procedure for removing battery 1983 FLH

[waltcentral]

besides the battery strap and seat anything else to do besides cables?  The parts book for the bike shows a tab on the battery cover with a bolt hole.

Well I got my Shovel and would not start, battery drops down to 6 volts after a couple of cranks even after charging all night and lights on the charger indicating full charge.

[fbn ent]

IIRC you need to take the cover off. The nut on the tab under the lower cover is a PIA.

[waltcentral]

So I am assuming remove seat, Battery strap, top cover and cables and lift battery out .
Thanks, new battery on the way.

[fbn ent]

I meant the side cover. IIRC you can't lift the battery straight up.

[waltcentral]

Am I to assume the "side" cover bolt will be visible with the top cover off?

[fbn ent]

It is under the lower cover....like I said PIA. Sorry, I don't have a way to make an arrow to it but it is below the battery cover in this pic.

[attach=0,msg1278449]

[waltcentral]

Thanks, I will look under the cover when I get home. Battery should be here tomorrow.

[kd]

It'll all be obvious when you look at it. 

[waltcentral]

I believe I know the bolt,  the one that a socket doesn't fit on.  I am wondering if a 1/4 inch drive 1/2 in socket will work.

[76shuvlinoff]

While you are removing/replacing covers be real mindful of the positive lug on the battery.  Unhook the ground before you start.

[waltcentral]

Roger that!

[Reddog74usa]

  Let us know how it all turns out.

[waltcentral]

Battery covers off. New battery should be here today.  Now I have to figure out how the previous owner wired this bike's lights and turn signals.  As it is when you tap the T/S they will blink until taped again. The toggle switch for the passing lamps will turn off the headlamp but no passing lamps.
Always an adventure.

[fbn ent]

The turn signal set up is stock. Passing lamps are only on when headlight is on low beam. There is a stickey with the wiring diagram  at the top of the shovel page should you need it.

[waltcentral]

I was not sure about the T/S, my '81 and '81 FLT had turn signals that only worked when the switch replaced.  The ignition switch has four positions:
1)off
2)ACC
3)run
4)run with lights
The toggle is supposed to control the passing lamps but it just turns on/off the headlamp.

[Hossamania]

I was not sure about the T/S, my '81 and '81 FLT had turn signals that only worked when the switch replaced.  The ignition switch has four positions:
1)off
2)ACC
3)run
4)run with lights
The toggle is supposed to control the passing lamps but it just turns on/off the headlamp.

Do the passing lamps come on at all, or are they always on? Every other way, it seems to be miswired. That switch should run the passing lamps, your ignition switch runs the headlamp (and the passing lamps).

[waltcentral]

No passing lamps at all. Headlamp Hi/Low, brake lamps,  and four way flasher toggle switch all ok.
This bike arrived at my place 2 days ago.

[billbuilds]

    If you don't have a service manual yet I'd advise you to buy one. Same for a multimeter. You're gong to need a wiring schematic to figure out where your present setup is incorrect. For starters, there should be a yellow wire attached to the ignition switch at the terminal that's between the eleven and twelve o'clock positions. This is the wire that brings the power from the ignition switch to the lighting breaker that's located under the dash. It should be going to the copper stud. The other stud is silver color and should have both a blue and a green wire attached to it. The blue wire goes up to the headlight nacelle where there's a small board type connector with numbers one thru eleven printed on it. The blue wire should go to the one marked eight. There should be another blue wire attached to another of the receptacles (there are four at the number eight position) and that should go to the dimmer switch on the left handlebar switch housing. The dimmer switch has three wires attached to it: the blue brings the power and the yellow sends the power to the low beam while the white sends the power to the high beam. The white wire should go to the number six set of receptacles (there's four of them) while the yellow wire should go to the number seven receptacle (there's two of them). See if yours is the same and we can go from there. HTH, Bill

[waltcentral]

Thanks Billbuilds,
I have a service manual and parts manual. I find none of the info conveyed in the service manual. I can pick up some info from the parts book but that book covers 1948 to 1984 and again wire colors not mentioned.  It will take a little while to get ironed out I was considering but repo harnesses.  But I will wait to when I have some time and I get over this cold and sore throat
By the way She runs and does not smoke!   Thanks again for the help
Walt

[waltcentral]

I have a multi-meter. I dabble with building low power vacuum tube amps and other audio projects.  The just means I can make a little sense out of a schematic.   The pictures were great.
Thanks again.

[fbn ent]

Look here for your bike....

http://harleytechtalk.com/htt/index.php/topic,16691.0.html

[billbuilds]

     Walt, The factory service manual that I'm speaking of covers 1978-1/2 to 1984 FL/FX models. It's p/n 99482-84. There are several wiring schematics in the back of that manual and the pages are double-wide, that is, they fold out to twice the size of the regular pages. What helped me out immensely was to bring that manual to the local library or office supply store and enlarge the pages with a photocopier. Take four copies with the manual turned so that you get the widest copy possible; top left, top right then bottom left and bottom right. Match up the overlaps and scotch tape together. This enlarged copy will make it much easier to trace the wires. You will start to see that there is a sort of "rhyme and reason" to the colors. HTH, Bill

[rkrcpa]

A pdf of the service manual is very helpful also. I simply print the pages I need for the task at hand, saves wear and tear on the original version.

[david lee]

whats the diff between flh and fx battery setup. my fx is simple to change

[fbn ent]

WAY bigger battery...