I have a 2001 FLHPI (Road King) that has been eating up my battery for a little while now. One thing i noticed while i was checking all of the connections is when i removed my negative cable from the battery i heard a relay clicking. i went right to the right side cover and discovered it is the ECM relay. I am guessing this possibly is my problem. i checked everything heading up to relay (grounds) and everything seemed fine. i replaced the 40amp breaker just for giggles since it was such a cheap part. still eating up the battery. I have tried leaving my multi meter hooked up and removed all the fuses and the only thing that changes the reading is when i remove the 5amp ecm fuse. any one else have a similar problem and find a solution?

 

any help would be appreciated.

 

Ignition switch could be going bad...just replaced switch on my '07.
Was having problems with battery not charging prior.

 

battery questions are pretty abundant this time of the year. the first recomendation is to perform a battery state of charge test. remove the batter from your bike....do an indicated 100% charge....then disconnect everything from the battery and let it sit for 12 hrs. measure the voltage of the battery and compare to a battery state of charge chart (goolge to find one). This will tell you what condition your battery is in. if the state of charge test indicates your battery is at 70% after 12hrs with no load, time to get another battery.

 

You have already done exactly what I was going to suggest by removing fuses and observing the current draw.

Now that you know which circuit is the culprit, the next step is to look at the wiring diagram and find everything on that circuit. Then start isolating each item until you find the cause.

Good luck.

 

Are you saying the ECM is still drawing current with the switches off?
A general test I do is connect a digital meter to the battery, switches off. Battery drain should be very minimal (IE security), and if there is significant drain I remove one fuse at a time until the culprit shows up. If no security or other small drains (IE older bike, etc.) when you pull the offending fused circuit, the voltage may actually start to go up, as in an attempt to recharge.
Good luck, it might be the ECM relay.
BTW - Have you load tested your battery?

 

also...depending on the model....radio memory also draws current with key out....there are two fuses for the radio...power and radio memory....radio memory is hot all the time and powers the internal radio clock as well.

 

thanks for all of the ideas guys.

i have done what you said in the past and have found when i pull the ECM fuse not only does the relay click, but my battery voltage goes up. is there such a thing of a relay loosing its strength?

 

sounds like you have a charging problem.....either battery is shot...of your charging system has issues.....how old is your battery anyway?

 

Got the same problem with a 94 Electra Glide. The battery is 1 year old an not holding charge past a few days still trying to find the problem.