Bike has been sitting on battery tender for a few weeks. It shows a fully charged battery on the tender. Bike is completely dead. Nothing. Nothing happens when I turn it on, no headlights, tailights, four ways nothing. Has anyone else had this? What would you check first? Thanks in advance, 2023 Special BTW.
Bike Completely Dead
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- dead electrical fuse
ScottH7a9
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I don't know about shorts, I haven't had those problems. I did see a TSB some time ago that detailed checking the plug on the bcm and another that had something to do with the ARH plug. Both bulletins were along the lines of "pull main fuse, unplug connector, check connector for corrosion, remove any corrosion, spray connectors with (some product that amounts to a di-electric grease), replace connector insuring wiring is not pulled tight."
I think they cheaped out on the damn battery. It's a sportster battery.. And the the 2024 comes with a higher cranking amp battery. It took HD three years to make a change that I figured out needed to be done in six months of ownership. My bike used to "stutter-crank" if the battery was under 12volts. After a stutter-crank, all kinds of codes would show up. Not a check engine light, just a bunch of "H" (historic) codes. Changing the battery to a better quality, higher CCA (like HD just did on the 24's) and periodically checking the posts has solved my issues. I've ridden 14 months and 10 thousand miles since installing that battery with no issues, and not one minute on a battery tender. Operating electrical components in a "brownout" (periodic low power condition) can be as damaging as loose connection.
I left the city a couple weeks back, had driven down a few days before and it was about 450 kms one way. No issues. After my brief stay in the quiet city of Bangkok, I was driving back and bike shut down. Totally. Lights were flashing. It turned out it was the BCM.
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Check your main fuse might be blown
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Do you trickle charge this battery?
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Did you bump start? If the bike runs with a bump it’s prob just your battery. I suggest an antigravity.
Could... Never have. Doesn't seem to need it. It gets ridden 1-3 times a week, then sits for the rest of the week. The longest it sat was three weeks straight. No issues.
Yes, HD upgrading the charging components and upsizing the battery in 2024 proved that they undersized the system to start with in 2021 MY or else they wouldn't have upgraded it.
When replacing my batteries, I always upgrade to the highest CCA battery that I can find that will fit in my vehicle. I'm seeing now many PA owners are buying the same antigravity battery you bought. I will be giving that battery some serious consideration at replacement time. I'll have to purchase a lithium charger (don't currently own any lithium vehicle batteries), but I don't have a problem with getting a lithium charger/maintainer.
Only question I have is.....Is a standard NOCO GB40 jump pack compatible with a lithium vehicle battery? Or will I have to buy a special LIthium jump pack as well? I know about the reserve power button on the antigravity battery and what it does....
Short answer is NO. You should never use most jump packs to jump start a vehicle with a lithium battery. (Per the manufacturer of the GB40 and the Anti-gravity battery). I used the GB40 with the original Harley battery before I bought the Anti-gravity battery. All of the bikes I ride regularly even have a "GBC007" installed. (It's just an extension cord, secured tot he battery with a plug that goes straight into the GB40). I think there IS a smart(er) jump pack for a lithium vehicle battery, but it's not a GB40!.
The Anti-Gravity battery has the "Re-start" capability (IMHO) to keep people from thinking they need a jump starter available. The "re-start" function is just a bit of programming on a board in the battery that essentially shuts the battery off if it reaches a pre-determined state of discharge. There's a button on top of the battery that you push to turn it back on if it turns off. You can also buy a remotely mounted button.
The battery has performed perfectly and never needed charging or boosting. BUT I know that when Lithium batteries die, they do so without warning, and they are DEAD. Nothing. So in that situation, I'm stranded, lithium battery dead.. Would I plug the NOCO in and give a go?? Damn right I would.. But I hope it doesn't go down like that. "Thermal reconfiguration" or "audible delta-P" is not a favorable way to watch my favorite bike die.
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My 2022 Pan-American had issues with the transmitter to the Fobe. It was placed in the wrong spot at the factory, and it got crushed and everything was dead on the bike. So it was replaced. I hope the little bit of information helps
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My 2022 Pan-American had issues with the transmitter to the Fobe. It was placed in the wrong spot at the factory, and it got crushed and everything was dead on the bike. So it was replaced. I hope the little bit of information helps
Thanks, the old battery is absolutely dead. I put it on a standard charger for a couple of hours and the needle never budged. On a trickle charger all day today just to see what would happen, but I think it's pretty shot. Hopefully the battery was the issue and I am good after this.
I have new Anti Gravity Lithium battery sitting in the garage, I already topped the charge up, just need to bolt it in after work and see what I get.
Edit to update: I charged the new battery and the bike light right up. I'm still a little baffled as to why this happened, but I guess I'll find out if the new one dies as well.
@ScottH7a9
Good luck with the Anti-Gravity. Sucks that the battery died, but like you said...you don't know how the previous owner took care of it. I've been hearing alot of PA owners putting the anti-gravity battery in theirs. Very interested in hearing how many years those last. I heard someone say you can't really use a jump pack on a lithium battery. When it goes, it GOES (if the button on the battery doesn't work).
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Can I use my Battery Tender on a Lithium Ion Battery ? Or do they require something different ?
That's the exact model I purchased off Amazon. Can't remember the cost and it's currently out of stock. I have seen warnings not to use a charger unless it clearly says Lithium on it as an option. I believe there is a fire risk with a standard charger.
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When I got my Pan Am last year and I plugged it into my Battery Tender brand tender, I got puzzling results. It would blink green that it was charging, go solid green at times, and then occasionally I'd walk out and see it red, even though it'd been sitting for days. I had battery issues even after replacing the battery (my PAS had sat for a year in a dealer's warehouse un-tendered and unstarted) and so on a call with the tech we dug into it. Now, I could get the battery to charge if I applied a clamp directly to the positive terminal and a ground (I used a crash guard bolt) but through the pigtail was a no go and nothing but issues.
So, the tech and I went over everything on the phone, looking for loose wires, blown fuses, etc. I found nothing. Then, the tech is reading through something and says "Hey, how many amps is your tender?". I reply 1 amp, and it's certainly not the problem as it charged my Road King's battery (with 2x the cranking amps mind you) just fine. He then reads me a bulletin where H-D states that a 4 amp tender is required for the Pan Am. We're both puzzled, but OK. He then recommended a tender he uses from Harbor Freight of all places. I tried it for $40, and I haven't had an issue since. I hope this helps everyone like it helped me.
So, the tech and I went over everything on the phone, looking for loose wires, blown fuses, etc. I found nothing. Then, the tech is reading through something and says "Hey, how many amps is your tender?". I reply 1 amp, and it's certainly not the problem as it charged my Road King's battery (with 2x the cranking amps mind you) just fine. He then reads me a bulletin where H-D states that a 4 amp tender is required for the Pan Am. We're both puzzled, but OK. He then recommended a tender he uses from Harbor Freight of all places. I tried it for $40, and I haven't had an issue since. I hope this helps everyone like it helped me.
That's interesting, I would have to look but I doubt the tender I was using was four amps. It was a really cheap one I got at Cycle Gear when I bought a second bike. Maybe that was it.
Let me know how the 4 amp works. I had used a 1 amp charger (HD branded equivalent of the NoCo Genius 1 which I have on my Dyna glide) with no issues but all of a sudden it no longer charges the pan am.
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