Battery draw somewhere

Energy One

djscribblz

New Member
Hey all, just joined the forum today. Thanks for the letting me sit with the cool kids.

Anyways I just bought a 2006 Big Dog K9 this last Monday. Owner said it had been sitting in the garage with a brand new battery in it for a year before I bought it. We had to charge it and jump start it before I could leave and then after I took it, it died on me about half an hour later. So I bought a brand new battery, rode it a couple times then parked it for two days. Came back to it today and it was weak starting but eventually fired up and I took it about a mile, stopped at the store and it stopped running. Had to jump start it again. Went to the parts store and had them hook it up while running and it's only showing 11.52 volts so I know it's either not charging or has a draw somewhere.

I'm new to the Big Dogs and Motorcycle mechanics in general but I am mechanically inclined.. just don't know where to start. Any ideas on what's wrong? Thanks for any help you can give.
 

djscribblz

New Member
I aint any mechanic, but I'd say it's not charging. If you get it started again, hook a volt meter up to the battery and see if it goes up while it's running.
When I did hook it up at the parts store it was running and only showing 11.52 volts. So definitely below the operating system of 12 volts. Where a car usually runs 14v to keep the battery juiced. I'd imagine a bike would be the same, right?
 

djscribblz

New Member
Welcome from Kansas. Pull ur seat and see if you can locate the circut breaker. Small unit with 2 wires attached to posts. It should have a reset button on the side somewheres. Thats a place to start.
I'll definitely give it a look, thanks! .. but would that circuit breaker be from the voltage regulator so its stopping the charge?
 

djscribblz

New Member
Yes the flow chart works for all years. These bikes like the Deka ETX20L
Following that flow chart all the way down, I can only get 3 AC volts out of the stator, so I think that might be the problem. Now I either gotta buy one and learn how to put it in from YouTube or take it to the mechanic in the next town over. Imma go watch some videos and see if I can gauge the difficulty level, and call the mechanic tomorrow and see what kind of price he wants to do it. I do want to learn to do all this stuff so I can work on my own bikes just don't know how big of project this will be. Lol

Thanks for the help guys!
 

SKOGDOG

One of the old ones.
Most of us learned to work (most of to, anyway) on our own bikes. Skilled Big Dog mechanics are rare and pricey, and HD and Indie mechanics generally don’t want to mess with Big Dogs bcs they wind up screwing something up and have customer complaints. There are manuals, and lots of threads/How To’s posted and of course there is always U-Tube. It‘s only a machine…. And replacing the stator will get you into the primary so you can see how the clutch is put together while you’re at it…..if you have problems or Q’s—we’re here.
 

djscribblz

New Member
Most of us learned to work (most of to, anyway) on our own bikes. Skilled Big Dog mechanics are rare and pricey, and HD and Indie mechanics generally don’t want to mess with Big Dogs bcs they wind up screwing something up and have customer complaints. There are manuals, and lots of threads/How To’s posted and of course there is always U-Tube. It‘s only a machine…. And replacing the stator will get you into the primary so you can see how the clutch is put together while you’re at it…..if you have problems or Q’s—we’re here.
Yea you guys helped out a ton already! Haha definitely a great forum of knowledge. Do you know if there is a specific stator that I have to buy for the big dog system or just find one for a 117 cu inch S&S?
 

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
Following that flow chart all the way down, I can only get 3 AC volts out of the stator, so I think that might be the problem. Now I either gotta buy one and learn how to put it in from YouTube or take it to the mechanic in the next town over. Imma go watch some videos and see if I can gauge the difficulty level, and call the mechanic tomorrow and see what kind of price he wants to do it. I do want to learn to do all this stuff so I can work on my own bikes just don't know how big of project this will be. Lol

Thanks for the help guys!
Be very careful using a HD tech to do the BDM stator replacement. The HD clutch hub nut gets torqued to 80lbs and many harley techs use the same on the Big Dog -- This however will generate a real mess and a big bill if not caught quickly. The Big Dog clutch hub nut needs 150ft/lbs.

It's not that bad a of a job to do, need impact gun and patience.
I'd personally recommend the CompuFire System. Had them on both my BDM's -- I use the 40A 3 phase system which is overkill for most bikes but I Like overkill and when I first did it I was thinking about adding heated grear and that gave me some extra power to play with.
The 40A system puts out 25A at idle so unlike most charging systems on the bike, this will charge as it sits there rather than having to be at 2000 RPM for 20 minutes to really charge the bike.
 

djscribblz

New Member
Be very careful using a HD tech to do the BDM stator replacement. The HD clutch hub nut gets torqued to 80lbs and many harley techs use the same on the Big Dog -- This however will generate a real mess and a big bill if not caught quickly. The Big Dog clutch hub nut needs 150ft/lbs.

It's not that bad a of a job to do, need impact gun and patience.
I'd personally recommend the CompuFire System. Had them on both my BDM's -- I use the 40A 3 phase system which is overkill for most bikes but I Like overkill and when I first did it I was thinking about adding heated grear and that gave me some extra power to play with.
The 40A system puts out 25A at idle so unlike most charging systems on the bike, this will charge as it sits there rather than having to be at 2000 RPM for 20 minutes to really charge the bike.
Be very careful using a HD tech to do the BDM stator replacement. The HD clutch hub nut gets torqued to 80lbs and many harley techs use the same on the Big Dog -- This however will generate a real mess and a big bill if not caught quickly. The Big Dog clutch hub nut needs 150ft/lbs.

It's not that bad a of a job to do, need impact gun and patience.
I'd personally recommend the CompuFire System. Had them on both my BDM's -- I use the 40A 3 phase system which is overkill for most bikes but I Like overkill and when I first did it I was thinking about adding heated grear and that gave me some extra power to play with.
The 40A system puts out 25A at idle so unlike most charging systems on the bike, this will charge as it sits there rather than having to be at 2000 RPM for 20 minutes to really charge the bike.
I actually just bought a brand new impact gun! I seen someone mentioned a mechanic's manual for these Big Dogs. Is there a specific one that is best, I'm coming up with a few in the search on Google.
 

Mickmorris

Well Known Member
Supporting Member
I actually just bought a brand new impact gun! I seen someone mentioned a mechanic's manual for these Big Dogs. Is there a specific one that is best, I'm coming up with a few in the search on Google.
Well you are going to be jumping in feet first. Take lots of pictures as you disassemble. There is a drop box link available that will guide you along. I agree with JBM on the use of the compufire system. Someone should be able to get you dropbox link for the service manuals. Good luck! Keep us posted on any issues you may encounter. :chopper:
 
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