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View Full Version : Harley troubleshooting


Nedcentral
Aug 10, 2010, 05:40 PM
Hi! My bike sat in climate controlled storage for 8 months. 800 miles on it. The battery was dead and wouldn't take a charge from my trickle charger. A bike shop across the street from storage (they don't work on Harley) hooked it up to their trickle charger and it read 70%. When you click the key into the first position the speedometer lights up but when I hit the horn button it didn't work and the speedometer goes ou while the button is depressed. Click the key to the second position and nothing works. The guy at the shop couldn't offer any solutions. I would really love some help because I haven't ridden in two years and had my heart set on it. Thanks!!

smoothy
Aug 10, 2010, 05:49 PM
Flatline a typical battery and you kill it. Doesn't matter how old it is. You can destroy a 2 week old battery that way.

You need to periodically recharge it or leave a float charger on it. NOT a trickle charger that will fry the battery if left on that long (sulfation).

I'll bet if you take it into a autoparts store and have them load test it, it will turn up bad. That's the best and only definative way to prove it short of borrowing or buying a new battery.

spanky917
Aug 12, 2010, 05:56 AM
Yep... bad batt ? Can waste a lot of time trying other stuff before finally doing what really needs to be done?. get a new battery... then see what else is wrong... machines really, really don't like long term storage.