I own a 2005 Dyna Super Glide (EFI FXDI) with just over 16,000 miles. A couple weeks ago I noticed the engine would be “hiccupping” (hesitating) under steady speed. The power would be intermittent. It started, accelerated fine, but at cruising speed the power would just “hiccup”. It wouldn’t backfire or anything. I talked to a buddy of mine and he suggested replacing the air filter (and plugs) since a couple weeks before that we had rode through the rain, and maybe the filter got clogged. So I was actually looking at upgrade to an Arlen Ness Big Sucker air cleaner system.

Before I ordered the air cleaner, I ended up going for a ride yesterday with a buddy. Engine still doing same thing. Didn’t worry about it, because it wasn’t that bad. But I started noticing it getting worse. Then just as we were pulling back into to town, the bike completely died. No electrical power whatsoever. My buddy ran to his house, got some tools, and the battery off his extra bike (just in case). We did some tests. The original battery still had juice, but we determine it didn’t have any amps. We hooked up the other battery, and the bike started right up. We hooked up a voltage tester, to see what the charging system was sending back, and it was sending 30amps back to the battery. So my friend thought that is too high, and maybe the voltage regulator needs to be replaced.

I was able to ride the bike home with the 2nd battery, but it still ran like crap. Real hesitant on power at steady speed.

So my questions are:

- Is that normal for the charging system to be sending back that much voltage?

- Did the voltage regulator ruin the battery?

- Does the voltage regulator need to be replaced?

- Is it something else?

Thank you for any help.

 

You are going to have to start pulling and looking and cleaning. You could have some or all of these things, water in connectors, corrosion in connectors, loose battery wires, voltage regulator going out, Start/Runs switch intermittent, ignition switch intermittent...

I rode through a serious fat-rain storm in Alabama and Mississippi on a 2001 FXD and rode across Louisiana the next day without any issues...until stopped for gas in Vidor, Texas. The starter would engage and the engine would crank as soon as I turned on the ignition key. both the Run and Start switches had shorted out internally from all the water. That trashed a starter spur gear and clutch basket and required a tow home. Fitting end to a wet and disappointing ride home.

 

At first we thought it was the ignition switch. But swapping out the battery seemed to have solved part of the problem.

We put a multimeter on the battery after it started, and just idling the charging system was sending back about 30 amps to the battery. So my buddy thinks it might be the voltage regulator. I am going to try a couple of things before ordering it. One is start the bike, then disconnect the positive cable and see if the bike dies, or stays running.