harness

[oldyam80sg]

Hello again another harness question.I recently purchased a harness for my SG from a parts source in NH.Everything looked ok but when i went to hook up the taillights, the connectors on the harness is a male and the connector on my taillights is a male.Also the start button connector is totally different.What gives?The harness looks all original and nothing looks out of the ordinary.

[bikerphil]

harness

Might be from a different year or from a Standard. If those are the only differences, it wouldn't be too hard to modify those connectors IMHO.

[oldyam80sg]

I have a harness from a 81 SH i think that i could cut off the connectors and make it work but these 2 connectors I'm talking about don't have a ground wire.Is this normal?

[Bullet]

81 harness should work ..

Look at the harness's you have , there is a white tag taped into it , the model code is on it for each model ..

I got 2 or 3 of harness's hanging around , all different years, and 1 is for standard model , and they are all different ..

For your 80 , should have a 3J6 , I believe is the USA model code .

Up here , the code is 3U9 for a 80SG.

Here is a full list of model codes , to compare with the tag on the harness..

http://www.xs11.com/specifications/serialno.shtml

[oldyam80sg]

81 SH harness wont work.No ballast resistor red/white wires,i didn't see coil Grey/ orange wires either.81 harness numbers started with 4RO.It looked like it will work but i got concerned when i approached the coils and didn't see wires that would plug into it.I cant read the numbers associated with the harness i just purchased.I also had to put an inline fuse for the turn signals because when i took out the old fuses and touched the fuse clips they broke like potato chips.Tomorrow is another day.I'm waiting for heli-coil inserts to repair a stripped spark plug hole.

[Bullet]

81 SH harness wont work.No ballast resistor red/white wires

You are correct , my bad ..

Think you have to find the 3J6 or possibly a 79 (3J3) harness may work.

[oldyam80sg]

Harness is crap-excuse me I'm so mad i need to vent.When i placed my order the girl swore to me that i would have a SG harness in my hands and that it is ready to go just plug in.I had the harness almost done and was working on putting the wires into the headlight bucket for the turn signals, tach, etc.I noticed that there is a 3 prong connector that is supposed to be used for the tach.No connector to plug the tach in.Turn signals are driving lights -they don't flash.Tried several combinations to get signals to work-no good.Running lights work for front only-no back running lights.No tail,oil pressure light,or license plate light that works.After all this time i think i could put a wiring harness in my sleep.I looked in several books and the wires up in the bucket just don't match anything that would work.And no tag or any other id marks as to what i have.

[DiverRay]

I think it would be time to get your money back on the harness!
As the bikes are ALL almost 30 years old, you would be better off trying to "rewire" with ALL NEW parts. If you cannot match the connectors, you should be able to find something close that will work. It's a pain, but no worse than what you have already been through, IMHO.
Check with Geezer and see what he has available, He DOES have ALL the "large" and bullet connectors, plus a nice pair of crimp pliers. Just need to see if he can get the "small" connectors. Wire should be available online or from a local electronics store. Most of the wire on our bikes is in the 18 to 22 gauge range, with the "battery cables" being about a 8 gauge.

[oldyam80sg]

DiverRay -I was thinking the same thing.I went to my local Radio Shack and found male and female connectors and the corresponding plastic housings.I also found a tool that pushes out the bullet type connectors.With that in mind i now will be able to put back together my old harness taillights.I took my old harness dumped out the water that collected in the plastic sheath and taped it in sections that were exposed and now the harness looks much better than before.The result-everything works as it should except for a few minor problems with the annoying headlight relay.I also found those fancy splice connectors that you put the wires in and squeeze them together.I believe they are called scotch lock connectors.They were used to jump the wires in my headlight relay wiring.Photos will follow.Thanks!

[oldyam80sg]

Update- I finally finished putting in the wiring harness on Saturday.Everything works-the only concern is the oil pressure light works when it wants to.And I'm waiting on my Heli-coil inserts for the spark plug hole that i stripped.The inserts should be here on Tuesday.I have to borrow some crimper's from work and then my tail light will work.

[Paintman]

Wires

sounds good Old LOL seems like you are doing your trial by fire with a 30 yo bike ya gotta have imagination and a good sence of humor..

<---Use to be from Joisey grew up in Englishtown

John

[oldyam80sg]

Harness update-I told the company how dissatisfied i was with the wrong harness.At first they were nice about it and tried to tell me that everything they send out is correct and that alot of people just need to take the time and look at all the wires correctly.I told the lady that the connectors on the harness were male and that the electric start switch is also a male so they wont connect.She didn't seem to understand what the problem was.I told her i changed the connectors and she said that the harness was non returnable because i decided to modify it and that the person who took it off the XS in their shop had been a mechanic over 15 years.I told her that someone sent the wrong harness and that i was looking at several wiring diagrams on a message board and the harnesses don't match anything I've seen.She stated that message boards are made up of riders and that the people on those boards are not mechanics so they don't know what they are talking about.I told her that because of her stupid thoughts i would tell everybody how bad of a business they are and not to purchase items from them and hung up the phone.

[oldyam80sg]

Also on another note -i received my heli-coil spark plug inserts and will put them in on Wednesday afternoon.I also ordered a set of crimper's from Geezer and will soon have my taillight working.The bike should be ready to ride for my vacation June 23 to June 27.The only problem i see is that i might be switching my full time job very soon as i have a interview tomorrow.Thank You for all the expert advice i have received so far from this forum and its members.As many people will tell you not alot of shops will work on a motorcycle this old.I value everyones advice whether new member or experienced!

[fredintoon]

&quot;she said that the harness was non returnable because i decided to modify it &quot;

Hi Oldyam,
sure she did. Most likely they goofed and sent you a different harness by mistake. And you were entitled to an exchange or your money back plus an apology. Right up to when you cut into it. Doing that made the harness yours with no beefs or backsies. Mind you, they still owe you the apology.

[oldyam80sg]

They swear they sent me the right harness.I also reminded them that they sent me a reserve lighting unit instead of a headlight relay.She said we never had a rlu before and that i had the only headlight relay in the shop.I clearly have been sent the rlu.