Bike wont start! Could this be the problem?

[Nick]

Well I finally had time to work on the bike. 70 hours of work a week makes for hard to find spare time you know? Anyway, I figured that there's a broken needle like thing in my left carb that can't be removed or atleast i dont think it can. I heard it had something to do with the choke so I'm not too worried about it right now. The bike ran just fine with one carb and after both get fixed up and in great shape the bike wouldnt start. I figured trace the wiring. I went into a little bundle behind the airbox and found this little bastard.



A red burnt wire. I know that red = HOT so i made sure the battery was unplugged. I disconnected it from its opposite connector for now.
Could this be the reason why my bike wont start now? How can I fix this or do i need a new wiring harness?

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated.

[BassCliff]

Cooking with electrons

Hi Mr. Nick,

You can certainly replace connectors and make new connections. Most importantly, you must eliminate the source of the extra resistance that causes the heat. This is usually in the form of corroded connectors and grounds. You must check and clean every connector on the bike, from the headlight bucket to the tail light. Scrub them with wire brushes, steel wool (be sure to remove any particles), and use a dielectric grease to help ward off any future corrosion. Be sure to run the ground wire from your regulator/rectifier directly to the battery's negative terminal. Check my little BikeCliff website for any information that might be helpful. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

If that is the red wire that I think it is, your bike should not run with it disconnected.

There will be a red wire running from the battery to the main fuse, then to the ignition switch. From the switch, it's an orange wire that comes back to the fuse box to feed the other fuses, so basically, EVERYTHING except starter current will go through that red wire.

.

[chef1366]

You are trying to start the bike with the red wire not connected?