brand new battery so this past winter i would not need to hookup to a battery tender.
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I bought my Sporty in December 08 and wasn't riding it for a while - was advised to keep it on a tender as even the security system could drain the battery after a few weeks. Rigged up an Optimate trickle charger to it and just keep it attached all the time I'm not out on the road. It was straightforward to attach the live-in-the-bike leads for the charger and I'm a newbie to HDs too. Great fun tho' :D:D
 
Try some switch cleaner and a cloth should get it off

Brian
 
thanks glider for the tip and all your quick responses. i really appreciate it. i will try this over the weekend and post results. keeping my fingers crossed!!! :)
 
Ok here's the latest update... I removed all the fuses, cleaned the white corrotion behind the fuses with Baking Soda and qtip. Wipped it all off with Armor All, let it dry completely. Then I filled di-electric greese in the fuse connections and replaced brand new fuses. I also cleaned (with wire brush) both battery terminals, and all the positive and negative connections on the engine. But the bike still does not start. I tested my battery with a regular volt-meter and it shows 11.80 V. My guess is that this much difference from 12 V is not a big deal and should not be the reason for my bike to not start.

But just to be sure I took out the battery and took it to my dealer. The guy tested the battery and he is saying that the HD battery tester is indicating that the battery needs to be charged. He is charging the battery today and I will be getting it back tomorrow.

What do you guys think about this? Could the bike not start due to 11.80 V instead of 12 V? Is there something else to this?
 
scrname321 said:
Ok here's the latest update... HD battery tester is indicating that the battery needs to be charged. He is charging the battery today and I will be getting it back tomorrow.

What do you guys think about this? Could the bike not start due to 11.80 V instead of 12 V? Is there something else to this?
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When the battery is unloaded the output voltage rises to indicate the level of "surface" charge...12.8V being nominal fully charged battery by itself...11.8 if you investigate indicates low, either about 50% or less charge or bad cell or cells dragging the net voltage down, if that is all it rises to unloaded. :small3d007:

HD dealer is probably correct, especially if you put her on a battery tender overnight and still reads 11.8V after battery is idle after charging for an hour or so. Real test is facing your bike to garage door and see how much the headlamp dims when you try to crank the engine, if it dims a lot or goes out, the loaded voltage is very likely below even the ignition module threshold to supply spark which is about 9-10V minimum. :(
 
NEWHD74FAN, you were right. It was the battery. All this time I had thought that 11.8V on my battery is not that much low since it is a 12V battery and did not imagine that to be the reason my bike did not start. My dealer charged the battery for 24 hrs and it tested fine now. It shows 12.9V now. I hooked it up to the bike and the bike started up right away without any problems.

I also bought a HD battery tender and I plan on following this rule..... "if I am not on the bike the battery tender should be hooked up to the battery". I did not even imagine the battery would go so low for not using the bike for like 2 months in winter. and I don't even have alarm system that i need to worry about constant drain when not in use.

The battery tender is sooooo important it should come free with every bike purchase!!!!!

Anyways, my bike is all good now and I would like to THANK ALL OF YOU who have shared your thoughts and suggestions on this. I've learnt a lot from all the suggestions and now all the electrical connections on the bike are nice and clean and the fuse box is clean and has di-electic greese on it. This was like a small tune-up service :)
 
Oh and one more thing. I was reading the instructions on the HD battery tender and I was surprised to know that a difference of just 1.5V bellow the normal (which is 12.9V) indicates the range of how much percentage a battery is charged.

So for example 12.9V would be 100% charged and 11.4V would be about 0% charged !!!!!

Mine was 11.8V that would mean it was only about 27% charged !!!! No wonder the bike won't start!
 
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