How bad is this wiring?

Okay, here's the part about my bike that scares me, the wiring. I finally decided I have to face this -- you'll understand why as you read on (or just look at the pic).

Bike ran fine for a while. Several months ago, I would come back to the bike at the end of the day -- it had sat four hours or so while I was at the office or school -- and no juice. My wife drove up from home and I successfully jumped it. The battery seemed okay, tho. I guessed that somehow the ignition switch wasn't fully opening the circuit when I turned it off.

Then, maybe two months ago, I ran an errand to the store. Came out, got on the bike and headed home, a distance of 1.2 miles. About half-way home, something quirky happened. It seemed that the lights flickered for half an instant, and the oil LCD came on. Checked the oil -- still there. When I cycled the ignition switch, the oil light stayed off (after the usual self-diagnostic). I didn't worry much until I switched off the bike and got off it. I noticed the neutral light was still burning.

Over the next few days, I found that if I did nothing more than switch the bike off, the neutral light stayed on, and the battery was discharged by morning. I checked the fuses -- and their appearance surprised me. I finally came up with a temporary solution to the battery discharging while parked. I disengage a certain fuse, as shown in the pic.

Obviously, seeing different format fuses in the fuse box dismayed me. Part of the problem seemed to go away when I removed the fuse box cover and left it off. Btw, the cover seems to have melted a bit directly over that fuse that's open prior to this symptom.

The question is, can I fix this? Or do I need to pay for Robert to come out here and do it for me? Where do I start? And, yeah, I now have a multimeter -- and I've even learned to check lightbulbs with it!!! Seriously though, I can follow detailed instructions so long as I have an idea how long a particular job will take. (I'm so tied up with study -- I graduate in December -- that I have to schedule just about everything so I don't get hip-deep in the middle of something and have to drop it to do something else.) I'm open to suggestions, directions, even hand-holding.

 

Mickey Mouse is a registered trademark of Disney Inc.

But, that's a Mickey Mouse wiring job ... for sure!

Do a cardiac transplant. Get a 6-place fuse block from wirewerks.com
Solder-up pigtails to the new fuse block.
Solder-up extensions to the wires needed to be spliced to the pigtails on fuse block.
Splice and solder the fuse panel in.

1 hr 45 min. (with cigarette, coffee and baseball game distractions)

 

Hey Rick, I went to wirewerks.com and don't see where they sell fuse panels? Am I missing something or is there another source you can recommend?

 

http://wirewerksperformance.com/index.p ... b091aa8f37

This is the page ... the one you want is the 6-term ... $8.99

Rick

 

Send me your Email for photo of wirewerks 6-place / $8.99

Rick

XJ900Owner@aol.com

 

Hey Rick, thanks, found it. I suppose that this fuse block will fit under the seat in the same place as the stock fuseblock, 1982 XJ650J? Thanks.

 

This post got me looking at my fuses. Kipper's block looks brand new compared to mine.

Mine only has 2 fuses, and as far as I can tell from the Yamaha online wiring diagram that is the correct number.

I'm inclined to replace mine with a pair of weatherproof inline blade holders. Anyone see a problem with this?

Carl

 

Rick,
Thanks for the direct link. I should be receiving my new fuse block by the end of next week. I just keep worrying that my current setup is gonna crap the bed while I'm out joy riding, which, of course, would ruin the joy part of the ride.

 

If i was still living in my Arlington Tx apartment ... check this out ... On "East Lovers Lane" ... you could just ride over and we'd take and hour or so and do it.

The trick is: Solder and heat shrink some Pigtails on the fuse panel -- first. Then, solder and heatshrink some extensions to the wiring harness. Make your splices nice with solder and heatshrink ... then, tape it all up making it pretty ... done!

 

Man, if I were going to be up that way longer, I'd have to try to swing by and check out your bikes while I'm in Leominster next week. Have to go visit a job site and tell a bunch of Yankee contractors that they are doing everything wrong.

