Electrical gremlins

[Vern]

Right you geniusisisisi, help me out with this one then.....

94, 1100GS. The two indicator idiot lights, the full beam light are on all the time at half brightness(ish) and they also dim in time with the ABS warning lights. The speedo light also joins in at the same time,sooooo, a bad earth I think, but where is the question.

I've had a half hearted poke at it this afternoon, to no avail, so has anyone had this problem before, or has had heard of it and can shed any light on the subject.

Everything else seems to work just fine.

Whatchathinkpeople

 

[nud1e]

Rectifier

Seem to remember that my R75/6 had these symptoms and I finally traced it to a duff diode in the rectifier board. Also made a mess of the starter solenoid and the battery.

 

[DrFarkoff]

Split the main loom from headstock to clocks and you will find that one or more of the common earth for the idiots lights are broken off and it's using the other lamps to ground out thru

Just trim back and solder the joints instead of them being crimped that should solve the problem

 

[Ugly Cow]

Bang on the money. A litttle tip you probably know, if the bare wire is discoloured (usually blackish) you will have to 'fan' the strands of wire and clean them with fine wet & dry or something similar and use plenty of flux otherwise it will be very difficult to solder and usually ends up with a dry joint.

 

[Vern]

That all seems far to simple,I was expecting someone to say that I'd need a new engine and gearbox to cure the problem

Thankyou one and all,I will report back with my findings, but I suspect the wiring to the idiot lights is the culprit,as I moved them to the top of the screen about ten years ago, and had to extend the wiring,so that's probabaly gone manky over the years.

Ta muchly

 

[Aidan1150]

What Jay and the Ugly Cow say Vern.

Had a similar problem last year and it was Steptoe that put me onto the little loom from under the tank to the clocks. Easy fix.

 

[Kenny]

Try adjusting the clutch

 

[MattW]

Gearbox knackered.

There, did that help?

 

[Vern]

Gearbox knackered.

There, did that help?

I was wondering how long it would take for you to appear

 

[MattW]

I was wondering how long it would take for you to appear

Oh, alright then - I agree with the earth crimp malarkey - my old bus had just that happen - clump of green fur and a couple of broken cables where the crimp is

 

[Aidan1150]

Hit it, or better still hit Matt with a feckin big hammer. Problem (both of them) solved.

 

[littleredrooster]

Pretty obvious, I would have thought, and no-one has yet sussed it.































Wrong oil.

 

[Stewart H]

Low canbus fluid

 

[Vern]

At last, the sensible suggestions are coming in now.

Where do I find the canbus tank? I think I left it under the stairs last time I had it.

 

[flatdog]

Outrageous replies to your sensible question. I would have flounced long ago.

Errr, yes back on topic, my advise is use shrink wrap rather than insulation tape, it lasts longer.
2 years ago, I re-orientated my rear indicators to miss my panniers, ran out of shrinkwrap and some wires ended up being taped, subsequently re-did this job in the summer and the shrink wrapped wires were still perfect, the taped wires were green/black and rotten.

 

[Black Rooster]

Replace the Dilithium crystals

 

[davegs]

At last, the sensible suggestions are coming in now.

Where do I find the canbus tank? I think I left it under the stairs last time I had it.

Thats a very expensive option so just flog it quick, put it on ebay just tell them it's a special xmas edition with special lighting effects. (or the Harley
site!).
Dave (always trying to help?) GS

 

[littleredrooster]

Outrageous replies to your sensible question. I would have flounced long ago.

Errr, yes back on topic, my advise is use shrink wrap rather than insulation tape, it lasts longer.
2 years ago, I re-orientated my rear indicators to miss my panniers, ran out of shrinkwrap and some wires ended up being taped, subsequently re-did this job in the summer and the shrink wrapped wires were still perfect, the taped wires were green/black and rotten.

I assume you mean heat-shrink rather than summat you wrap your sammiches in?

 

[Steptoe]

Whatchathinkpeople

What Jay and the Ugly Cow say Vern.

Had a similar problem last year and it was Steptoe that put me onto the little loom from under the tank to the clocks. Easy fix.

Oh yes, i completely forgot about the main earth crimps in the instrument loom during our conversation yesterday

That'll teach me to drive and talk at the same time

 

[Vern]

Update...........

Well, today I had a bit more of a poke at it, and all the oils are just right,so it can't be that

On the other hand, the electrics to the idiot lights are pretty comprehensivley
Donald Ducked. All the joints I done many moons ago,heat shrinked and silicone sealed are absolutley fine, however, the ones Mr Mbw done,are shite. It's not worth the effort of messing about with it, so for 20 quid, a new second hand one is on the way.

All I have to do, is extend the wires and away I go(if I plug it in and everything behaves of course)

I rode home with only the indicator light stuck on for company,so I did manage something today

I'll report back with the results in due course