fuggin electrics.......gawd dammit!

[dizzyblonde]

As I hijacked another thread initially today and got a little advise there whilst the bike was in bits.....I thought I'd now sit here and plllleeeeaaad for help.

Suzy keeps blowing main fuses. Two weeks ago Matt and Chris pulled her apart, remounted the earth on the coil mount for a better earth....as we suspected this to be the problem after we swapped engines a few months back. SO shes been out, fine, had the new top yoke on, fine, lovely sunny day today, gets my gear on, gets her out.....not fine. No nothing on turning the key...she was ok when I turned her off the other night :-(
It seems in a funny way, that when I turn the bike off (with the lights still switched on) that it blows....very odd!
So I ripped the fairings off today, and started looking with my completely confused eyes at all the wiring.
I checked round the headstock for the usual suspect of chaffing. I found two holes in the outer black casing, but not relly any inner core bare, that I could see. I then re routed it, as it was straining a little on full lock. I checked the left hand side and found wher the bunch of wires came to the connector that a pink wire had chaffed through, so I taped that up too(but that had chaffed on plastic so I don't think that would be the issue)
I've checked anything round the side panels to hand for anything, and nothing. I don't think anythings chaffing on both front, and rear subframe as these have been recently powdercoated, so there wouldn't be a good contact for blowing anything
I'm now sat here looking at the wiring diagram like it were some sort of cubist picture. Don't mean poop to me. Im Indoors is his usual feck off do it yourself, YC is missing in action, and quite frankly I have had enough.I don't know what else to look for, I don't know what I'm looking at anyway and I've got nobody who wants to help me either. :smt010 I am frightened of taking this damn thing out and getting stranded like I did a few months back, I really don't trust a bag of fuses. AND I'm frustrated


HELP

[fizzwheel]

Have you checked by where the main seat bolts on, thats a classic place as the seat bolts stick out and the wiring loon chaffs on the bolts.

I know you said you think it'd be OK, but I'd take the rear panels off and check all around the rear subframe just to make sure.

Failing that have you considered buying another complete loom that you kow to be good and fitting that.

[dizzyblonde]

have checked where the main bolts are. The guys swear they've looked under the rear panels. But as said, this problem only started when we swapped engines, both matt and chris are pretty certain nothing was caught when they dropped one and fitted the other, but it looks like right now its up to me to look round the entire loom.

I reaally don;t want to be a mechanic :-(
yes getting another loom has crossed my mind, and i just get mucky looks of disapproval.....you can imagine the air in our house right now.....the bill for getting this bike back on the road is mounting up, I'm nearly there now, but replacing the entire loom isn't something I have time by myself to do either :-(

[fizzwheel]

yes getting another loom has crossed my mind, and i just get mucky looks of disapproval.....

How much time and effort are you going to invest in trying to find out whats wrong with it now ?

I hate tracing cable faults. I have had to do it for work in the past, it can be a right b*stard.

[dizzyblonde]

How much time and effort are you going to invest in trying to find out whats wrong with it now ?

.
well I'm going to sit and scratch my head Sunday, another dry day sacrifced to boredom. This sort of thing can only be done on a dry day as theres no nice warm garage to do it in. i shall be off to Chris's motor factor shop to get a length of earth wire tomorrow or monday. This was an option for if th earth was to blame, so I'll back track to that when I've checked round all other points sunday, in amongst housework, school homework, sunday dinner and other womens duties! Dunno where or how to attach it, apart from from the battery to somewhere.

It would certainly be more helpful if my wonderful other half would be a little more sympathetic.

[daved407]

Surely to prove its an earth fault all you got to do is get 1 jump lead and attach one end to the battery neg and the other to the engine on a good earth point. If its all well then a new leads is required? Or am i missing something. That seems like a 2 min job initially.

[Sid Squid]

As the fuse blows when you turn the ignition off the fault lies somewhere in the ignition switch or along the parking light circuit.

