Normal or not, thinkin' to hard about battery draw/ grounding?

[Hybredhog]

    I was changing over a new battery on my '01 FXDXT (carb w/ S&S 124),and as I was connecting the ground, there was a small spark as the cable touched down. Now in theory after I re-wired the switch to a real key & no head lights on the first click, the power out of the key should be dead, leaving the only possible hot connection to be the main cable to the starter/ breaker. I haven't had any problems with dead batteries, I just keep a high end fresh battery with this bike & rotate the older ones down though the fleet of other bikes & vehicles I own. So is there still some back draw though the Tssm (changed to a non-security module ), or the regulator? Or even the starter needs a good douching.

[chaos901]

Being simple, you could disconnect the hot to the starter and see if you get the same draw when making the battery connection.  Least you could rule that out as a possibility.

[nibroc]

Being simple, you could disconnect the hot to the starter and see if you get the same draw when making the battery connection.  Least you could rule that out as a possibility.

that be a good start

[smoserx1]

You need to measure it with a meter.  My 99 FLHT has a parasitic draw of about 0.7 milliamps and it later showed about 600 microamps on my el-cheapo digital one.  Mine does not make a spark when connecting the battery, so I expect you have more.  Remember to connect the meter in series with the battery and measure with everything off.

[Admiral Akbar]

I = C dV/Dt

[chaos901]

Max, please help me understand.  I recognize Ohm's Law but don't understand the reference to this situation.  Just continuing my education.

[Coyote]

The formula defines in rush current into a capacitive load. Pretty much useless here since you don't k ow what the load looks like

[Rusticwater]

    I was changing over a new battery on my '01 FXDXT (carb w/ S&S 124),and as I was connecting the ground, there was a small spark as the cable touched down. Now in theory after I re-wired the switch to a real key & no head lights on the first click, the power out of the key should be dead, leaving the only possible hot connection to be the main cable to the starter/ breaker. I haven't had any problems with dead batteries, I just keep a high end fresh battery with this bike & rotate the older ones down though the fleet of other bikes & vehicles I own. So is there still some back draw though the Tssm (changed to a non-security module ), or the regulator? Or even the starter needs a good douching.

Assuming the 30A circuit breaker is closed, regardless of the key as soon as you connect the battery the security fuse becomes energized. The security fuse feeds voltage to the TSM at Pin 1 and also feeds voltage to the siren if you have one. Voltage potential also is fed to the regulator output. This 2001 Dyna wiring diagram came from the tech library:
[attach=0]

If you're concerned measure it with a meter.

On my 2010 Dyna, whenever I disconnect/connect my battery I always pull the Maxi-fuse, otherwise I get some small sparking when the cable first touches and the speedo hands jump. I don't worry about it, I replace the fuse once the battery connections are tight.

[Boe Cole]

A small (I mean SMALL) spark is not unusual.  Recommend checking the draw with a meter.  Hopefully it is in the milliamp range.  If not, there could be something else going on.

[Admiral Akbar]

The formula defines in rush current into a capacitive load. Pretty much useless here since you don't k ow what the load looks like

The fact that the formula exists, says it all. Don't need numbers.

[Hybredhog]

   I finally  got a chance to check "my own bike", and the draw came up at .1ma with it toggling  between that & 0. So I'm over it, and it was just a very faint spark. I removed the security Tssm years ago so I don't know if a standard one draws anything. Not to jinx myself, I'm still using the stock starter motor (almost 100k miles), and I've  never cleaned it yet, so that's on my to do list. But it kind of took me off guard when I did see the spark on a carbed bike, these "newer" gadgets just keep surprising me! I still scratch my head on how a digital speedo remembers the mileage