Another electrical issue

[CatatonicBug]

I'll start by saying that I have a Windjammer fairing, and the headlight bucket has been removed. I have also REMOVED the large plastic connector behind the fuse panel, and soldered he individual wires together.

Today, I was on the freeway, and I noticed that my tach was jumping around wildly! No other visible symptoms at all. Then, as I pulled off the freeway, the tack leveled out and everything went back to normal. I figured, "whatever it was, it fixed itself". WRONG! I left the house again this evening, and as soon as I hit the freeway again, the tack started jumping. It never leved out again though. It was starting to get dark, and I noticed that my headlight (low beam and bright) was not as bright as it usually is.

I parked at my destination, then came back out and started the bike, but this time, the tach, the lights behind the tach and the speedo, the headlight, and the front running lights (in the fairing) were all dead! The 4-ways and turn signals still worked though, as did the oil light, neutral light, and the low fuel light (as I found out there in the parking lot on the side stand).

I have wiggled wires, played with fuses, and beat on panels, but I can't get anything to show any signs of recovery. I was hoping that there was a lose connection, or a wire shorting to ground somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. Can anyone give me some idea of where I might look that would cause this set of symptoms, all at once?

[b.walker5]

Check your alternator and/or plug. The rev counter is fed directly off one phase and the lighting relay depends on the alternator working. Same thing happened to me when my stator burned out.

[CatatonicBug]

like I said, I removed the plug. I soldered the wires together, so I know that's not the issue. Do you think my stator just died??

[Larrym]

Dark Shadowed Ground

Everything you mention going dark also shares the same "ground". Somewhere all those devices (headlight, gauges, etc) link back to the frame or to the wiring harness ground. Possibly a front mounted cable (shared ground) leading to the frame??

If you start the bike and find that the charging system (Discharging Prevention System) is doing as it should: 14.5 VDC, then I'd investigate the return path for all those lights.

What does a meter across the battery read while the engine is running?

HTH

[Larrym]

You can check the stator and rectifier separately with resistance/continuity checks but first you'll have to de-solder those connections.

(Prob'ly done very cleanly and so disturbing them is a necessary evil..)

A quick check is to pull the stator cover off and stick your nose in there, C-Bug. If it don't smell right then trust your senses.

[b.walker5]

As Larry mentioned, check your charging voltage if you can start the bike. If you cant start it then check the ground as suggested and if good then unplug the big connector at your regulator and measure the resistance of the stator windings, (across the white wires) check your manual for what they should be, but without checking I think around 1/2 an ohm is the figure. All three legs should be the same and then check the feild coil, the brown and green wires in the small plug, which should be around 3.5 ohms. Dont panic if theyre not exact, +/- 10% is okay. The key thing with the stator is that theyre all about the same. Measure each leg to ground also and if you get a reading other than infinity then say "aw fcuk" and prepare to remove your alternator.

[CatatonicBug]

The bike starts and runs perfectly. As though there was no problem at all. I rode home last night (15 miles or so) on the freeway, with the 4-ways on. Rear lights are fine. I started it several times in my driveway after that, trying to troubleshoot, so I know the alternator is still charging the battery.

I like the common ground idea. Is there a single connector that all of those front features share for the ground?

[XJOK2PLAY]

CBug,
The only other thing you might check out is the harness connector that's on the left side of the faring... I've had a lot of issues w/ that one... especially things I would place inside that pocket pressing down and causing the problem. Mine would also affect the headlight as well... have you noticed any headlight issues? I finally bypassed that connector all together.

You can still get replacements from Vetter... but they're pricey.

JAT... since you mentioned it affected the running lights in the fairing.

Does sound like a bad ground connection to me as well... especially if you'ved checked charging volts and it's steady & ok.

[CatatonicBug]

The only other thing you might check out is the harness connector that's on the left side of the faring... I've had a lot of issues w/ that one... especially things I would place inside that pocket pressing down and causing the problem. Mine would also affect the headlight as well... have you noticed any headlight issues? I finally bypassed that connector all together.

The headlight and the running lights are dead. I noticed that as the tach was bouncing, people were moving out of my way on the freeway! Evidently, the headlight was flashing at the same time... Now, the headlight and the front running lights (in the fairing) don't work, but the turn signals and 4-ways DO work (same bulbs in the fairing as the running lights). Whatever the issue is, it affects the tach itself, lights behind the tach and speedo (not the indicator lights), the headlight, and the front running lights. Nothing else is affected. I'm just hoping that there is one single common connection somewhere that got lose, and finally let go completely.

[psycoreefer]

Aren't all those things (except the tach) driven off the headlight relay, you know the one that keeps the headlight from turning on until the bike is running.
That relay should have 4 wires going to it, unplug the relay and check to see if you have "power" to the yellow wire in the plug, thats the one from the "charging" circuit that lets the relay know the bike is running. If you have power and no lights, bad relay, if you have no power, trace back to where the wire is FUBAR.

Also as mentioned check the white wires from your stator, one of the three drives the tach so its possible you have one leg of your stator that is failing or has failed and the other two are ok and providing charging current.

I wouldn't trust the fact that the bike starts as evidence that your charging circuit is "good". If you've got a good battery it could run ok for a while with no lights to drain it.

[CatatonicBug]

Aren't all those things (except the tach) driven off the headlight relay, you know the one that keeps the headlight from turning on until the bike is running.

That may be true, but the problem is obviously connected to a single item that is shared between ALL of these things (including the tach). The lights and the tach were flashing/bouncing at the same time, so I know it's something that they all share together.

[DGXSER]

It sounds like it is all up front in the fairing wiring area. So it seems like you need to pul the fairing and just start going wire by wire to see whats up.

[psycoreefer]

That may be true, but the problem is obviously connected to a single item that is shared between ALL of these things (including the tach). The lights and the tach were flashing/bouncing at the same time, so I know it's something that they all share together.

Hey, I'm just trying to help, it would take you all of 10 minutes to check and then you could rule it out for sure, be one step closer to the solution.

They only all share 2 things, 1 is ground some where, but I don't think the tach and the lights use the same ground point. I'm going to have my headlight out tonight so I'll look and see if I can trace the tach ground back into the harness. 2. is a connection to the stator/charging system, and you refuse to check it because the bike starts. I'm putting my money on a problem in the charging circuit someplace (probably the stator or the wires going to it). Make sure you post when you find the problem.

[CatatonicBug]

Psycho - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was discounting your help. I don't have the bike here in front of me (I'm at work), so I am just trying to rule things out logically before I actually start working on it tonight/tomorrow.

[randy]

Sorry, psyco, if it were the chsrging circuit the tach would bounce but the headlight would stay on. The relay is latches. Once it's on, it stays on. I would go with DGXSER's theory. It's something up front, or with psyco'd ground fault theory.