There are four connections to the ignition switch - from the battery, the supply to the fuse board, and the two that connect the side light at the front and the rear light circuits together for the parking light position. At 'on' the battery is connected to the fuses and the lighting wires are connected together, at 'off' none are - but it wouldn't surprise me to find that some connections are made momentarily on the way to their intended place.

[dizzyblonde]

Thanks Sid. I'll be having a look this aft. Your suggestion is most appreciated
This is a very intermittent fault. It 'appears' to happen when I've switched it off, its happened a half dozen times like this, when the the lights are left on. You don't hear anything pop, and when you go out the day after the deed has happened.

It has happened when I've been doing something slowly i.e in a carpark too.


I'm so annoyed with it, I feel my the end of today/tomorrow my entire bike wiill be covered in insulation tape!

[missyburd]

Sell Suzy and get that Raptor :-P (sorry can't be much more help...)

[dizzyblonde]

errrrrrrr NO!

However the bike is in pieces, and Im Indoors is swearing profusely, and mumbling about 100 ohms resistance in the igniton switch where there should be continuity or something B/W O/R wires?

[daved407]

I dont think a raptor would be any more or less reliable.

Ive had it once before where the wiring at the connector plug had got water in it and was shorting out when I applied a steering lock. Are all those front end connectors tucked away in good nick, dry clean etc?

[dizzyblonde]

I dont think a raptor would be any more or less reliable.


we've already got one of those. :smt042 but my dreams an Xtra;)

we've currently got an ignition barrel on the kitchen unit, inspecting it

[dizzyblonde]

Ive had it once before where the wiring at the connector plug had got water in it and was shorting out when I applied a steering lock. Are all those front end connectors tucked away in good nick, dry clean etc?

How did you cure the problem, as at the moment it appears to be knocking out fuses when I'm putting the bike away for the night, thus putting the steering lock on

[missyburd]

we've already got one of those. :smt042 but my dreams an Xtra;)

See, my suggestion wasn't entirely daft :-P Although I should think the electrics are pretty similar to that little cagiva planet we've got which was a reyt PITA.

But ANYWAY, how've you got on with it this afternoon then Dizz?

[daved407]

Firstly I dried the conections. It was clear where the problem lay when the tank was of as the 4 pin block was half burnt-melted. I renewed it and repositioned it so if water got in it ran out again and that a full left or right lock didnt cause it to move. But if you have 100 ohms resistance at ign barrel it may be a different story.

[dizzyblonde]

righto, back to the drawing board, not that one. Had a friend test their barrel via MSN.....theirs is the same on the wires that had 100 ohm resistance. Have taped up that one too.
So tomorrows trick is to put it all back and turn the barrel on, and waddle around wiggling wires til we get one that goes bang. And fit another earth. SIGH :-(

[stewart-250]

A bad ground will stop things working but will not blow fuses. Live things connecting to ground when they shouldn't is what blows fuses.

Could very well be something bad happening inside the ignition switch as was already pointed out as both the main power and the pilot light circuits pass through there.

But as you point out it seems to happen whe the steering lock is put on so it could be the harness at the headstock.

I would try to get the fault to happen with the bars on full right lock then on full left lock to try to pinpoint it a bit better.

Sorry can't be of more help but am stuck at work without a workshop manual or time to look up an online one.

cheers

Stewart

[dizzyblonde]

when we put it all back together i shall be doing this tomorrow, thing is, as its an intermittent fault, I can bet sods law it won't do it!

[dizzyblonde]

SO, one temporary earth wire later, and the beginnings of the succession of waggling of wires, we hit another problem thats not happened before. The rev counter has stopped working
We wiggle the main loom wrapped round the headlights and the rev counters bouncing and the digital mile thingy is flashing on and off. A methodical wiggling by Im Indoors narrows it down to ONE RED wire, which incidently is connected to the main fuse. A loose green termnal in the back of the connector is revealed.

The story continues