[xophere]

So full. Leave house. Drive 8 miles at most at slow speed. Now battery warnings. App and dash sure fully charged. Nervous with all these 12v battery failures.

 

[Sargon]

I've struggled with the 12v battery along with a lot of others that have little riding during the colder months. I've had low 12v battery warnings that resolved after a short ride and other times the warning remained after a short ride. It may have to do with the ambient temperature at the time of my rides. In February of this year the warning remained after I rode it and it was too cold to take a longer ride enjoyably so I removed the battery and charged it indoors where it charged up fine. I bought the Harley charger since I had points to use and it worked well. The security system or other small draws must be sufficient to drain the 12v battery during longer periods of storage. It would be nice if there was a storage mode that eliminated any drains on the battery but removing it isn't a big job.

 

[xophere]

So we have two stories. One that it only charges when it runs. The other that the bms keeps it charged as long as it is up right and the main battery has power. Can anyone provide documentation? It has day for like 10 days. But then some one rented it and it didn't have the error. They rode 75 miles. Then the next day this. So it is just weird. Also does the 12v error look different then that error?

 

[xophere]

Seems to be fine now.

 

[xophere]

I figured it out. The warnings are delayed arrivals. The low power messages were two days old. Today getting repeat security arm and disarm messages.

 

[xophere]

I think they are duplicates in fact. My guess is they had a cloud platform hicup and resent a bunch of queued messages. I really hope the new bikes are on the same software platform. Otherwise this crap is never gonna get fixed.

 

[Sargon]

So we have two stories. One that it only charges when it runs. The other that the bms keeps it charged as long as it is up right and the main battery has power. Can anyone provide documentation? It has day for like 10 days. But then some one rented it and it didn't have the error. They rode 75 miles. Then the next day this. So it is just weird. Also does the 12v error look different then that error?

Your photo looks like it's from the app and I've never used the app. The error on my bikes instrument panel is the one I'm referring to and it shows something like Low 12v battery. It seems to me that the main battery charges the 12v battery when temps are above freezing but may not when temps are below freezing. That's just my observation not something I've seen documented. I'd wager that having a heated garage would solve all this but I'm not likely to heat my garage just for storing the ELW.

 

[colton111391]

I think they are duplicates in fact. My guess is they had a cloud platform hicup and resent a bunch of queued messages. I really hope the new bikes are on the same software platform. Otherwise this crap is never gonna get fixed.

I had the same thing happen to me with all the delayed messages. Went for a several hour ride on Sunday and didn’t get any app notifications as normal for security armed, battery charged, etc. On Tuesday they all flooded in at once.

 

[xophere]

In other words don't count on the security warnings. Another interesting bit was the bike was rented on twisted road. Noticed it doesn't update location till it is parked. So I could see where he stopped but not where he was.

 

[francisthepig]

Got those same messages right before my bike died after charging all day at work. No issues or warning lights before this happen and I had just taken the bike in for 25K Service. Charged the 12V battery to three lights and within two minutes it was dead. Even tried a new different battery and same thing, bike was dead within minutes. Dealer first said it was the auxiliary lights added to the accessory plug, but eventually came back with OBC. Bike is still at the dealer, so I haven't had a chance to talk to the tech about their findings. I could tell when they were were working on it though because I would get those messages on the app. Bike is 2020 with 26,000 miles.

I would check the strength of your 12V battery.

 

[Jens Kyed]

My 12 volt Battery died on me this winter. I had to send the bike to my dealer in Narvik and he replaced the 12 v battery on warranty. It seams the system does not charge the 12 v battery when stored over longer periods, and here in North-Norway the winter is long so the bike is stored in a freezing cold garage for 5-6 months without riding. My dealer resolved the problem by installing a tripple charger on to my 12 v battery. I have had a similar tipple-charging system on my previous Harleys and it has worked just fine on them - keeping the 12 v battery healthy while the bike was stored over winter. Now I can plug in the tripple charger whenever I park my bike for extended periods and it should keep the 12 v battery fit and ready at all times. I hope this solves the problem for me and that it can be a tip worth considering for all of you out there with similar problems. I have read that others on this forum have had the same operation done, and that they too seem to have avoided further problmes with the 12 v battery running out of charge.

 

[Sargon]

I thought I saw somewhere that a charger shouldn’t be attached while the battery was connected to the bike’s wiring and it should be removed for charging. If this works out for you over a period of time post your results if you could. Thank you.

 

[Phaedrus]

I'd be checking the DTCs for the OBC. With a good OBC, the bike shouldnt need a secondary charger on the 12vdc.

Dealers generally only use the pigtail during service, to keep the 12vdc battery charged while doing software updates.

 

[Bill Kemp]

I presently have my bike stored for the cold winter here in Ontario Canada.

I purposely charged the bike to 55% charge on the big battery so I know what level it was at the start of the storage.

Once a month I have turned the bike on to see what the charge level is on the bikes instrument cluster. Today it was at 54%.

I also once a month use a multimeter to check the level of the small 12v battery. It has always been over 13% and today it was at 13.26v. As such it appears as though my little battery is being kept charged like they state it should do during storage.

As a point of reverence the temperature was just above freezing in the garage. (I do have a gas heater but only use it if I am going to work on the bikes or cars)

I do keep an oscillating fan running all the time in the garage to keep the air moving that helps in corrosion from happening on the bikes (I was informed of that trick by an old mechanic)

Let's see what happens in May when it is riding season.

By the way. How much is it to replace the 12v little battery?

 

[xophere]

They are pricy.

 

[Bill Kemp]

What dollar figure are they. $100, $200, $300

 

[xophere]

I mean the non hd branded ones aren't cheap. I can only imagine what the HD magic dust adds.

 

[xophere]

Lithium LiFe 4Ah Battery | Harley-Davidson USA. Maybe not that bad.