Softail Sortail died. electrical issue Help 5 days till Sturgis

[trukin55]

OK Here goes. I am new to the forum and I am desperate. I have read all of the post I could find and don't see my problem. What I do see is that you like the intros first. My name is Mike, 42, Outside Chicago area. Love to talk cars and bikes. This is my first Harley,I have had it for a year and a half, don't know how I survived all those years on Honda's. I've had 40+ bikes and familiar with them but not the Harley's. Never have been great with electrical issues though.
Today, I rode an hour and parked my bike for about 4 hours . It started right up. Went 2 miles and parked for another 2 hours, hit the starter and clickclickclickclick. I know, battery low. Push started and left for my hour ride home. Halfway home it started acting funny, popping, missing, backfiring. Stopped it from dying and kept going, 2 minutes later dead. Had to trailer it home. Battery is at about 11 volts.
The Batt. is only 4 days old. I just replaced one that was only 2 months old because when I hit the starter it hesitated b4 starting and I didnt want any trouble on the trip. They confirmed it was a borderline starter but replaced under warranty.
3-4 weeks ago I added the Kuryakyn sound of chrome speakers to the bikewith my MP3 player.. Could they be using more power than it can supply and draining the batt. in the process. I have had a problem with one of them cutting off at full volume and I am working with the Mfg. on that. Could the excess use of power cause the speaker to cut off. I dont care about the speaker, I just have to get this fixed like now. The speaker was left on for the last 20 minutes or so thanks to one of the kids. that alone should have not drained the batt. But I had it at full volume all the way there using the most power , I suppose. After the bump start I probably should have left the speakers off but I wasnt thinking I guess.
I cant test anything until the batt is charged overnight so I came on here to look and see if anyone else has had the same problem.
Thanks for listening, hope somebody can help.

[trukin55]

Sorry, forgot. It's a 93 Softail Custom, FXSTC with 30.000 miles.

[Kainam]

Sounds like a wire got pinched with the speaker/MP3 player install, provided the battery tests good.

I'm also assuming you had no charging issues prior to this?

[SCHMIDTYS]

Just had a RK with this , the speaker amp was wired direct to the battery and would remain on with the ignition off . Any electrical device that doesn't entirely turn off needs to be wired through a relay and through the ignition switch .

[Larry Jones]

I can't help you but want to say welcome and you came to the right place. we got some guys and gals on here that can help solve that problem.
L.A.Jones
Joplin,Mo.

[trukin55]

Charging issues? Bought it in April 2008. It would hesitate when I pushed the start button, but not much. That got worse. I bought a new batt. in Aug. 08. No problems. Did a 280 mile ride in May this year, ran fine. The next day the batt was dead,"bad per the tester" bought a new one. Last week It was starting to hesitate on the start again so I tested the batt. It was "marginal", they warrantied it and I have another new one. Not sure if there is a charging issue or not. Had to wait for a full charge.
As far as the wiring, The speakers are wired directly to the batt. as the instruction say to do.

[trukin55]

I came onto this forum looking to learn from others experience. I would like to share my findings so that you can learn from mine. I charged the battery up overnite and while walking around the bike this morning I noticed that the wire for the regulator was unplugged. All that panic, for a loose plug.
She's at about 13-14 volts at idle and as much as 16.8 at higher RPM"s. Is that too high? Seems like it would be. Did me driving with the regulator unplugged for 40 miles do damage and cause it to overcharge?

[Dave63]

Originally Posted by trukin55

She's at about 13-14 volts at idle and as much as 16.8 at higher RPM"s. Is that too high? Seems like it would be. Did me driving with the regulator unplugged for 40 miles do damage and cause it to overcharge?

First of all, welcome, and it sounds as if you found the problem. Where your regulator was unplugged, that's where it plugs into the Stator, or the "Alternator" of sorts, that makes the electricity that keeps the battery charged.

Before you get really happy, take that plug off again, and make sure the contacts inside are in good condition and clean. The older plugs were known for getting skanky because of oil landing on them during oil filter changes. As well, if they're loose for any period of time, they can arch and begin to melt the rubber, making the contacts even worse.

If you're showing the bike charging again, I wouldn't seweat the 16.8 volts for now, because your battery was probably low, from all the other crap going on, and that system puts out a lot of voltage.

Has it harmed anything? No. You put a new battery in there, so you're not going to have the possible issues one would have with a battery that was run down a bunch of times.

Keep in mind, the older Evo charging systems put out 100% all the time, and bleed off the excess from the regulator. I believe you're good now.....

Enjoy Sturgis.

[Drum Dog]

Glad to hear it looks like you found the problem. Welcome aboard and safe riding to Sturgis.

[trukin55]

The batt is fully charged. With a volt meter on the batt and running at higher than idle, it is showing 17-18 volts. Am I gonna burn something up by overcharging it?