issues with main fuse

[Anonymous]

hey all.
just got the bike slapped back together in time to make it to college (first day, new school)...i blew the main fuse last night, and was lucky enough to have a replacement. i tore off the seat and gas tank, searching for frayed wires. the only wires with some insulation missing were located near the steering head. is this enough to cause the main fuse to blow, as it would still create a short in the system? it was pretty frustrating, and i am now contemplating buying new wiring harness for the bike, just to save any possible future headaches. anyone know where to buy one?? price is a bit of a concern though, as my funds have been very limited as of late. also, would it be advisable to pay the shop to do it (labor is expensive here though, as the shop i go to is 85 bones an hour on labor, but a good tech would be able to put it in pretty quickly). i know very little about wiring, so i am really throwing out a line here. any info would be great.

[earlfor]

Re: issues with main fuse

A new wiring harness for my 1150 was about $150. Installing it is not a quick and easy task. Its quicker if the replacement harness is an exact match for your make and model bike, but if not, the tech will have to search and go through wiring diagrams to figure out where some things should be hooked up. In any event, I think you will find that avenue too costly.

Any positive bare wire on the bike that grounds out is enough to blow fuses. You should at least cover the bare wires with electrical tape..
I would check a wiring diagram path from the main fuse to get an idea of most probable places for a short or worn wire and the color coding to be looking for.

Earl

hey all.
just got the bike slapped back together in time to make it to college (first day, new school)...i blew the main fuse last night, and was lucky enough to have a replacement. i tore off the seat and gas tank, searching for frayed wires. the only wires with some insulation missing were located near the steering head. is this enough to cause the main fuse to blow, as it would still create a short in the system? it was pretty frustrating, and i am now contemplating buying new wiring harness for the bike, just to save any possible future headaches. anyone know where to buy one?? price is a bit of a concern though, as my funds have been very limited as of late. also, would it be advisable to pay the shop to do it (labor is expensive here though, as the shop i go to is 85 bones an hour on labor, but a good tech would be able to put it in pretty quickly). i know very little about wiring, so i am really throwing out a line here. any info would be great.

[Poot]

check ebay for wiring harnesses.


85 bucks an hour is DAMN expensive man....


I dont know where you live, but even the dealership charges 70 bucks *canadian* an hour....


i would suggest finding a place thats cheaper, and get your other problem fixed ( the leaking one). and the harness as well , and maybe they'll cut you a deal , if you plea .

[Anonymous]

i live in washington. yes, 85 bucks an hour is very expensive. 70 canadian is expensive. standard labor rates are like 25 an hour at regular mechanics, but motorcycles are specialized, and therefore will cost more; just because they (the shop) can get away with it. rode about 60 miles today (almost all freeway) with no problems, lost a little oil in the venture, but it was almost negligent. oil looks like a lot more after the few drops hit the ground and start to spread out. i'll check around. ebay does have a lot of parts, most of it at decent prices, the downside is: sometimes the seller isnt all that well informed about what he/she is selling. i bought an ignition off of there for like 11 bucks for a honda CB550 (cafe project, back burnered big time), and it was not a correct part, eventhough the seller listed it as an ignition for all CB models (350, 550, and 750).

[Guy]

Replacing the whole wiring harness might be a bit drastic if it's in otherwise good (standard) shape. Even without much electrical knowledge you should be able to check the whole thing over yourself in an hour or so and make a decent repair. Strip off the seat, tank, side panels, headlight etc to expose as much of it as possible.

[first timer]

pull the old harness off and start removing all the tape and covers covering it,, then start and inspect all the wires, looking for a bad connections anything coroded, and anything bare. cut, splice, cover, and solder, do what ever you need to do to get rid of bad spots. once all bad spots are gone re wrap the harness with some electric tape nice and tight.
it will probly be a enitire weekend project (20 hrs for a first time person) to take the harness off , clean and reinstall but it will give you a peice of mind on how the bike works. it's not to hard, you would have to go almost as far if you were going to replace the harness anyways.

if you get scared about mixing wires up get some tape and number each connection so you can rematch things.

-ryan

[SqDancerLynn1]

Their are so manny possibilities Random blowing of the main fuse I would chech the regulator first before you rip the wiring apart