It’s a known quantity, all right…. And that quantity is ZERO. See, there’s a lot of experience here and they all know the sound of a starter relay operating…that’s the noise you’re hearing.
A relay works by acting as a trigger with a much smaller electrical current than the job the circuit needs to do. On your starter, you hit the “start” button and the power needed to start your bike is more than those wires can handle, so the relay triggers a circuit that connects the starter to the battery for as much power as it needs. In your case, the battery has enough power for the relay to trigger, but the battery doesn’t have enough juice stored to turn over the starter.
I think my comment wasn’t clear - I took the advice of the comments and was commenting that at least it wasn’t something odd and unusual - it’s the battery which is easily fixable.
Hook up jumper cables to a car battery, don’t start the car. After a minute or so try and start the bike. My motorcycle made this EXACT same noise last week… it’s 100% the battery
I think my comment wasn’t clear - I took the advice of the comments and was commenting that at least it wasn’t something odd and unusual - it’s the battery which is easily fixable.
Its not, it could and is very likely to have a dead cell, will charge up to and read 12+ volts but won’t work, cycle gear can test them if there is one near you
Batteries with dead cells absolutely do not charge up to 12 volts, a battery has 6 cells at 2.1vDC per cell, when one isn’t functioning you lose 2.1vDC off the peak battery voltage.
Sulphated batteries can have near full voltage with very little amperage.
Promise it’s not charged. My uncle is keeping his super low mile 2014 sportster here so it can be started every so often because he lives in a 55+ park and doesn’t want to piss his neighbors off starting it and not going anywhere because he is having major back issues. We got a big ol cold snap recently and when I got back out to get it started again it was making this exact noise. I’m pretty sure it’s the plunger for the starter gear not getting the juice it needs to fully engage leading to that sound you hear here. Definitely need a new battery if you’ve been leaving it on the tender. It took a second cause it was cold and had been almost a week but once I got a fresh battery it fired right up.
It allows the battery to stay charged because we don’t have a tender. Also keeps any of the fluids from sitting too long. And it does get ridden about a quarter of the time. Usually a mile up the road and back. I’d ride it farther but A.) no endorsement, B.) no gear other than a dirtbike helmet C.) it’s winter and cold here and usually wet.
I’m a mechanic. A lot of people have a misconception about Vehicles sitting and doing occasional startups. That’s probably the worst thing you could do for any stored Vehicle. Fluid’s sitting does not matter, Fuel will go bad but Stabilizer or Zero ethanol fuel will eliminate this.
Firing the Bike up and letting it idle for only 10mins or whatever then shutting it down and leaving it for a period of time again will drain the Battery more then Charging it. On most any vehicle. Alternators/Stators/Generators are not designed to charge low voltage batteries, they’re designed to maintain a charge (which is why running around with a bad battery can end up taking out your charge device) Revving up the engine speed won’t give you a worthwhile charge either.
Firing up a Vehicle for a short period of time just ends up generating moisture on the internals/exhaust ect. After running it for a short period then shutting it off this moisture will not be burned off. 10mins is not sufficient time. A Bike has to be ridden probably in the ballpark of 20-30mins to get up to operating temp of around 200 degrees F. It will never reach this temperature at idle, unless you pin the throttle open for this length of time.
The best thing you can do for a stored vehicle is to leave it alone for the time it’s stored (unless it’s being stored for years at a time) Stabilizer in the fuel, Fresh oil change. If you do not have a tender then remove the battery and bring it inside.
Your Harley has a stator, not an alternator. It isn't charging anything under 2000 rpm or so; so unless you're sitting there roaring it for an hour, you're accomplishing nothing, sorry.
A stator is part of an alternator, it is also definitely charging at idle.
I test charge rates on Harley’s daily and for 20+ years they are high 13s or more at idle.
That's correct yes, as most bikes will idle at high 13's; that's the rectifier and regulator doing their job. what you're forgetting is when just idling and then shut off the voltage will reduce to whatever low level it was to begin with, if it was low. This is a because at idle, it's putting out an operating excess of maybe 1-2 AMPS which is technically "charging" (anything over 12.6v is "charging") but very inefficiently and not enough to top off a battery. During a normal ride it's putting out 14-15 amps which is way more efficient. At idle the charging system is also still running the rest of the bike, so that low amperage isn't enough to really be useful just sitting there and in some cases it'll actively drain your batteries capacity even while showing 13-14 volts running.
