Hey guys wanting some advise, have a 2006 Sportster which is standard except for a stage one kit.

I have only had it for a short time and having some problems, until the last couple of weeks its been running great.  Suddently the check engine light and battery light came on and wouldnt turn off and the bike would start to surge and eventually the whole thing died.

Ended up taking it to a local mechanic as i could not work it out and he said my negative terminal was loose and he could see sparks and fixed it up $250. Anyway it is what it is and I was able to get away with a couple of mates fishing, it rode great did 200km didnt  miss a beat.

 

The following day headed back and decided to give it a bit on the highway for a short period just wanted to stretch her legs a little, when i backed off the power surges came back again and the speedo needle went a little crazy but no battery or check engine light. There would be a surge and then it would run ok and then surge again and run ok.

 

Pulled over had a look everything seemed ok, I started her up again and run the rest of the way home at normal speed and no problems???

The battery I know is on its way out as now reads only 12.4v and when left to charge overnight only gets to 12.6v but its only a year old.

 

I have checked the stator and i get infinity and 0.4 from each ends, I did a volt test and get 13.5v at around 2500 revs i think as i dont have a taco stays the same with high beam on or off dosent change anything.

With the ignition on but engine not runing the battery is around 11.5v but starts her up everytime no problems, with engine started up and idling the volts go up and down ranging from 10.5 up to 12.5V but still idlying fine.

 

I am also getting the following two codes:

B1006 Accessory line overvoltage instruments

B1007 Ignition line overvoltage instruments.

These are new codes as I had cleared previous codes prior to getting it repaired at the shop.

I have checks the spark plugs and they seem in good condition still and the plug leads seem tight and in good condition.

I read a while back there were some voltage regulators which were faulty could this be the problem, I am thiking this because in the same article it spoke about once the regulator got to a certain temperature it would fault and when cooled down it would work alright again or could it be a symptom of a bad battery or both.

 

Any advice would be appreciated as not wanting to change out the regulator if its only the battery or vise versa.

Ben

 

 

check the earth battery lead as this is very hard to get too & always come's loose, & also check your charging system as it should be pumping around 14-14.5 v , a check your battery in your meter also or replace

I don't know about the codes your getting but, I had similar symptoms on a 2007 Sportster Custom.

Turned out I had burnt out the stator & voltage regulator, might be worth investigating

Thanks guys, appears the negative was arching a little and i have my suspicions about the regulator so have ordered new ones from easy r.

Will replace both and hope it fixes my problem.

Charged the battery overnight and already dropped to 12.5v so assume the battery is stuffed

Ben

I am hoping the stator is alright as changing it out is above me, i seem to be getting the correct numbers when I test it.

Fingers crossed

A fully charged battery has 12.6 volts
A 12 volt battery has 6 cells and each cell has 2.1 volts
After riding or charging, the battery will show a charge rate of 13+ volts which is a surface charge.
Let it sit or introduce a load by tuning the headlight on and the you will remove the surface charge and it will stay around 12.6 volts if the cells are ok.
However, you will need to check the cold cranking amps to determine the condition of the battery because you can have a fully charged battery but if the cca is low it will collapse under the load of the starter and not turn the engine over.
If you discharge a modern sealed agm type battery, you will need a multi stage smart charger to return it to a reliable state of charge.
A trickle charger or the charging system in the motorcycle will not fully recharge the battery and it will not last.
My 2 cents worth from 15 years working with batteries and running an auto elec shop.

Thanks Drac, it seems the battery wont keep a full charge as now gone down to 12.4v.

Also would the battery cause the above codes ?

Ben

Not sure the battery would cause those codes, overvoltage codes seem to be too much voltage
If a car was overcharging, it can also drain the battery when turned off and also damage the battery if not sorted soon. Your charge test doesnt seem to show overcharging.
I think you should get battery and charging system checked by someone in the know.
I have seen strange shit like that from a thundermax computer but im guessing you dont have one.

Just a update, have put the new regulator in and now charging at 14v up from 13.5v


Still yet to put the battery in yet at giving it its initial charge.

Also a big thumbs up to the sponsor easy r, great prices and very fast postage.