Wiring Harness Questions

[Do Little]

So I have a few wiring questions. Got a 1982 GS550L.

Should there be any loose wires that don't go to anything? I have one or two that don't go to anything, and the wiring diagram doesn't show them hooking up to anything. I was thinking they used the same wiring harness for differnt bikes, and that some bikes didn't need all the wires, but its just a theory.

Second, everybody tells me ground wires shouldn't spark. And yet I have a wire that has an eyelet on it, and it sparks when i brush it on metal, but I don't have any lights unless it's grounded, seems like it affects my plugs having spark to. It's part of the light circuit, the black/white stipe wire that hooks all the lights together. There's two of them, and my wiring diagram shows one being grounded and the other not doing anything.

And lastly, does wire length have anything to do with anything? I was looking at my wiring harness, and one of the wires in my stator r/r area goes all the way to my headlight, does a loop without connecting or touching anything else, and then comes all the way back. Any reason?

[Steve]

First: yes, there can be loose wires. What color and where?

Second: yes, ground wires can spark if switches are ON and devices are supposed to be working. If they are sparking when the key is OFF, you have problems.

Third: no, wire length does not matter, but that extra wire has quite a few connection points in there, and they can cause problems. You can eliminate that loop by simply connecting the three stator wires directly to the R/R input wires.

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[Mekanix]

I was looking at my wiring harness, and one of the wires in my stator r/r area goes all the way to my headlight, does a loop without connecting or touching anything else, and then comes all the way back. Any reason?

Fyi,

That loop was intended to go to a lights on/off switch. When you would switch off the headlight you would also disconnect 1/3 of the power to the RR so it wouldn't be putting out so much power and having to shunt it all to ground since there is less load.

Those wires can come in handy later on if you leave them in. You could add a switch near the handlebars and some accessories without having to run new wires.

[Do Little]

It was one of the grounds for the lighting system. There was two, and the diagram only showed one grounded. The other one was all corroded and nasty, so I cut it off and I'm going to just run the one. I also have a loose wire, and my diagram says it goes to the oil pressure switch, but I'm not sure where that is yet, and it doesn't seem to be effecting anything so I havn't messed with it much.

My main issue is charging, and according the the stator pages I'm having issues with connectivity in I think the positive loop, so taking out that loop might help, or maybe just disconnecting it and bypassing it but leaving it in the harness for possible future use.

Thanks guys.