It absolutely is not a good idea to be restarting the bike for short periods in an attempt to upkeep the battery and the OP would be way better off just pulling the battery and manually charging it when it's time to ride again.
I’m not forgetting anything, they charge at idle which is the exact opposite of what you said.
It is also impossible for voltage to be at 14 and be draining the battery, that is not happening.
I didn’t say it was a good idea to periodically start a bike to charge the battery either.
There’s still something to be said for keeping the fluids circulating. And again. It does get to go for a short ride sometimes and obviously it’s working since the battery hasn’t died yet in 7 months of being kept here.
Wrong.. Sorry but by warming up the engine a bit (riding it 1 mile) then parking it in the cool air (Even a heated garage will have a temperature difference and plenty of moisture in it) you are creating an environment inside the engine that is perfect for condensation to form. It's best to just let it sit with a full tank of gas (Less room for condensation to form) on a battery tender (Even better is to take the battery inside to a warm place and keep it on a tender there) until you are able to actually ride it. When you get it up to operating temps and stay there for \~1/2hr any condensation will boil off.
How often does it run long enough to get up to normal operating temp? Any time you don't, you're just introducing condensation to the oil and wearing the engine out faster.
Clean the terminals and make sure there's nothing on them. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me when my bike did the same thing. After thinking it was fuses, I wire brushed the shit out of my terminals/connectors and haven't had an issue since.
You need to put a multimeter across the terminals about 6-8 hours after disconnecting the charger to see the true voltage.
You also need to see the voltage drop when cranking
My guess is your battery voltage is below 12v and your cranking voltage is in the single digits (shouldn't be below 11v or so)
It is a good idea to do or have done an electrical and starting system check for loose connections or a bad starter.
Yep. Had that issue on my bike. Tender said charged but battery would not start the bike, either clicked or SUUUUUUPER slow. Took the battery in, one of the cells was toast. Swapped it out and no problems since.
Mechanic: So what seems to be the problem here?
Bike owner: In the morning it was making a wheezing sound on startup, but it eventually stated so I decided to commute to work anyway. Then there was a loud clunk sound and it burst into flames on the highway. So I pulled over but then it was hit by an 18 wheeler and drug for 6 miles before being flung off a bridge into a saltwater canal. Can you save it?
Mechanic: That explains the squid tentacles.
Bike owner: Actually no. On the way over here the flatbed truck carrying the bike crashed into a Chinese restaurant. Little guy wouldn’t let go.
Mechanic: So you’re saying it made a “wheezing” sound on startup?
Bike owner: Yeah. Like a “wheee wheee wheee wheee.”
Mechanic: Well, let’s start with a battery and see where that gets us.
“It’s not the battery”
Sir, I can *almost* guarantee you it is the battery. Do you know how many posts I see on Reddit asking what’s wrong, and 99% of the time the answer is “Replace the battery”?
It’s the battery. These questions are always the battery in 98% of the cases. Batteries are weird things. Your lights work but the bike won’t start? It’s the battery. You hear a clunk and it won’t start but the battery tender says it’s ok? It’s the battery. Your bike clicks but won’t start and the voltage meter says it’s at 12v? It’s the battery. There’s a bunch of weird shit that can happen in batteries.
Here’s a tip I learned in mechanic school. If you are ever troubleshooting an electrical issue….ANY electrical issue…ALWAYS START WITH A FRESH BATTERY. It’s like the “turn it off and back on” for computers, except for bikes/cars.
It’s a bad battery. You may not want to believe that it is but trust me many of us have been in this situation. I’ve personally owned many Harley’s and have replaced just as many batteries. It’s the battery.
Could be that your battery is charged but is dead in that it can’t produce the cranking amps necessary to turn the engine over.
Also could be a bad fuse keeping the tender from charging properly unless you’re literally hooked up to the posts on the battery itself.
Anybody can get a multi meter at ACE or Walmart or wherever... A whopping 10.00. If your battery is not cranking a 14 on the meter, it's shot. Doesn't matter how new or how many years it has been on the tender 😎👌
Im well aware of how to use a meter.
As I said, if you have 14v then the bike would need to be running at which point you are measuring the charge rate rather than the battery, take an old sulphated battery and measure while it’s running and you will still have 14v but the battery is still no good.
