Tech review of the Harley Davidson charging system. Here’s an easy way to make sure your battery is charging. Everyone is at your house and ready to ride. You saddle up and CLICK, your Harley-Davidson does not start. Bob and Mark review an easy way to check your battery and make sure it’s staying charged.
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Drain Fluids Softail
Drain Fluids Dyna
More on Electrical Troubleshooting
Now that you’ve fully serviced your Harley Sportster, you can take the opportunity to check all of the safety features on the bike. Make sure the lights are working properly, the horn makes noise, turn signals are operational, and all grommets are in place. Then you should check the throttle, add oil and fill the tires to the correct level. Once your finished with the service, get out and ride!
*****The service manual states you should follow your negation cable down from battery and remove nut that secures the connector to ground stud on the crankcase boss behind the starter motor assembly. You will need to do the reverse during installation.
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Bob teaches you how to service the spark plugs on your Harley’s engine. Although you can clean and service your old spark plugs, Bob recommends just buying new ones because they are fairly inexpensive. You should purchase gapped, Harley-only spark plugs which usually come with a gap of 38-43,000th of an inch. After applying some anti-seize to the threads of the new plugs, you can thread them into the cylinder by hand and tighten them with a torque wrench and you’ll be good to go.
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Bob walks us through Harley rear wheel alignment. He’ll just loosen the rear axle nut and with a homemade tool he’ll measure the proper distance and adjust accordingly. Next Video: Rear Shock Adjustment and Drive Belt Service
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Unless you have a kick-start, you’ll need a battery to get your Harley started and to keep it functional. Bob shares some tips on Harley battery replacement and upkeep.
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I have a 02 Harley Buell Blast 500 and I hooked up battery backwards and my wires smoked up white. I quickly switched battery around and connected correctly and again all my wires went up in again in white smoke so I unhooked battery and put on trickle charge. Is my electrical system going to be okay.
Dear Brian,
Thank you for your patience. In response to your question-
Unfortunately, there is a possibility that this may cost more to repair than the bike is worth. Especially if you can not complete the repair yourself.
It depends on the extent of harness damage and whether or not your ECM was damaged.
You may not be able to determine if the ECM or any other electrical components are damaged until the harness is repaired or replaced.
Suggest replacing or repairing the damaged harness. Then, test for all electrical functions.
https://www.fixmyhog.com/video/simplifying-electricity-002170/
https://www.fixmyhog.com/product/overview-of-electrical-systems-part-1-download/
https://www.fixmyhog.com/video/welcome-to-fix-my-hog-electrical-002169/
https://www.fixmyhog.com/video/watts-law-002179/
Sincerely,
Mark
Fix My Hog