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1999 FLSTC Electrical Problem

Cincyflstc

Cincyflstc

Member
While out riding my bike failed to start. Had been started many times throughout the day. Pushed the bike, kicked her over and away we went. Couldn't use turn signals due to it would cause the speedo to jump and I wasn't sure if it would hurt anything. The bike ran like a new one for over an hour to get me home. Whew. Once home the (new) battery was dead, not even a click. I placed the battery tender on her and it showed red and then the next morning it was green. I have to assume the battery accepted the charge. I turned her on and she fired right up.

ok now the question

It seems to me that the obvious problem is that the bike is not accepting charge from its' system. I am not an electrical person at all and I am going to buy my first tester this weekend so that I can try and track down what is not happening. Where do I start, is any tester better than any other, what should I expect once I do get the tester working?

She is a 1999 FLSTC with 68,000 miles on her. Pretty much all original and nothing fancy added or taken off over the years. I did install apes a few years back, new rear fender last year.

I am not affraid of getting dirty, just don't want to touch the wrong thing and short out something that makes this even worse.

Thanks in advance
Cincy
 
Thanks, I already printed out those tips and a couple others I found on here. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Again, Thanks

Cincy
 
Had a friend call me from Jackson Hole last weekend and he had the same problem with his softail, had him check the rubber stator plug on the front left side of the engine case, it just vibrated loose and the battery was not getting a charge, if thats not it then armed with a tester & your printed out tech tips I'm sure you'll pin point the problem, Good luck
 
I checked the plug at crank case, all is good. Removed and cleaned off and tested all the parts as the instructions said to do. Nothing really stood out as the problem. however, I do not think that the regulator is putting out the desired power to the battery. Not sure but the needle on the tester I purchased didn't move much when I touched the + & - terminals. It did move but not far. Not a digital read out so hard to say what the number was exactly. The bike was running at a high idle. No tack so exact numbers not known but bike was warmed up and starting easy. Think I will replace the regulator and see what happens next time out on the road.

Thanks
FLSTC
 
You should be reading well over 13 volts with the engine running, it's also a simple test to see if the stator is putting out the proper AC voltage, should be instructions in the self help section if you do a search on charging systems, it might save you the price of a voltage regulator, throwing parts at a bike can add up fast:)
 
Don't forget to open the chain inspection hole and dip stick to make sure the gear oils smell okay. If strong burnt smell you may have burnt stator windings in there.
 
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