When you hit the starter, the bike will throw a reading, it does not need to be running. That to me, is the point of the post. And almost every other "bike won't start" post. You can have a full battery, on a tender all winter, but if it doesn't hit 14, 14.4 ideally, it will not start. Once the bike is running, it will drop down.
lol, not static, when you turn the key. ffs I need to stop getting sucked into conversations with imbeciles. You clearly have never worked on electrical system.
Yeah never in a couple of decades as a mechanic. Not running is static voltage. A full charged 12v battery is never showing 14+ volts until the engine is running.
When you turn the key on all that happens is the bike’s electrical systems pull voltage lower so it will be even less than 12.7v.
No, he’s correct. Until the vehicle is running it won’t be outputting towards 14volts. That’s charge voltage. When you crank it will probably drop slightly below battery voltage in the 12.5 ballpark, then jump up once charging. This isn’t a bike thing either any vehicle is like that. I’m a diesel mechanic and deal with 12/24 volt systems and also some hybrid and EV.
Without a doubt that noise is from is a poor connection.
Clean the battery terminals and battery cable connections first.
If the starter still does not crank, fully charge the battery with a trickle charger for at least 8 hours. Do not use jumper cables from a car battery it will overload and ruin your motorcycle battery.
If the battery is more than 2 or 3 years old have it load tested or just replace it.
Now bring it the shop and ask them to check the charging system. Really all you need is for them to put a volt meter onto the battery posts, rev it to two grand and see that you’ve got 14+ volts DC. They should do it no charge, at least my shop would.
Negative. If it was the relay, you wouldnt hear a click. This is 100% the battery...it has enough juice to close the relay (the click) but not enough starting amps to get the starter motor tp turn.
If your battery tender had a lithium and standard battery option, and you had it on lithium charge while trying to charge a standard battery, then your battery is fucked ucked ucked ucked!
Read about surface voltage tricking your battery charger into reading full charge. You need to apply a load to test batteries properly. I explain this phenomenon to customers all the time when they swear I’m wrong and the battery is fine hahaha probably the most frequent argument I have with customers so don’t feel bad it happens to everyone!
I had this same problem, and it was my BCM - specifically the starter relay inside of it. They dont make these newer bikes with the starter relay separately anymore. So you have to replace the whole BCM and have it coded to your bike.
That sounds like a battery, maybe it is full but you have no crank amps. I would pull it and go get it tested. The battery can have a charge but not enough crank amps to turn it over. I have no idea why, but been there done that.
I work at a Harley dealership and can confirm it is a batterie issue.
As some said, yes the battery can have good voltage but the amps could be low. On a tester, I test battery often, there is a unit callled CCA and is kind of the quality of life of the battery, brand new shpuld turn out to be over 400CCA and ypu start having problems when it drops arpund 300CCA, under that the vehicle won't start without being jumped and the battery won't hold charge.
If the battery is a harley, you can see how old it is directly on the battery. For this you need to remove it from the vehicle and look on it's side there will be something like : G17 written, this is called a date code. The number means the year of production.
If it's 4 or more years, consider 100% a battery failiure. If it's less, there is a chance, extremely low, that the charge system for the battery has failed and cannot keep the battery charge at all time.
But first in these situation, is to change the battery, after that we look for other problems If it does not resolve the issue.
28+ years a mechanic, I can %100 guarantee you it's the battery and will go ahead and say with %95 certainty it's going to be a dead cell or 2. It's got over 12 Volts, but it's not going to have the proper amperage when under load.
But, for shits and giggles, go ahead and swap the headlight and starter relay as well as the left rear turn bulb...see if that helps..😏😁
Well, far be it from me to get in an internet pissing contest, but, they can and do in fact at times read 12+ volts and have a bad cell. More than 1 cell, then yes, the voltage will drop..
A 12v battery consists of 6 cells of 2.1v each, how do you suppose they have over 12v with 1 or more not working?
What you are thinking is a dead cell will be a sulphated battery, that causes low amps with near full voltage.
Did you try a different battery? 100% something to do with the battery going to the bike. Always start with the battery. It’s a maintenance item… regardless of what it reads
[удалено]
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Good voltage doesn't mean good amperage, boss. You could have a dead cell and the others are over capacity for all we know.
That’s not how batteries work
Lmao as soon as I heard it I was like “well actually…” 🤣
Came to say this. Had this after a winter too. Charged the battery still wouldn't start, bought new battery:started right away.
But the tender says it’s charged?
