I recently purchased a new battery for my 03 FXDL. As per the instructions I added the liquid and charged the battery and installed, About a week later I was left stranded with a dead battery. So out comes the factory service manual and factory elctrical diagnosis manual well voltage regulator checks out, stator checks out battery when charged and sitting never dropped below 12.83V however when I hit the starter button It will pull down to 9.3V is this a normal voltage drop? it seems like alot and I am a little confused when reading the manual. I did a 200 mile ride yesterday left with a fully charged battery and by the time I got home it was dead again (stopped and shut down about 10 times throughout the day). My guess is that each time I start the bike it pulls the voltage down a little more and it gets to the point that the charging system can't recover from. So maybe my new battery is defective or maybe the starter is going bad? Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

 

The battery is bad. All batterys need to be charged before using and if you don't, they never "wake up" from their dry storage state. I've made the same mistake and doubtful that all the charging in the world will ever bring yours up to servicable condition.

Bad/weakbatteries will show the appropriate voltage (unless they've shorted internally) until put under load.

I recommend the sealed type. They cost a bit more and should also be charged prior to use, despite the claims by manufacturers to the contrary.

 

Could be a bad battery. but check the running voltage across the battery. You should be seeing 14.5 v +/- when running at a high idle, rev it up and watch for any change. A drop to 9.3 volts WHILE CRANKING indicates a marginal battery.

 

Yes, I'd check my charging system again. There were some pretty iffy stators in the '02/'03s.