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voltage reading

grtscot

Member
hi yall Im new to this site Ijust bought a 04 electra glide standard 4 days ago it had been sitting for 4 months it started fine i ran it for 4 days wouldnt start , clicking noise i replaced the battery the old one only showed 60 amps the tech said the harley batterys put out about 300 , it starts fine now but im reading 14 to 15 volts on the fairing dial , it was reading that too on the old battery is that normal or do you think the old battery just wouldnt hold or take a charge thanks for any input .
 
Hi grtscot, I have an 06 ultra and it runs about 14v on the gauge I did check it at the battery with a voltage meter and it was 13.8. Thats the most accurate way I think. Most gauges won't be as close as a good meter. You might check it with a meter if you think it over charging.
Mike
 
thanks mike im going to pick a meter uo. and check it Ijust put the battery in yesterday so Ithink ill ride it a couple days and then check it thanks again pete.
 
If it were me i would take the battery to your local auto parts store and ask them to load test it. Usually you can look at your headlight pointed at a garage door while starting. If it goes out while its cranking its most likely going to test bad under the load test.
As far as overcharging... If your regulator has fried its possible. Check it at the battery terminals while running. Shouldn't go over 16 no matter what rpm. Rev it once or twice.. That will make the stator produce more juice, and if the regulator isn't doing its job you'll see it jump at the battery terminals. Jump to as much as 20-50 (which is what i think the average range for ac volts from the stator is) I could be wrong here, no expert.
I think i get as much as 14.2 across my terminals while running on average.
 
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14-15 showing on the gauge is about right. the battery itself would probably test about 14V if you checked it with a meter while it was running. 12V batteries in good condition usually indicate more than 12V.
 
thanks mike im going to pick a meter uo. and check it Ijust put the battery in yesterday so Ithink ill ride it a couple days and then check it thanks again pete.

Might want to consider a "Battery Tender" which comes with a "pigtail" connector harness to eyelets that stays with your bike (across the battery) that you plug in to maintain your battery by plugging in the "lump" to 115VAC 60Hz house current, if you leave it parked for more than a week or two. :33:
 
Battey tender for sure. Be also aware that there's not a worse thing for a battery than sitting there doing nothing. "corrosion" on the plates will cause deposits to fall to the bottom of the battery and start to short them out. Because our rides are normally on a jiffy stand the battery is under a slight angle too and makes this even worse.
 
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