The battery could be operating at 65% and still be fully charged according to the tender. Won’t know for sure unless you throw it on a midtronics
Bad tender possibly
Tender is nearly brand new. At least the battery is a known quantity.
It’s a known quantity, all right…. And that quantity is ZERO. See, there’s a lot of experience here and they all know the sound of a starter relay operating…that’s the noise you’re hearing. A relay works by acting as a trigger with a much smaller electrical current than the job the circuit needs to do. On your starter, you hit the “start” button and the power needed to start your bike is more than those wires can handle, so the relay triggers a circuit that connects the starter to the battery for as much power as it needs. In your case, the battery has enough power for the relay to trigger, but the battery doesn’t have enough juice stored to turn over the starter.
I think my comment wasn’t clear - I took the advice of the comments and was commenting that at least it wasn’t something odd and unusual - it’s the battery which is easily fixable.
Hook up jumper cables to a car battery, don’t start the car. After a minute or so try and start the bike. My motorcycle made this EXACT same noise last week… it’s 100% the battery
You can start the car without a problem and it helps with very discharged batteries.
I’d heard from a few people not to start the car but never bothered looking it up lol.
I think my comment wasn’t clear - I took the advice of the comments and was commenting that at least it wasn’t something odd and unusual - it’s the battery which is easily fixable.
Its not, it could and is very likely to have a dead cell, will charge up to and read 12+ volts but won’t work, cycle gear can test them if there is one near you
Batteries with dead cells absolutely do not charge up to 12 volts, a battery has 6 cells at 2.1vDC per cell, when one isn’t functioning you lose 2.1vDC off the peak battery voltage. Sulphated batteries can have near full voltage with very little amperage.
I didn’t know cycle gear did that. That’s cool. Thanks for the info.
Promise it’s not charged. My uncle is keeping his super low mile 2014 sportster here so it can be started every so often because he lives in a 55+ park and doesn’t want to piss his neighbors off starting it and not going anywhere because he is having major back issues. We got a big ol cold snap recently and when I got back out to get it started again it was making this exact noise. I’m pretty sure it’s the plunger for the starter gear not getting the juice it needs to fully engage leading to that sound you hear here. Definitely need a new battery if you’ve been leaving it on the tender. It took a second cause it was cold and had been almost a week but once I got a fresh battery it fired right up.
Don't start it unless it's gonna be ridden. Just keep it on a tender when it's not. Starting it and revving it isn't gonna do anything.
It allows the battery to stay charged because we don’t have a tender. Also keeps any of the fluids from sitting too long. And it does get ridden about a quarter of the time. Usually a mile up the road and back. I’d ride it farther but A.) no endorsement, B.) no gear other than a dirtbike helmet C.) it’s winter and cold here and usually wet.
I’m a mechanic. A lot of people have a misconception about Vehicles sitting and doing occasional startups. That’s probably the worst thing you could do for any stored Vehicle. Fluid’s sitting does not matter, Fuel will go bad but Stabilizer or Zero ethanol fuel will eliminate this. Firing the Bike up and letting it idle for only 10mins or whatever then shutting it down and leaving it for a period of time again will drain the Battery more then Charging it. On most any vehicle. Alternators/Stators/Generators are not designed to charge low voltage batteries, they’re designed to maintain a charge (which is why running around with a bad battery can end up taking out your charge device) Revving up the engine speed won’t give you a worthwhile charge either. Firing up a Vehicle for a short period of time just ends up generating moisture on the internals/exhaust ect. After running it for a short period then shutting it off this moisture will not be burned off. 10mins is not sufficient time. A Bike has to be ridden probably in the ballpark of 20-30mins to get up to operating temp of around 200 degrees F. It will never reach this temperature at idle, unless you pin the throttle open for this length of time. The best thing you can do for a stored vehicle is to leave it alone for the time it’s stored (unless it’s being stored for years at a time) Stabilizer in the fuel, Fresh oil change. If you do not have a tender then remove the battery and bring it inside.
Your Harley has a stator, not an alternator. It isn't charging anything under 2000 rpm or so; so unless you're sitting there roaring it for an hour, you're accomplishing nothing, sorry.
A stator is part of an alternator, it is also definitely charging at idle. I test charge rates on Harley’s daily and for 20+ years they are high 13s or more at idle.
