Rectifier Wiring Question

[RJ]

OK, while inspecting my wiring, I noticed that the white/red wire coming off of the rectifier runs all the way into the headlight bucket and into the connector for the right handlebar switch. It doesn't connect to any part of the switch, it connects to a jumper that connects to the light green/white wire that runs all back to the left side cover area, then connects to the green/white wire that then runs all the way down to the alternator. This is also how it is depicted in the wiring diagram of the factory shop manual.
Am I missing something here or am I looking at 15 feet of pointless wiring with the associated increases in resistance and heat? I'm quite tempted to simply plug the white/red wire directly into the green/white wire and bypass all of the other nonsense, but I'd like to get a learned opinion or 2 before I do something potentially harmful.

[errorcauser]

I'm quite tempted to simply plug the white/red wire directly into the green/white wire and bypass all of the other nonsense, but I'd like to get a learned opinion or 2 before I do something potentially harmful.

That's exactly what I did on my bike. I by passed 15 feet of pointless wiring.

From reading the forum, it's a left over design from when the headlight could be switched off. I'm sure others that knows exactly what the deal is with the left over wire will chime in and give you specifics.

[posplayr]

Apparently it is a left over and compatibility thing with some non US models. After freeing up the wires i used them to control my Coil Relay mod. You will recognize the color coding in the pdf.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=141055

[Steve]

It may seem like 15 feet, but it' only more like 3 or so.

The white/red wire does not actually make it all the way to the headlight bucket. It makes it to a 9-pin connector under the tank where it loops back through another pin and goes back down to the r/r. As others have mentioned, in previous versions of the bike that had a headlight switch, instead of a loop at the connector, the wires actually went to a second set of contacts at the headlight switch. That would open the third leg of the stator when the headlight was off, preventing the r/r from working so hard to handle the excess current. You will do yourself and your bike a favor by wiring the stator directly to the r/r and bypassing the extra length of wire.

.

[chef1366]

Mine goes into my Disco Bar.

[RJ]

Yeah I figured somebody had probably addressed this issue but I couldn't seem to find the right word to plug into the Search feature. Nice write-up on the relay mod BTW Pos.