Hello Forum!! I noticed something today which I never noticed before and was wondering if it's normal or something else. Occasionally I have been fighting the dreaded PO562 (low batt. voltage) on my 08 FLHTC but that's another thread and this may or may not be related. I've noticed that when I start the bike the voltage gauge is slow to climb up to 14v (once it never got there and was not charging) but what I noticed today was when shutting it down (run switch to OFF and ignition to OFF) it also is very slow to sweep down to full left. Was just asking if anyone else has experienced this and if it's normal...again I've never noticed it before. Wondering if this is isolated to just the gauge itself if everyone else's gauge jumps down to nothing immediately. Thanks!

 

mine was slow to come up when the battery was failing, last season. Now it rises quickly, since battery has been replaced.

 

Ahhh that is good to know as I've also noticed it turning over harder when starting recently. It may be a battery starting to go. Thanks for the reply.

 

Do you keep it on a battery tender?

 

Get an and check your battery voltage and your operating voltage. The voltmeter on your bike isn't the best.

 

There are a couple of Stickies in the Tech Electrical section which may be helpful, but first thing to do is charge your battery and get it load tested. If it is old and fading a new one may restore everything OK, if not, use those Stickies to check and diagnose what else may be giving problems.

 

Yes always on the tender when in the garage.

Yes I do have one. It's a Fluke and has the ability to record. I did the start test while recording. Just off the tender hooked up the meter before starting battery was at 13vdc. Started recording and started bike, battery voltage dropped to 8.6vdc during start cycle. Once started battery voltage rose to 14.2vdc at idle. Just a disclaimer I do believe this is the original battery I do not think the original owner would have replaced it in the first 3 years. and I haven't replaced it since I purchased it in 2011.







I did all the checks in the stickies. I have good stator voltage (about 22vac at idle all 3 phases) all resistance checks seem okay. Went through all the basics on the wiring and checking grounds. Just seems to climb slow up to 14vdc when started (sometimes slow enough to throw on the CE light and po562 code then CE goes off once it reaches 14vdc) and just noticed its even slower to drop down once ignition is off. I have not had the battery load tested and I know I should. Maybe that is on the agenda for tonight!

Thanks ALL for your responses!

 

I have an '07 Buell which I just replaced the battery on, not so much because it was giving problems, just that it seemed to think twice before getting on with starting the bike and I am going to France on it for a few days. My battery was the original H-D one, so I reckon I have had my money's worth!

 

Yes I agree! Regardless if the battery here is the cause or not I know it definitely could stand to be replaced. If it is the original battery as I suspect 7 years of use is nothing to sneeze at. I know it's pushing it's reliable life on a Harley. It won't be $$ wasted on the purchase of a new one either way!

 

I don't know this for a fact, but I'm sure the stock gauge uses a capacitor to steady the needle, this will make it lag a bit.

What I do know for a fact is that this is very common with OEM gauges in the car world where even the RPM guage is filtered and stabilized to the point that its precision is more like ballpark.