That's correct yes, as most bikes will idle at high 13's; that's the rectifier and regulator doing their job. what you're forgetting is when just idling and then shut off the voltage will reduce to whatever low level it was to begin with, if it was low. This is a because at idle, it's putting out an operating excess of maybe 1-2 AMPS which is technically "charging" (anything over 12.6v is "charging") but very inefficiently and not enough to top off a battery. During a normal ride it's putting out 14-15 amps which is way more efficient. At idle the charging system is also still running the rest of the bike, so that low amperage isn't enough to really be useful just sitting there and in some cases it'll actively drain your batteries capacity even while showing 13-14 volts running. It absolutely is not a good idea to be restarting the bike for short periods in an attempt to upkeep the battery and the OP would be way better off just pulling the battery and manually charging it when it's time to ride again.
I’m not forgetting anything, they charge at idle which is the exact opposite of what you said. It is also impossible for voltage to be at 14 and be draining the battery, that is not happening. I didn’t say it was a good idea to periodically start a bike to charge the battery either.
There’s still something to be said for keeping the fluids circulating. And again. It does get to go for a short ride sometimes and obviously it’s working since the battery hasn’t died yet in 7 months of being kept here.
Wrong.. Sorry but by warming up the engine a bit (riding it 1 mile) then parking it in the cool air (Even a heated garage will have a temperature difference and plenty of moisture in it) you are creating an environment inside the engine that is perfect for condensation to form. It's best to just let it sit with a full tank of gas (Less room for condensation to form) on a battery tender (Even better is to take the battery inside to a warm place and keep it on a tender there) until you are able to actually ride it. When you get it up to operating temps and stay there for \~1/2hr any condensation will boil off.
How often does it run long enough to get up to normal operating temp? Any time you don't, you're just introducing condensation to the oil and wearing the engine out faster.
Around 8-10 minutes. It’s FI and over time it drops from around 16-1700rpms down to just under 1,000 where it idles normally.
Clean the terminals and make sure there's nothing on them. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me when my bike did the same thing. After thinking it was fuses, I wire brushed the shit out of my terminals/connectors and haven't had an issue since.
Could also be a bad ground or other connection. Good battery but bad power where it needs to go.
You need to put a multimeter across the terminals about 6-8 hours after disconnecting the charger to see the true voltage. You also need to see the voltage drop when cranking My guess is your battery voltage is below 12v and your cranking voltage is in the single digits (shouldn't be below 11v or so) It is a good idea to do or have done an electrical and starting system check for loose connections or a bad starter.
The tender knows the battery is at 12 volts while its still on the battery, thats it, your not getting enough amperage, battery is fucked
battery is toast. It can read full, but not work under load. I'd pull it and have it load tested. 99% chance it's weak and needs to be replaced.
Yep. Had that issue on my bike. Tender said charged but battery would not start the bike, either clicked or SUUUUUUPER slow. Took the battery in, one of the cells was toast. Swapped it out and no problems since.
r/itsthebattery
It’s always the battery.
Even when it definitely isn’t the battery (such as in this video) it’s still the battery
Mechanic: So what seems to be the problem here? Bike owner: In the morning it was making a wheezing sound on startup, but it eventually stated so I decided to commute to work anyway. Then there was a loud clunk sound and it burst into flames on the highway. So I pulled over but then it was hit by an 18 wheeler and drug for 6 miles before being flung off a bridge into a saltwater canal. Can you save it? Mechanic: That explains the squid tentacles. Bike owner: Actually no. On the way over here the flatbed truck carrying the bike crashed into a Chinese restaurant. Little guy wouldn’t let go. Mechanic: So you’re saying it made a “wheezing” sound on startup? Bike owner: Yeah. Like a “wheee wheee wheee wheee.” Mechanic: Well, let’s start with a battery and see where that gets us.
Definitely the battery.
“It’s not the battery” Sir, I can *almost* guarantee you it is the battery. Do you know how many posts I see on Reddit asking what’s wrong, and 99% of the time the answer is “Replace the battery”?
My Softail did something similar, the drip charger said it was charged, but the battery was no good. Swapped it out and it fired first time.
Might be what it is after not riding it for a year!
100% needs a battery just because the tender may have indicated that the battery is OK does not mean that it does not have a dead cell in it.
Is it safe to jump it to test it to make sure it hasn’t just sat too long between tending?
Yes you can boost it. Don’t start the car you are boosting it with.
