I got up this morning to ride in to work. 33 degree weather but no snow or rain. The bike wouldn't start and I ran the battery down trying. I have had the bike start in even colder weather so I think it might have been a low battery. I haven't ridden in nearly a week but I'm surprised that the battery would have gone down during that time. I don't have access to a electrical outlet near the bike to put a battery tender on it. Have any of you had the same problem and what did you do to fix it.

 

pull the battery and put it on a trickle charger... you want to be careful just hitting that starter button over and over... HD is known for going though starters.... i would charge up the battery then work from there, electric, fuel, and fire... battery, fuses, ensure fuel lines are clean, plugs... if you have strarted it last week i do not think that gummed up injectors would be an issue... hope you get her humming again soon!

 

Mark with the temps we havebeen having for the last week, no doubt it wouldn't start if it's sitting outside even covered.... Can you run an ext cord ?

 

Only time mine didn't want to start was when the positive cable came loose from the battery. Turn the key on, would have lights, hit the starter button and everything went dark. Turn key off then on and lights would come back on and same thing. [:@]
Took a few minutes to figure it.

About a year later was out riding with my father-in-law and his Electra Glide did the same thing when we went to leave. He was surprised (and happy!) I carry a tool kit with me. 5 minutes later we were on the rode.

Good luck and let us know when you figure it out.

 

My starter gives out about the 20th kick

 

Thanks JRK5892, I have a connector on the battery for a battery tender, do you think I could hook up the trickle charger to that?

 

Hi Trotter, I can run an extension cord but I would not be able to leave it overnight or while I'm gone. It wouldn't be there when I got back. I'll charge it up after I get home from work.

 

I would just be paitent and let the battery charge with the battery tender. Once it is fully charged up, then I would try to start the bike.

Once the battery is fully charged up and if the bike still fails to start.....then began checking out other things. If the battery shows any weakness of trying to start on its own....STOP trying to start the bike. Starting the bike with a really weak battery is not good on the system.

Maintenance free batteries are.....maintenance free other than making sure the terminals are tight and clean. Once a maintenance free battery fails...consider it gone though, because you cannot add water to these. Charging and charging does not always bring these back as well. The old style batteries....usually could be brought back to life after adding water and charging.

Your battery is 3-4 years old.....use a volt meter and load tester if you have access to one. If you have to end up replacing the battery....ALWAYS check the charging system as well.

 

It's been below freezing for the last week.... if ya need a battery I have a few new one's at the house... Give me a call.. Skip

Oh and Doug I brought home a few Headlight Bulbs also

 

I do not think you can hook the charge to the tenter plug as it has a weird inlet on it... i would just pull the battery and get it somewhere warm to help it charge... DO NOT PUT IT ON CONCRETE!!!!!! if a battery is on the concreate it will loose the abilty to hold a charge! learned that the hard way