Ok the bike is a 92 Sportster with a 100" S&S. The only accessories still wired are headlight, tail light, and an Autometer Tach. Turn signals are not installed.

The bike is a recent purchase that sat for several months waiting on me to get to it. With it not starting, I grabbed a brand new battery. It worked fine at first, then a few hours later it would not crank the bike over. I rode to a friends house about 20 min away & a few hours later it wouldn't crank.

My meter doesn't have a decent amp setting. However, with the key off the bike was drawing 1.25 v. I traced the guilty wire and found it rubbed through where it ran down the fender. Tracing it all the way I ended at the voltage regulator. I also found several other dead end wires & a bundle of chopped/taped ones behind the headlight. Along with two indicator lights that were melting thru the tape and melting themselves. I plan to replace any shorted out wire and make sure no dead end wires have power to them.

My main questions are;
Does anyone know how much voltage it should draw with the key off?
Is their a good source for an original diagram to help me track some of the dead ends?

 

Being a sporty, there shouldn't be any draw with the key off being there are no radio or clocks. If you have a draw, check the fuse panel for corrosion and white powdery buildup and clean it out if there is any. Treat effected surfaces with dielectric grease and reinstall the fuses. Don't overlook the contacts in the ignition switch as a source of a problem too.

 

Well, the voltage regulator wire was the guilty party drawing 1.25 volts. Where it was running behind by the rear fender about 2 inches of it was down to bare wire and touching the frame. I'm not sure if I want to just solder in a new wire or replace the whole thing since it looks like it has seen better days.

I found the wiring diagram in the back of the manual I bought (oops guess it helps to open it). Busy for a few days, but it looks like I'll have at least a day of tracing & replacing wires on the Sporty & my TA... Plus figuring out what wires I can remove power from since they aren't used. After reading more on here, I pick up a battery tender & maybe a higher cranking amp battery to turn the engine over. After I check the PN on the one the dealer said they use for big cube kits on sportys.

Why do so many people think a set of dikes, a roll of electrical tape, and a pile of scotch blocks & butt connectors makes them qualified to do their own wiring? How f*#king hard is it to get the correct connector, solder it into the harness & cover it with shrink tube? and extra 3 minutes saves hours of tracing crappy connections.... ugh, sorry to rant... just annoyed.

 

I don't blame you for ranting if you have the scotch locks on the bike, even butt connectors aren't much better when it comes to vibrations and staying connected. Anyone that uses those is just looking for trouble, You're headed on the right track to solder and shrink wrap wires. It's the professional way of doing things.