where does R/R connect into the Main circuit. ... ?

[Redman]

I know the R/R output connects into the main circuit somewhere inbetween the Main fuse and the ignition switch.... but exactly where?
Is not two wires on the main fuse connector, is not two wires on the ignition switch connector, is not two wires on any connectors red wire... so I conclude that the red wire from the R/R output must be spliced into the red wire between fuse block and ignition switch somewhere in the length of the wiring harness.

Anyone have any specific knowledge of this....?

How can I find where in the harness that is, so I can inspect that connection... without cutting the entire harness apart...?
Exactly were is that?
And which wire goes straight thru and which wire is spliced onto the one going straight thru.... or is it 3 individual wires connected together....?

Has been a while since I looked into this, so am relying on my memory (which is always suspect ) for these details.

I am loosing nearly a full volt on the red wire between the main fuse connector and the ignition switch connector (and its not the connector mating connectors, I am measuring from the back of the connector, so is just the length of the wire and only thing inbetween would be that splice point. And the connectors show no evidence of heating.)


Lets see, .... 1 volt, times, oh, say 10 amps(?), is 10 watts, so not a lot of heat, but enough to make it worse over a long time and repeated occasions.


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[Brendan W]

On mine there is a red wire going up the back of the airbox where the redundant stator loop to the headlight takes off. At the bottom end is the spade connector for the r/r output. The other end splices, or more correctly, tees into the main red wire in the harness just above the airbox. Jim, posplayr has advised that that tee can corrode and cause a drop.

[posplayr]

The red r/r(+) connects to the harness at what is known as the "T". The physical location probably varies some bike model to bike model. But from the 16v gs models I've seen the connection is about 3-4inches from where the R/r wires disappear into the harness. iIRC, the 16 awg battery wire runs from the fusebox straight to the ignition switch as a continuous wire. The "T" is formed by a brass crimp which "sisters" the r/r(+) to this wire to form the "T".

while you are in there you will probably also run into a main ground crimp that forms the central collection point for the B/w in the harness. I would do this as well.

what to do?
1) chemically clean the crimp using naval jelly or equivalent.
2)heat and flow some solder into the crimp.
3) it is not always nessesary but some flux will help reduce the amount of heat needed.

[Nessism]

The T crimp isn't likely to be the cause of resistance increase, rather where the fuse box plugs into the harness. On my 1000S it was a simple matter of tracing the power output wire leaving the R/R and seeing where it plugs in to the harness/fusebox. Clean one or two connections and you should have clean power straight to the battery.

BTW, I was able to remove almost 1/2 volt of loss by physically cleaning the connectors. Remove the terminals from the plastic shell first. Pinch the female terminal closed too.

[posplayr]

The T crimp isn't likely to be the cause of resistance increase, rather where the fuse box plugs into the harness. On my 1000S it was a simple matter of tracing the power output wire leaving the R/R and seeing where it plugs in to the harness/fusebox. Clean one or two connections and you should have clean power straight to the battery.

BTW, I was able to remove almost 1/2 volt of loss by physically cleaning the connectors. Remove the terminals from the plastic shell first. Pinch the female terminal closed too.

I guess it would depend on the state of your harness, but teh crimp is generally in better shape than other crimps owning to it being wrapped inside of the harness with a little gooey tape over it. However, I like my total drops to be less than 0.05V and so I choose to leave little to chance.

[Steve]

To answer your question, Dave, the actual splice is about 6 inches above where the R/R wire connects, which puts it just about directly over the airbox.

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[posplayr]

To answer your question, Dave, the actual splice is about 6 inches above where the R/R wire connects, which puts it just about directly over the airbox.

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I know you are clairvoyant and know what bike we are talking about.

[Steve]

I know you are clairvoyant and know what bike we are talking about.

As a matter of fact, YES.

I know him, I have seen his bike and it is in his signature.

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[Redman]

Thanks for the information.
Next time I am working on that I will then know where to find that tie-in point.
I will again verify that the voltage loss is in between the fuse block connector and the ignition switch connector. .... and verify it by also taking resistance readings.



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[posplayr]

. .... and verify it by also taking resistance readings.

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Much easier to measure as a voltage drop

[Steve]

Much easier to measure as a voltage drop

Agreed.

Knowing the actual resistance really does not mean much, unless you also know the current that is going through it. What REALLY matters is how much voltage is still there after passing through that (hopefully small) resistance. Just a quick probe with the voltmeter before and after the suspect area will tell you all you need to know.

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[posplayr]

Agreed.

Knowing the actual resistance really does not mean much, unless you also know the current that is going through it. What REALLY matters is how much voltage is still there after passing through that (hopefully small) resistance. Just a quick probe with the voltmeter before and after the suspect area will tell you all you need to know.

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There are actually a few other reasons, mainly the fact that it is hard to measure resistance at the levels that are problematic.

1.) as little as 0.1 ohms of resistance is a full volt of drop at 10 amps flow. 14 amps is the typical flow out of the R/R(+). If the limit is 0.1 volt drops, that could be as small as 0.01 ohms resistance; How you going to measure that? The typical resistance minimum resolution is typically 0.1 ohms unless you get a professional desktop unit.

2.) Probe resistance can typically be 0.1 ohms and so just the clean probes can account for a full 0.1 ohms.

3.) Now you try to measure the resistance of a dirty contact? You have to scratch away the corrosion just to get clean metal that is not necessarily even in the current path.

4.) Finally your point about resistance and the current. That is true. But not just because of the amount of current flowing, but that the current is flowing through the actual path not just a dummy path setup by the ohm meter.

I just have to sigh when I hear people using an ohmmeter to measure the resistance between the R/R and battery.

If you measure voltage, it doesn't matter where you poke it or how you measure it. You cheapest meter will typically easily go down to 1-10 mV and 50-100 mVolts are a good result. It is kind of hard to screw it up, where as resistance measurements I can only imagine what people think they are measuring