Electrical issue? Possibly? 2004 XB12s

[netty2424]

Put a new battery in, made a mistake and had a poor ground connection. Cranked it, turned over twice, then popped and smelled smoke. Didn't see smoke, just smelled it. Tightened ground and now I can't get it to turn over or crank.

I bought new fuses, and a new relay to check. Some fuses are good, some are bad and regardless of how I move the 3 relays around, the same fuses are bad and same fuses are good despite relay configuration. So I'm assuming relays can be ruled out?

If looking at the fuse box with diode at top left and two spares bottom right.

Left side fuses not working, per fuse tester:
1. Lights -yet the lights are working????

Right side fuses not working:
1. Ignition
2. ACC
3. Brake/Horn
4. And obviously the two spares.

All other fuses are lighting the tester up.

Also, fuel pump primed the first time, but not priming now. Gauges swept, and dash lit up. Now I can get the gauges to sweep once, but dash won't light up. At a loss. Any ideas? TIA

 

[user_deleted]

is this a chinese garbage battery? are you positive it's good? i know it's new....but is it good?
without physically viewing the bike netty real crap shoot trying to diagnose what's going on within your fuse box but keep this in mind: when any bike is in the "start and crank" mode that is the precise time of maximum drain/strain on the positive and negative cables...and also the precise time when the battery is providing the most amperage output. anything impeding that work and current flow will immediately start to smoke, overheat and traditionally give off a "burning" aroma. check your work again and particularly the left and right frame rail grounds.

 

[netty2424]

It may be a crap battery. Got it from batteries plus. The HD battery I pulled out was 220 cranking amps, this one is 200. Harley store(went there to buy a new relay) said that shouldn't really matter, but I'm concerned it may have caused some issues here along with a loose ground.

Side rail grounds are solid. I've never had electrical issues until this battery so I may take it back and let them know something is off. Hate electrical gremlins.

My imgur app doesn't seem to work for me anymore. Not sure how to post pictures anymore.

 

[user_deleted]

i'd take it back and get a refund. below is the one you want. deka manufactured your OEM battery and top shelf. deka....big crank....D-Volt.....all the same battery. you'll be glad you bought this one. if you do give it 6 amps for 15 minutes before installing. best price around.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Deka-ETX14...ash=item1c887da4e9:g:vHwAAOSwYkBZyUGG&vxp=mtr

 

[netty2424]

I'll give it a shot and report back. Thanks.

 

[Silverrider]

You might consider jumper cables, just a thought .

 

[netty2424]

I guess what's confusing me is the 'bad' fuses or fuses not showing conductivity through the tester. Would a battery that's not performing properly cause this? Is that a system 'fail safe' for lack of better term?

 

[user_deleted]

I guess what's confusing me is the 'bad' fuses or fuses not showing conductivity through the tester. Would a battery that's not performing properly cause this? Is that a system 'fail safe' for lack of better term?

i don't know of any system "fail safe" but simply get back to the basics and then see what you have. what are the basics? check every single fuse to confirm it's ok....check that diode is installed with arrow facing proper direction....have 3 known good relays installed....confirm perfect connection on ground cable-to-frame rail attachment point.....install the Deka when it arrives after a quick charge as previously mentioned....then give it a go.
don't lose sight of the fact that a faulty/problematic battery can cause alot of really weird and peculiar electrical gremlins and you've already confirmed this in a prior post. NO prior electrical problems and now with a battery swap you have them. that's confirmation to me.

 

[submax]

Good advice as usual, John! Another battery option is one by Duracell. Actually, my guess is that it is also a Deka battery just relabeled (you'd probably know about that more than me). They charge a bit more than the Big Crank, but the benefit is that it comes with a 2 year warranty rather than a 1 year. It is usually on sale for 10% off or more. Still more expensive than the Big Crank, but for those who want the longer warranty, it's an option.

https://www.batteriesplus.com/battery/motorcycle/buell/xb12ss-lightning/1200cc/2009/cyl10012

 

[user_deleted]

thanks for that james and yes you're correct.....East Penn Manufacturing purchased the DuraCell name a bit ago and now produces batteries under that banner. top shelf product like all the rest of their batteries. good call on your part regarding the warranty.

