Should I open the wiring harness?

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

A mouse got into the air filter long before I bought the bike, and tore that up. Maybe the same happened to the wires? I'm thinking of slicing open the wiring harness (at least from the coils to the CDI box) to see if there is any damage or grime built up.

Is this a good idea?

[Steve]

If you don't see any evidence of tattered insulation due to chewing, you won't find anything by opening it up.

And good luck finding wires between your coils and a CDI box, because your bike does NOT have a "CDI box".

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[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Sorry, force of habit. I mean igniter.

Whenever I google CDI box for my make and model, it shows a picture of the igniter. Looking up "igniter" shows the signal generator. Google is weird.

[Brendan W]

I'm with Steve. Don't fix stuff that's not broke.
If you want to check out the harness you could do a lot worse than
Open and clean the ign and kill switches.
Clean the fusebox and the plug on it's tail.
Have a look for binding or chafing at the steering stem and check out the harness supports on the spine of the bike between the coils.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

I did crack open the kill switch and blast some contact cleaner in there, it didn't look corroded, if I recall.
How would I take apart the ignition? There looks to be a lot to remove just to get at it: handlebars, instrument panel...

[Steve]

I
How would I take apart the ignition? There looks to be a lot to remove just to get at it: handlebars, instrument panel...

Are you talking about the ignition SWITCH?

Remove the headlight from the bucket.
Might have to remove all the wiring from inside the bucket. See if the bucket will swing out of the way when you ...
Remove the bucket from the mounting ears.
When the bucket is out of the way, you have access to the ignition switch. Just a couple of bolts and one 4-pin connector. When you get the assembly off the bike, you can remove the actual switch portion from the lock assembly, open it up and clean it.

Assembly is the reverse of removal.

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[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Alright, thanks. I was referring to where the key goes. I've heard that's another area where voltage can drop.

[Steve]

The easiest way to see how much (if any) is dropping through the ignition switch is to check the voltage at the fusebox.

The MAIN fuse is connected directly to the battery and feeds the ignition switch via a red wire. The ignition switch sends power back to the LIGHTS, SIGNALS and IGNITION fuses via a solid orange wire. Pull one of those fuses out of the box, turn on the key, use a test light or voltmeter to see which end of the fuse is fed from the ignition switch. (A test light will be quicker and easier, but you will need the voltmeter for the next step.) With the ignition switch ON, place one meter lead on the MAIN fuse, the other lead on the 'hot' side of the fuse you just removed. If your meter is set to DC volts, you will see how much voltage is dropping through the ignition switch.

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[ZombiePotatoSalad]

I pulled the IGNITION fuse and touched the one lead to the MAIN fuse clamp, the other to the motor casing as a test. Read 12.19.
One lead to MAIN, the other to IGNITION clamps. Reads 0.11 volts. 15709138975214944463563388161232.jpg

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Also, the plug that connects the ignition switch to the wiring harness is stuck. I'm guessing it may have fused together at some point. Any ideas how to get it loose?1570922526345369454968950471148.jpg

[LAB3]

Also, the plug that connects the ignition switch to the wiring harness is stuck

That could be due to corrosion. If it where me I'd try squirting some contact cleaner in there and letting it set awhile to work it's wonder then try prying the plug apart.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Did that. The entire plastic plug came off the wires. Ah, well. I can always buy a new one.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

These are the wires. Even connected like this,
it still read 0.11 volts. 20191012_191712.jpg

[Cipher]

this is so confusing.......................did you replace the fused effed up connector?
You need a local friend you are second guessing things and not being methodical

review the nomenclature and understand that the likelihood of a bike like your starting begins with the battery voltage. Its not magic.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

I have not yet. I just plugged the wires into each other. I need to go to a hardware store or something for new ones. I have a new ignition switch coming on Monday, I'll wait for that so I can go get one to fit it, I think.

This is the first motorcycle I have ever owned or worked on. My previous experience with any mechanical work is to fix a bicycle. Previous electrical experience is taking the casing off of a VCR.
I have a hard time finding the exact words I want to say, it's a fun effect of autism. While typing allows me more time to think than speaking, I still have some difficulty expressing exactly what I want to say. Especially when it's with something I know next to nothing about, and have been messing with on and off for the past 5 months and making little progress, with the deadline of winter fast approaching. So if I confuse you with my lack of proper terms, I'm sorry. That is not my intent. That's just my inexperience talking. And I've tried to find people nearby. I've made Craigslist posts asking for help, and I've asked people I pass on the sidewalk. No replies, and no one knows anything about motorcycles.