I think you may be right!
I’ve checked and it appears that the fuse has gone in the battery tender circuit, I have no output there but lights still work.
I am hoping it’s a standard automotive blade fuse in there. My problem is that because of my leg and having to play garage Tetris with other bikes I get about. 1/2 hour on my leg before needing rest! 1st world problems a?
Hi Ian,
I am the chap that just sent you a copy of the manual for these bikes from the (cough) US HD forum.
Now then, there's a couple of things to know about these bikes....the first is that it's utterly unfuckingpossible to get any kind of jump cable clips to the battery terminals - or even to the starter positive and a convenient ground. The only way to jump them is with a big screwdriver down from under the seat onto the positive terminal and the positive jump clamp attached to that. Which isn't a very good solution, but does work and you get quite good at it. Just be carful not to let the screwdriver touch anything other than the positive terminal.
The second is that the battery tender circuit has a 7.5A fuse in the main fuse block underneath the left side panel. Easy enough to replace - check the manual. It is a standard mini-blade type.
When you next take the battery out, I would highly recommend making up a remote positive terminal cable from a bit of proper battery cable with a decent insulated terminal on the end. This will make jumping the bike a breeze. Or you can buy a similar thing with an SAE connector on the end and use something like an XP10 jump start pack. Don't try to use the existing tender lead because......7.5A maximum.
It's not so bad taking the battery out to charge indoors once you know what you are doing, but it is a good 5-10 minute job each time and a bit fiddly getting the plastic cover to pop off. Plus if you have to do it all the time, you will hate it.
So given your situation with no power in the garage, your best bet is probably to make up or buy a remote jump start terminal, then use a lithium power pack to start the bike if it won't do it by itself. The alternative is too pull the main fuse so the alarm doesn't eat the battery - but that's not a great solution either.
A good thing about these bikes is that the charging circuitry is very good - they charge batteries quite quickly once they are running.
And the final bad point is that there is also a known bug that will discharge the battery occasionally and randomly if left unattended. There is a dealership flash fix for this though - so get that done if hasn't already been.