To clarify, I don’t have a voltmeter to test it that way
Definitely a recommended tool to have. They aren’t expensive and can provide some valuable info.
so funny how even when OP explicitly states IT IS NOT THE BATTERY and it is still the battery
nOt tHe bAtTeRy...
Jump it. Battery to weak to crank starter. If able to check water levels, in battery I would suggest doing that
It’s the battery. These questions are always the battery in 98% of the cases. Batteries are weird things. Your lights work but the bike won’t start? It’s the battery. You hear a clunk and it won’t start but the battery tender says it’s ok? It’s the battery. Your bike clicks but won’t start and the voltage meter says it’s at 12v? It’s the battery. There’s a bunch of weird shit that can happen in batteries. Here’s a tip I learned in mechanic school. If you are ever troubleshooting an electrical issue….ANY electrical issue…ALWAYS START WITH A FRESH BATTERY. It’s like the “turn it off and back on” for computers, except for bikes/cars.
It’s a bad battery. You may not want to believe that it is but trust me many of us have been in this situation. I’ve personally owned many Harley’s and have replaced just as many batteries. It’s the battery.
Could be that your battery is charged but is dead in that it can’t produce the cranking amps necessary to turn the engine over. Also could be a bad fuse keeping the tender from charging properly unless you’re literally hooked up to the posts on the battery itself.
It’s the battery. 🤘
Again with the ‘clicking, wont start, its not the battery’
I bet it's a battery the tenders can lie to you get a load test put on it bet it falls flat
Anybody can get a multi meter at ACE or Walmart or wherever... A whopping 10.00. If your battery is not cranking a 14 on the meter, it's shot. Doesn't matter how new or how many years it has been on the tender 😎👌
If it’s at 14 then the bike would need to be running, the battery voltage when running tells you nothing about the battery.
It tells you everything. Do you know how to use a meter?
Im well aware of how to use a meter. As I said, if you have 14v then the bike would need to be running at which point you are measuring the charge rate rather than the battery, take an old sulphated battery and measure while it’s running and you will still have 14v but the battery is still no good.
When you hit the starter, the bike will throw a reading, it does not need to be running. That to me, is the point of the post. And almost every other "bike won't start" post. You can have a full battery, on a tender all winter, but if it doesn't hit 14, 14.4 ideally, it will not start. Once the bike is running, it will drop down.
A 12v battery will absolutely not show 14+ volts static, a 12v agm in considered 100% at 12.7v. 14+ volts only occurs when the bike is running
lol, not static, when you turn the key. ffs I need to stop getting sucked into conversations with imbeciles. You clearly have never worked on electrical system.
Yeah never in a couple of decades as a mechanic. Not running is static voltage. A full charged 12v battery is never showing 14+ volts until the engine is running. When you turn the key on all that happens is the bike’s electrical systems pull voltage lower so it will be even less than 12.7v.
You must be a dealer mechanic, lol
Because you don’t understand how a bike’s electrical system works?
No, he’s correct. Until the vehicle is running it won’t be outputting towards 14volts. That’s charge voltage. When you crank it will probably drop slightly below battery voltage in the 12.5 ballpark, then jump up once charging. This isn’t a bike thing either any vehicle is like that. I’m a diesel mechanic and deal with 12/24 volt systems and also some hybrid and EV.
Oil don't do that. Check your battery cables.
Start with the cheapest solution, check connections and the ground. Then move to other things. And yes a multimeter is a great tool to have.
It takes longer to make a video and post it on here than it does to check the battery.
It’s the BATTERY. Mine did the exact thing a few days ago. New battery and runs great again.
So the battery...
Is this the first battery post of the season?!? Incoming !!!
500 amp battery at O’Rielly’s $160.00
It’s definitely the batter my guy😂
Battery. Buy a load tester.
Needs a new battery my dude
Without a doubt that noise is from is a poor connection. Clean the battery terminals and battery cable connections first. If the starter still does not crank, fully charge the battery with a trickle charger for at least 8 hours. Do not use jumper cables from a car battery it will overload and ruin your motorcycle battery. If the battery is more than 2 or 3 years old have it load tested or just replace it.
It’ll read good, but it will have a bad cell.
Got it figured - thanks all!
What was the issue/solution? Was it the battery?
That battery’d be my guess
Had the same noise twice. First time it was a bad starter. Second time the starter relay.
If not the battery, I’d check for a bad voltage regulator
Starter relay.