 

Rick -- thanks for the info and the link. Since I'm a college student for another four months, my wife says I have to wait for financial aid to come in before I tackle this. She's probably right since I'll have to get a soldering iron and solder. With that in mind, is there anything I should either look for or avoid on soldering irons?

 

Yes ... ther is one thing you should avoid.

When its plugged-in ... pick it up by the plastic handle; NOT the metal end.
.....

I'd like to have one of those ones that you can stick in your pocket after making a connection.

My budget only allows me to get the RadioShack Dual Watt (35/15). For working on the bike it's fine. Most all the wires in the bike are fairly small gauge; anyway.

 

Kipper, I am just amazed your bike is still on the road and hasn't gone up in flames! I'd certainly make sure you cover that thing with a plastic barrier to avoid shorting it against anything (electrical tape would be a good temparary fix). Yikes! I'm feeling pitty for you right now. I'm strapped until the 15th. I'll see if we can't get you safe around that time. I'll PM you with details of my devious plan...

Rick, those stupid Cold Heat units are a waste of money. Had the command buy one for our office (facilities) and it wouldn't flow solder much less get the terminal hot enough to flow onto. Your Radio Shack special is perfect for most jobs you would encounter on these machines. The last command I was at was nice enough to spot me for 6 $2,500 soldering stations, man I love those things, wipe your nose and everything. Your spot on for the wiring size matching the capacities of your soldering iron. 18-14 gauge wire is covered very well by the 15-35 watt units.

Carl, the weather-proof inline holders are an excellent way to go. Just be advised to make sure that you get one of the correct current handling capacity for the main line (30 amps on my XJ). Most of the inline holders are only rated at 15 amps so be sure to farm out for at least one heavy duty unit with 14 gauge wire.

Note to all: Our Yammies have all shown their age and a propensity to suffer from corrosion in their wiring. It is regretable that the factory did not make more of an effort to prevent this from happening. I'm still of the mind to make harnesses but I would need a good harness of each model and year in order to create the forms I would need to make this work. Would this be a desirable thing for you all? I'm fishing for comments to determine if this is viable. I can repair harnesses to factory specs and make factory-looking mods (using OEM connectors) rather easily but lack the space right now to go and take on all the work I'm sure is waiting out there. I could conceivably handle one or two harnesses a month right now so long as I have the correct schematics. Another thing to concern myself with would be price. I'm not at all certain as to how much it would cost in materials (wires, connectors and pins) to create a new harness. Given that there is no current company that offers this service, I'm going to have to do a bit of research and find out. I'm going to create a new post so you all can comment without blowing Kipper's post out of shape.

 

I had the same problem that Kipper had with my bike. The brushes on the alternator are an are I would look at if I were you. I did re do my fuses too, with all inline ATC fuses. Didn't realize how tight it was under there, because I had to redo it to get the seat on. My 750 had the four fuses (30 amp and 3 10 amps) so it worked out fine for me. I would have sprung for the wirewerks block if I had known, but after a 5 mile walk home and it sitting for a week, I wanted my Maxim up and running ASAP.

After I changed the fuses, the lights were brighter and none of these mysterious no power incidents. BUT the brushes were also a contributing factor in my case. (Yeah I know, Rick has already been preaching about this, but I am a loyal convert and put 200 miles on her yesterday because of this.)

 

100 Miles = Charmin Butt
200 Miles = Leather Butt
300 Miles = Aluminum Butt

300 + = Iron Butt (I'm thinking about taking the 750 for a jaunt up to Sunday River, Maine. Meet with a few old friends ... and, then point that front wheel back toward home. I think we all need to do one long-haul before OUR starter cluthes - go!

But, I did share a Highway overpass to escape a downpour with a fellow a bit older than me .. (me = 58). This Road Warrior had the Big, BMW Cruiser with all the bells and whistles. Stickers from everywhere he'd been; too.

