Hey Guys,

Just wanted to double check with people that know more than I do about some readings I have. Some of you know I recently bought a 2002 Road King, the guy I bought it from was an older guy who cannot ride anymore. Bike was always garage kept, but he never rode it. Just started it and ran it every so often. Said he would charge the battery, but not sure if he kept it on a tender. Anyway, I have readings of 12.4 for just the Battery, then 12.7 @ idle, and 13.2@2000 RPM. Sound ok? I just got a tender and will keep it plugged in when it’s in the garage. I plan on testing the stator and regulator, but do those numbers raise any concerns about the stator/regulator?

Thanks in advance guys!!

 

Sounds like your charging system is working okay, should be close to 14 VDC at 3000-3500 RPM. It may be sucking the juice from the voltage regulator because it is charging as a full charged battery at rest should read about 12.7 VDC.

The readings should be taken on a fully charged battery, wait until the tender tells you the battery is at full charge and then take the readings as before.

Do you know how old the battery is?

If It was me, I would take the battery out after it is fully charged and get it load tested at a local auto parts store, that way you will know how many Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) it is putting out.

There is a section in the forum that you may want to read as it is very informative on charging issues:

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...sting-1-a.html

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...sting-2-a.html



Just because a battery shows good voltage does not mean it has sufficient CCA because as any battery gets older the CCA go down because the battery plate wear out (simple explanation).

 

Thanks cool breeze!
I will do that exact thing with the battery as far as taking it to be load tested. Should I check the stator or regular, or do the numbers sound right? I’m not sure the age of the battery, Just that it’s a NAPA battery the previous owner put in.

 

See if there is a date stamp somewhere on the battery. That might help.

 

I’ll look for one definitely, can I assume (yeah I know!..LOL), that if the colts go up with the RPM’s , that the stator is functioning properly?

 

*Volts

 

If the battery tests good and you are getting close to 14 VDC at 3000-3500 RPM then your stator & regulator should be okay. Read the links I posted. When the system does not show that it is charging then it is time to troubleshoot the regulator & stator, most folks replace both if one goes bad.

If it load tests good, ride it.

If you want to go to all the hassle of testing your stator and regulator, have at it if you need the piece of mind.

Congrats on the new to you Road King.

 

It appears that the battery might be low but you really should check the voltage at 3000 rpm. If getting a maintainer, you are best off getting one that can do over an amp so that it can charge batteries beside maintain them. Tender make a 1 1/4 amp one. Noco makes a 5 amp one but you got to adapt to the tender plug.

 

Thanks cool breeze! Much Appreciated

 

Thanks Max. The tender I picked up says it’s 1000 mA, Output voltage 14 VDC Output current of 1.0 Amp +/-0.2 Amp@12V. I don’t have a Tach, how can I know the RPM?