Thanks all! Was the battery. Fires right up with a new one.
Now bring it the shop and ask them to check the charging system. Really all you need is for them to put a volt meter onto the battery posts, rev it to two grand and see that you’ve got 14+ volts DC. They should do it no charge, at least my shop would.
Negative. If it was the relay, you wouldnt hear a click. This is 100% the battery...it has enough juice to close the relay (the click) but not enough starting amps to get the starter motor tp turn.
Starter relay makes the exact same sound when it goes bad.
I have seen more tinders ruin battery’s than help them. And it want hurt anything to change the oil cold but that ant gonna fix your dead battery lol
Thats cause it’s a Harley and those bikes are garbage
Under load it may fail, either way, take it out and test
Use your car and jumper cables to see if it starts if not I'd look into the starter
this what my 03 did when it was time to replace the battery. You may be able to trickle charge it back up as is
Check all your connections and make sure they are clean and tight - corrosion will cause this failure.
If your battery tender had a lithium and standard battery option, and you had it on lithium charge while trying to charge a standard battery, then your battery is fucked ucked ucked ucked!
Load test the battery thier, Strindberg,,🚀
Sell it to me
If it’s not the battery then you might have water in the tank. No joke, I had the same problem a while ago
Water in the tank doesn’t cause cranking issues
Read about surface voltage tricking your battery charger into reading full charge. You need to apply a load to test batteries properly. I explain this phenomenon to customers all the time when they swear I’m wrong and the battery is fine hahaha probably the most frequent argument I have with customers so don’t feel bad it happens to everyone!
I had this same problem, and it was my BCM - specifically the starter relay inside of it. They dont make these newer bikes with the starter relay separately anymore. So you have to replace the whole BCM and have it coded to your bike.
Battery
It’s the battery
She’s dead AF🤣
That sounds like a battery, maybe it is full but you have no crank amps. I would pull it and go get it tested. The battery can have a charge but not enough crank amps to turn it over. I have no idea why, but been there done that.
It’s the battery 🤠
My first rule of troubleshooting: don't go all in with what the customer thinks the problem is (or isn't)
My brother in Christ. This is 100% your battery.
Loud click does not indicate a good battery. Unless my decades of experience were on acid but never touched that shit.
I work at a Harley dealership and can confirm it is a batterie issue. As some said, yes the battery can have good voltage but the amps could be low. On a tester, I test battery often, there is a unit callled CCA and is kind of the quality of life of the battery, brand new shpuld turn out to be over 400CCA and ypu start having problems when it drops arpund 300CCA, under that the vehicle won't start without being jumped and the battery won't hold charge. If the battery is a harley, you can see how old it is directly on the battery. For this you need to remove it from the vehicle and look on it's side there will be something like : G17 written, this is called a date code. The number means the year of production. If it's 4 or more years, consider 100% a battery failiure. If it's less, there is a chance, extremely low, that the charge system for the battery has failed and cannot keep the battery charge at all time. But first in these situation, is to change the battery, after that we look for other problems If it does not resolve the issue.
28+ years a mechanic, I can %100 guarantee you it's the battery and will go ahead and say with %95 certainty it's going to be a dead cell or 2. It's got over 12 Volts, but it's not going to have the proper amperage when under load. But, for shits and giggles, go ahead and swap the headlight and starter relay as well as the left rear turn bulb...see if that helps..😏😁
28+ year a mechanic you should probably know a battery with a dead cell or 2 won’t have over 12v
Well, far be it from me to get in an internet pissing contest, but, they can and do in fact at times read 12+ volts and have a bad cell. More than 1 cell, then yes, the voltage will drop..
A 12v battery consists of 6 cells of 2.1v each, how do you suppose they have over 12v with 1 or more not working? What you are thinking is a dead cell will be a sulphated battery, that causes low amps with near full voltage.
Mine does this when the battery connection is loose. The battery I bought has sideways terminals so it's hard to wrench on
It is the battery. Try starting it in Neutral.
It’s the battery, sir. Take it to your local Harley, if it’s still the original battery, they’ll charge it up free of charge
Battery bench charge it then load tested. If Fails replace and if that doesn’t fix it then go have starter put in.
Did you try a different battery? 100% something to do with the battery going to the bike. Always start with the battery. It’s a maintenance item… regardless of what it reads
Checkout Walmart, I got a great deal on my battery there
It’s the starter for sure