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battery ??

TUCKERFLHX

TUCKERFLHX

Member
I just got my wife a 2000 1200 custom,the guy said he put a new battery in it. Well the first ride was for about an hour. Then next day i took it for a ride for about an hour everything still good. Then we went out for about 3 hours and we stopped and i noticed her battery was leaking, so we got home i took battery out cleaned everything up the neg battery cable was a little loose the battery is an energizer 20l-bs. I took the caps off and the each end holes were full but the rest werent,i dont know if the guy didnt fill it correctly or even if your supposed to take the caps off,or he did fill it incorrectly and didnt charge it and when we rode it and it charged and got hot it just overflowed.i guess my question is ,is the battery junk or can i refill it charge it off the bike and see if it leaks or what i have a couple of days before we go on a ride any suggestions? And yes i did read the tips about batteries
 
What type of battery is it. Some batteries (SLA) you should not open and add water. Was the battery boiling the acid. If so your charging system is overcharging. You need a volt meter to check your charging system. You want to see 14.5 to 15 volts. You should get your shop manuel out to check actual recommended voltage.
 
I cant even find any info on the battery besides 20l-bs,thats how i found this sitewhich is pretty cool but my battery problem isnt. No the battery wasnt boiling.i was just trying to see if i need to junk the battery and waste 100$ on a new one. Its just weird it didnt happen on the first couple of rides, now shes worried that her bike is gonna start having problems, and then shell be wanting to ride my bikewhich i dont mind sometimes i guess.
 
If the battery was wet I would think that it was boiling. I hope that you washed all the areas effected with baking soda and water, to neutralize the acid so that it doesn't do any damage to the bike. The 3 hour ride was most likely long enough to over charge the battery causing it to boil.
 
Was the guy you are refering to, a dealer, a tech, or just some Joe u dont know and bought the bike from. He may have not told you the truth or not know what he was doing and overcharged the battery. If it were me I'd bite the bullet and get new so I know what I got in it. Beats having to boost it and be stuck somewhere. But if you are in no hurry fill it up with disstilled water and recharge it. Let it sit a while and see how long it holds a charge and or holds the fluid. It was still starting the bike right? But realy I'd just get new because I heard lotta strange problems bad batteries can cause.
 
I wiped off what i couldwhen we were out but when i got home and took it apart the chrome battery cover is pretty much ruined and i have a really lil spot on the chrome transfer cover about the size of a dime, any ideas how to fix? I can handle getting new battery cover but the transfer cover is another thing someone said try mothers polish or finese.if not im gonna find a little sticker that says ouch!im gonna go to the tips and maintnencepage now and see how to check charging system.
 
I would want a new battery also, but I would first verify that the charging system is working properly so that I don't damage the new battery. I would also get the battery from the dealer, that way I know I have the right one.
 
speedyron said:
was the guy you are refering to, a dealer, a tech, or just some joe u dont know and bought the bike from. He may have not told you the truth or not know what he was doing and overcharged the battery. If it were me i'd bite the bullet and get new so i know what i got in it. Beats having to boost it and be stuck somewhere. But if you are in no hurry fill it up with disstilled water and recharge it. Let it sit a while and see how long it holds a charge and or holds the fluid. It was still starting the bike right? But realy i'd just get new because i heard lotta strange problems bad batteries can cause.
Click to expand...
im pretty mechanical but not on harleys yet,but by lookin in the archives on checking charging systems im kinda lost i printed off the pages and ill try it. Thanks for the input
 
TUCKERFLHX said:
im pretty mechanical but not on harleys yet,but by lookin in the archives on checking charging systems im kinda lost i printed off the pages and ill try it. Thanks for the input
Click to expand...

Check this out:

Testing The Charging System - Harley Davidson Community

If your wife's bike has a wet battery (not a gel cell or "dry" type), then you do need to make sure that each cell has enough electrolyte in it to cover the plates. There should be a line across the face of the battery showing the correct fluid level in each cell. You can use DI water to top up all the cells and then put it on a trickle charger out of the bike with a hose on the overflow to catch what burps out. Once you are fully charged (say around 12.5-12.8 Vdc), clean off the battery well with lots of water and dry it with some paper towels. Put it back on the bike and hook it up. Then do the stuff in the link above to make sure your alternator (stator/rotor) and voltage regulator are working right.

You may notice that when mounted in the battery box, the fluid is higher on one end (probably the rear). Not much you can do about that as long as the box is mounted right. Just make sure that the overflow hose is routed all the way down and out the bottom of the bike about 2-3". If it is too short, get some new hose at the auto parts place.

TQ
 
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