 

[netty2424]

so I got the battery. Put it on the bike and the fan kicked on and ran without stopping. I had no lights, no dash. I pulled the relays one by one and it didn't change anything, fan still ran, no dash. Wouldn't crank or turn. Grounds all seem good. Same fuses not getting power. Diode has been in same position. Not even sure what a diode is for??

At a loss on this. Going to let it sit on the battery tender tonight and give it another go tomorrow.

And thank you for he responses and help with this.

 

[user_deleted]

Not even sure what a diode is for??

it insures that current only flows in one direction.....the direction of the arrow.
two quick questions then i'm out of ideas:
1-did you CROSS THE BATTERY CABLES when originally installing the first battery you purchased and installed?
2-fan on...dead dash cluster.....typically key switch relay at fault. have you tried a known good one?

 

[netty2424]

Not even sure what a diode is for??

it insures that current only flows in one direction.....the direction of the arrow.
two quick questions then i'm out of ideas:

1-did you CROSS THE BATTERY CABLES when originally installing the first battery you purchased and installed?
2-fan on...dead dash cluster.....typically key switch relay at fault. have you tried a known good one?

Thanks on the diode. I'll verify that direction but I'm confident that didn't change.

As for the relay, I have a new relay from Harley. I did rotate it on the old batter but did not on the new battery. When I puked the relays one by one on the new battery, the fan did stop and the other symptoms remained the same. I'll put the relay on a multimeter then replace that key switch relay.

Thanks.

 

[user_deleted]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
can you verify my question #1???????? your symptoms indicative of same.

 

[Cooter]

I believe the diode is unrelated. It affects the neutral light and clutch switch.

There is something really wonky going on, and the hunt and peck you've been doing hasn't resolved it (obviously). I'd forget about the fan for a moment. It's time to forget all you have thought so far, get a big, clear copy of the wiring diagram.

Start from the battery positive to the relay/fuse box. Check/trace wiring and test each component in order. By hand, no cheating! It is tedious, but absolutely necessary. It really doesn't take that long and it will find your issue. Guessing hasn't done you any good so far.

 

[netty2424]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
can you verify my question #1???????? your symptoms indicative of same.

100% did not cross cables.

 

[netty2424]

I believe the diode is unrelated. It affects the neutral light and clutch switch.

There is something really wonky going on, and the hunt and peck you've been doing hasn't resolved it (obviously). I'd forget about the fan for a moment. It's time to forget all you have thought so far, get a big, clear copy of the wiring diagram.

Start from the battery positive to the relay/fuse box. Check/trace wiring and test each component in order. By hand, no cheating! It is tedious, but absolutely necessary. It really doesn't take that long and it will find your issue. Guessing hasn't done you any good so far.

Tedious but necessary. Ill do that tonight. Thanks Cooter.

 

[netty2424]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
can you verify my question #1???????? your symptoms indicative of same.

Welp turns out I had reversed the cables, but not because I put them on the wrong sides....technically. Reason being, the Harley battery has positive on the (for purposes of orientation, if I'm riding the mororcycle)right side of the bike and the negative on the left side of the bike.

The deka battery I purchased via that link is reversed, positive on left side, negative on right side.

However, by design I'm guessing to avoid this situation from happening, the negative cable doesn't even reach that opposite(right side).

So now that I've crossed the cables, what's the damage?

 

[Cooter]

I was JUST coming here to say that!!! Crap, sorry too late.

 

[Cooter]

There has been couple threads on the fan running like that with nothing else and for the same reason:indecisiveness:
IIRC there really wasn't any adverse affects? Put the right battery in and hook it up right, turn it on and see what happens? Theres really nothing else you can do. Whatever damage (if any) has been done. It's done.