Various electrical questions

[claygs750e]

The box dimensions, I'm an idiot!

Ok, took your guys advise and bought the Polaris and will hold off on the stator. Once everything is put back together I'll really get into the stator papers and figure out how to test it.

[claygs750e]

So I've been reading through the stator papers which is a wealth of information. So my question is currently my wire harness is off the bike so my plan is to first clean all connectors and check the conditions of the wires. I've bought the RR and adapter from Robert which is on the way. My question is should I open up the wire harness or leave it? Also, I have a similar build as D-Mac which I will need to reroute some wires (pics below) so would 18 gauge be a good starting point possibly besides the wires to the battery?

[posplayr]

So I've been reading through the stator papers which is a wealth of information. So my question is currently my wire harness is off the bike so my plan is to first clean all connectors and check the conditions of the wires. I've bought the RR and adapter from Robert which is on the way. My question is should I open up the wire harness or leave it? Also, I have a similar build as D-Mac which I will need to reroute some wires (pics below) so would 18 gauge be a good starting point possibly besides the wires to the battery?

There are a couple of things, you would probably want to do to open up the harness.

One is the Power "T" which is a crimp in the harness. I don't know how you wired the R/R but if you used the original wires then the "T" should be cleaned and soldered.

Also while in there you will be able to find the primary ground crimp. Cleaning and solder there will improve things.

Don't know if you are looking to do any relay mods, but you might consider the SSPB. There are two threads describing the device and the installations. It will eliminate your fuse box and releave the stress on your ignition switch and generally reduce the voltage drops to your electrical components.

See the links in my signature.

[claygs750e]

I've not received the R/R yet so the harness is out on the table ready to be cleaned. Since I want to eliminate as many unneeded wires since the bike is open and all the electronics will be under the hump or in the open is it worth opening up the harness to get rid of the wire going to the headlight from the stator? I also won't have a gear indicator so that would be another wire I could eliminate.

I only had the bike for a week before tearing it down, but one problem I was having was the ignition switch wasn't getting grounded to the handlebars. Another GS member was nice enough to come over (Koolaid man) and we stuffed some metal plates inside the ignition module so it would make better contact with the bar and ground. Is this something that I can bypass or fix with me rerouting everything?

I think the power box mod is something I want to do in the future, but right now the budget is not allowing for it.

Any recommendation as to the cleaning products I should use for the connectors?

[posplayr]

I've not received the R/R yet so the harness is out on the table ready to be cleaned. Since I want to eliminate as many unneeded wires since the bike is open and all the electronics will be under the hump or in the open is it worth opening up the harness to get rid of the wire going to the headlight from the stator? I also won't have a gear indicator so that would be another wire I could eliminate.

I only had the bike for a week before tearing it down, but one problem I was having was the ignition switch wasn't getting grounded to the handlebars. Another GS member was nice enough to come over (Koolaid man) and we stuffed some metal plates inside the ignition module so it would make better contact with the bar and ground. Is this something that I can bypass or fix with me rerouting everything?

I think the power box mod is something I want to do in the future, but right now the budget is not allowing for it.

Any recommendation as to the cleaning products I should use for the connectors?

DeOxit is a good cleaner for light stuff and final coating. Naval jelly if you have big issues. Clean the fuse box as well.

Wire is not necessarily evil nor going to make it less likely you have a short. The harness is pretty robust as long as you are not damaging it somewhere. I would be more concerned with looking for physical damage and repairting that rather than trying to open it up just to get rid of wires.

If you are going that way though there is a "550 Bobber schematic" i posted in a tread of similar title, will give you minimum wiring requirements exclusive of lights.

[claygs750e]

So I took off the harness and looked it over last nigth and overall it looks to be in decent conditions. It looks as if the plastic covers don't come off so to clean the contacts do I use somethuing like a q-tip or am I soaking the entire connector including the plastic too? The plastic needs some good cleaning as well. So after using the deoxit cleaning is there any lubricant I need to use when everything is clean for the connectors? Also, I did see one ground wire that needs replaced so would I just cut this back and split in the same guage wire?

EDIT: I thought about possibly soaking all the connectors in vinegar overnight. Good idea?

[claygs750e]

Ok so the wire harness is now clean from soaking in vinegar and spraying with DeOxit. The DeOxit came with two sprays and the second is more of a conditioner when I'm ready to connect. My question now is what is the best method to extend the wires I need to mount the electronics behind the seat? Splice the wires, solder and heat shrink?

Also, from the electrical components I need to relocate, are there any that get too hot and shouldn't be mounted next to each other? I know the regulator gets the hottest so how much air flow does that need to have to keep cool? Since this will be mounted under the rear hump I'm curious if this will get to hot.

Thanks guys

[Steve]

My question now is what is the best method to extend the wires I need to mount the electronics behind the seat? Splice the wires, solder and heat shrink?

My personal favorite way to extend wires is to use wires of the same colors. If that is not possible, cut the existing wire back a couple of inches from the end, then splice in the length that you need. That way, the wires coming into the connector are the stock colors, and will be easier to trace next time somebody has to do some poking around.

Yes, solder and heat shrink are a good method.

.

[claygs750e]

Any ideas of the best place to buy wires? I see Z1 has them, but I don't need 13 foot which is the standard amount. Since I will need to extend most of everything about a foot if most are the same guage I can buy one roll, but at least the guage wire on the power looks different.

So your saying to basically splice in two places so your using the stock color connected to the end connector?