| Author | Message | ||
     Captjoe |
Ok so I'm fishing for ideas again guys. Today, I went riding and once again the battery light came on although it didn't stall. I'm confused as to what could be the issue but I'm quickly losing confidence in taking the bike further than a mile or two from my house. The bike has a new battery, a new stator and EBR rotor and now also has HD's harness fix which the dealer put in when they installed the EBR rotor and a new stator. The symptoms are a very quick battery discharge and very slow charging. Basically, if I stop at a red light, I can see the battery discharge from 13.9 to 12.0 or less in the minute or so the traffic light is red. Once I start moving, the battery only begins to charge rather slowly at rpms above 4000. At idle, there is no charging just a steady discharge like the one I describe above at a red light. The only thing that comes to mind is a possible VR failure or issue? The VR seems to be the only electrical system component that hasn't been touched so far. Or could the crummy harness be causing the slow charge issue? Maybe the issue is not so much the discharge bur rather the battery just not charging fast enough because of the reduced output caused by the harness? | ||
| Bartone |
try unplugging the harness fix and see if that solves your issues. Without the harness, it charges up a lot quicker | ||
| Samg |
I would agree with Barton. Check you charge update harness. Possible burn damage... | ||
| Captjoe |
Thanks guys. I see so many posts related to the harness that it does seem to cause more issues than it was supposed to solve. My problem is my bike is under the extended warranty until 2017. If I remove the harness and the stator burns up again, I'm certain Harley will hang me out to dry on any electrical issue the bike may have. I need to have a chat with the dealership about this as the bike is basically not in a state I can ride it much. | ||
| Dannybuell |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBYEYGJfyBw&feature =youtu.be | ||
| Blk09r |
The IC voltage readout has a lot of hysteresis built in. Try connecting a volt meter to see what is actually happening. It may be charging quicker than you think. | ||
| Captjoe |
Thanks Danny!! I really appreciate that video. If it's that simple, even I can temporarily remove it to check things out with and without the harness. Looks like the most difficult part of it is to remove the seat and put it back on again!  Hopefully that fixes the problem. Thanks again. | ||
| Froggy |
Like the video shows, you can simply just bypass it in a few seconds but leave it installed allowing you to quickly reconnect it as needed. Your symptoms do sound normal, but bypassing the harness should allow it to charge up a bit faster. | ||
| Sparky |
If it still has the H-D Harness fix, most likely the problem is that the relay part of the fix has burned out its contacts and must be replaced. OTOH, the good news is if the relay has indeed burned out, that must mean that your charging system is healthy, right? H-D p/n for a replacement relay is 31504-91B which I believe is also used as a headlight relay. | ||
| Shawns |
If you have the EBR rotor and a healthy stator, you no longer need the Harley harness. That harness hinders a good charging system | ||
| Pwillikers |
+1 on Sparky's diagnosis. | ||
| Captjoe |
Spoke to the dealer and they suggested putting the bike on a trickle charger to ensure the battery is fully charged then take it for a ride. The thought was that maybe the new battery was sitting on the shelf for a long time and the bike may be having issues charging it fully with the type of riding I was doing. It was a long shot but I tried it anyway. Didn't work, the bike left my garage at 14.2v and quickly was down in the 12.0 - 12.5 range. Didn't die and no battery came on but it never got back up to anywhere near a full charge. Back on the charger it went when I got it home. The next step is to remove the harness and give it another go from a full charge. | ||
| Pwillikers |
Capt, the symptoms you're experiencing are identical to mine and several others when the relay in the harness died. When this happens your are left with 1/3 of your charging capacity all the time and your battery slowly drains. To test, you can easily bench test the relay with a volt meter, or just replace the relay. It's a cheapo (<$10) standard automotive relay you can get from any auto parts store. Just make sure you get one with "diode protection" and the largest amperage rating you can find; 40A or greater is good. I'm 90% sure this will solve your problem. | ||
| Dannybuell |
my pleasure. My bike started charging better when I did it! | ||
| Bextreme04 |
I installed the ebr rotor and a new rewound stator last year and have over 3500 miles on the new parts with the harness completely removed from the bike. I just pulled the stator cover off today to fix an oil leak and the stator still looked brand new. No sign of overheating or burns anywhere on it. It charges between 13.5-14V all the time even when sitting at a stop light, in high heat, for several minutes. I would definately ditch the harness as soon as possible. | ||
| Sparky |
BXT04, that's a great plug and affirmation for the EBR rotor mod's design goals and ability to solve the problematic 1125's stator life. Thank you. My EBR rotor mod has been working flawlessly as well (with the stock stator and without the harness fix). | ||
| Captjoe |
Bike's all fixed. The boys at the dealership removed the harness that was installed about a month ago and the relay was all corroded. They happened to have another new harness around so that one was put on the bike and it is charging like a charm...for now. But at least if the charging goes wonky again, the harness will be the first thing removed once and for all. Thanks again everyone for all the help and advice. It's much appreciated. |
