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-ETX14L...BZyUGG&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/batter.../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.