I asked him how far he was going ... He's hitting Maine's tip ... coming back down to grab "The Cat" over to Nova Scotia ... then, coming back from Nova Scotia and heading South.

He's doing "The 4-Corners and wraps it up as soon as he gets down to Florida.

That kind of riding = "Spent nuclear fuel butt"
Good for him.
(And I thought riding from Boston over to Saratoga Springs NY was a big-deal!)

 

I was swapping out the tail/brake lights for LEDs (in another thread in this forum) when I shot the pic of the fuse block. I also, for the first time, risked a fiddle-with-it with the key switched to the "on" position. That wire below the fuse block (photo orientation), or iow, aft of the block -- I wiggled that and heard clicking that sounded like it was coming from the right/starboard side of the bike. I didn't pursue it further cuz I figured I might do more harm than good tracking that down. I mean, if I get that fuse block properly taken care of, that wire ought to be part of the fix.

I'm also not sure if you can see it in the photo, but there are three different formats of fuses in that block. The one to the left of the open fuse is so short that it barely stays in the clamps. In fact, it managed to come loose a few weeks ago. The bike still ran, but I had no tach, no LCDs, and no instrument lights.

And it gets worse. Two days before I swapped out the lights, I went out to hope on the bike and go to school. Turned the ignition to "On" and hit the starter. Everything seemed to work as normal -- except the engine didn't start. It cranked over. I mean by that, the starter spun the engine just like normal, instrument lights, tail lights came on, and the LCDs showed the computer doing self-diag -- but it didn't start. I needed to get gone, so I parked it and took the car.

After I switched out the tail lights, I tried it again. Same result. Just for giggles, I tried to jump it (made sure I had the connections right -- and didn't have the car engine running). Still same result.

If memory serves, my next step is to pull a plug wire and see if it sparks while the starter is turning the engine over. Not sure about that. And since I'm not sure, I haven't made time to try this.

I know somebody out there can tell me what to try next. And, Robert, I'm waitin' on baited breath (no, my breath doesn't smell like worms. If anything, it's more like kippers or sardines than minnows.)

 

No ...

Your problems are all right underneath your seat. If you don't have time to do a full-scale fuse-panel swap ... for a new fuse block ... you ought to buy four -- Quality -- inline fuse holders.

Excise that electrical mess. Install the four inlines. Just keep the color-coded wiring matched. Your LED's hooked-up to that "Stubby-little fuse?"

That's a problem ... it that fuse pops-out ... your lighting circuit goes-out.
You have time between classes to snip-out that mess and get some inline's in there ... that won't fail you!

 

I'll second Rick's recommendation there Kip, you're problems are under the seat. That click you heard up under the bike when you wiggled the wires was a relay either energizing or de-energizing. I'll bet you can just imagine what is going on electrically on your bike bouncing down the road. Not good. Eliminate the intermittent issues with the installation of a fresh fuse block, take your pick, there are many to choose from and all are very reasonably priced.

 

After reading this thread and following Rick's link, I have now received and fully installed my new 6 slot fuse block from Wirewerks. Tested it out and everything seems to be working, but haven't been able to road test it. I'm working on figuring out a bracket to install new, cooler looking front blinkers and I only have one of the old ones installed right now.

 

Update -- well, not sure that's the right term. Better to just say "status check."

Since starting this thread, the bike's been parked. I didn't want to risk damage to it, or harm to my body. STILL waiting on financial aid to arrive. I see the money finally made it to my tuition account at school. That means I should have it in the bank sometime next week. Then I'll be ordering the replacement fuse block and going out to find a solder iron, solder, and shrink wrap. I'll also see if I can find someone local who can hold my hand for a test run on soldering. -- that reminds me that a bro-in-law has quite a bit of experience fabbing computer components. Ummm, from my pic, would it be smart if I got a spool of wire, just in case? If so, what am I looking at -- 14ga?

Thanks for the help so far. Maybe "we'll" get some work actually done on this in the next week or so.