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Motorcycle Electrical Troubleshooting; Shorting/intermittent Electrical Problem
Topic Started: Apr 2 2011, 11:36 PM (1,324 Views)
Mike Folks
Mike Folks
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The Dreaded Shorting/Intermittent Electrical Problem!


Here is the most basic method I know(Taken from www.kzrider.com by member Patton)

1. Charge your battery and have it load tested if you can. The floating ball hydrometer can be used to check the specific gravity of the charged cells in the battery.

2. Disconnect the Black lead from the (-) Battery terminal... or Red from the (+) Battery terminal, it does not matter which one. Just 1, not both!

3. Connect one of the following test setups in series with the Battery terminal and lead:
3.1 A 12 V light bulb,
3.2 A 12 V test light,
3.3 A 12 V test buzzer or,
3.4 A 12 V horn... you get the idea.

4. With the Ignition Switch OFF, go through your harness and wiggle the wires while looking/listening for the test setup to go on/start buzzing.

5.With the Ignition Switch ON, repeat the test except this time the looking/listening for the test setup to go off/stop buzzing.

6. Be prepared to open the Ignition switch and check/test for solder joint failure and or circuit board micro breaks (don't ask how I know this ).

7. Be prepared to pull the wires out of the Head Light to test for failures at or near the grommet.

8. Be prepared to open the harness at or near the Steering Neck for failures. This is where wires tend to exhibit fatigue due to repetitive movement.

9. Be prepared to open the left and right switch gear to search for rust and or broken parts. CAUTION: watch out for flying springs, ball bearings and stuff. Do indoors on White sheet (again don't ask ).

10. Be prepared to follow the heavy gauge wire from the Starter Solenoid (Relay) to the starter for bare wire exposure. Especially near bends and grommets.

11. If you can reproduce the fault symptom your are pretty much home free. Be prepare to find and repair/replace any internal wire breaks, insulation break downs, exposed wires, rubber grommet failures, etc. Often, shrink tubing will solve the problem temporarily until something better can be done.

12. I use a very good electrical contact cleaner/preservative called De-oxit made by Caig Labs in San Diego Ca. Their website is www.deoxit.com It can be purchased at Radio Shack and any other electronic supply store. I use it on all of my motorcycle’s electrical connectors , in my home entertainment center’s stereo patch cords and cordless phones charging cradles.


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ShaunZ1
Member
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This is basically sound advice; but I would add a couple of notes as it seems to combine two ideas into one which may cause you problems.

1. If you have a battery that is draining flat, and all fuses are good, you need to find which circuit is causing the drain. Disconnect the Negative cable from the battery and connect an Ammetre in series to read the current drain (amps or milliamps). Start removing fuses 1 by 1 until you see the current drop to zero or the makers recommended figure (some circuits draw minor current when switched off such as alarms etc). This will identify which circuit you need to investigate, (regulator, lights etc). Put the fuse back in and start disconnecting and checking the harness to find the root cause. Always test at the negative wire because there is less risk of shorting out the battery to the frame, which is a high risk if you use the Positive connection.

2. You have a fuse that blows every time you fit one, you have a short to ground on that circuit; you should connect a bulb (an old M/C head lamp bulb or similar). The lamp will be illuminated when the short circuit is present, with no danger of melting the harness because the wire or component that is shorted to ground is now acting as the earth for the bulb. Now you can wiggle wires and disconnect components until you find what makes the light out. Never fit fuses that are of higher rating than factory and never use a test bulb that draws more than the original fuse (example, 2amp fuse =24w bulb).

3. If you have an occasional fuse blowing, connect the lamp as above and wiggle everything until the lamp comes on; then the short is present, then investigate as in No2.

Regards, Shaun.
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Mike Folks
Mike Folks
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Very good ideas, this procedure is open to suggestions/changes to make working & troubleshooting electrical problems that most riders stay away from. Some thing about electricity gives people the shivers!
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