Help- Wiring voltmeter & Clock 1991 R100GS

B Murr

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Ok I thought this would be simple, however more complicated than I expected. The clock was going to be + to battery via a new fused connector, - to frame somewhere and the light to tail light wire. However when I connected up like this the clock works fine but when I turn on the lights it goes off. The + and - connections are right but it seems to me that the tail light connection is acting as an earth when lights on .Does anyone here know where I should be connecting the wires for the clock and voltmeter. I've already wasted a few hours fiddling around with it.:confused:
 
My clock is wired to the spare live connector on the ignition switch (1989 100 GS - yours may be different).

Clock and rev counter lights are wired in with the speedometer light.

Bob.
 
Cheers Bob, the wiring is as bit different on the post 1990 models. On the wiring diagram in haynes there are two likely suspects for connection, one is for " additional instruments" and the other is for " accessories". I've searched along the loom to see if there are any such sockets but can't find any free ones. There are a few sockets but they've already been connected into, presumably for the heated grips. I spotted something about fitting a relay this evening while doiung a search of the site, in that case for fitting spots. I've wired the whole lot up now and they work as I hoped with the voltmeter getting power from the ignition coils + connection, all I need now is some way of wiring up the light in them to come on with the main lights. Maybe I should wire them to light up constantly when bike powered up( from ignition coil + again??) but then the bulbs will probably not last for long and it just seems like a bodge too far. Like many projects it is a case of having progressed so far and used up so much of my time that I can hardly pack it all in now.
 
Well I had another stab at it this evening, connected the instruments lights up to the tail light wire and it all worked as planned:bounce1. I don't know what the hell I was doing wrong on day one but I don't care now. The collection of push fit connectors and the extra fused line detract from what was once an organised look underneath the tank so if anyone has any ideas about the mystery connectors for the "instruments" and "voltmeter" please enlighten me.:thumb2
 
Voltmeter and clock now installed for some time with no probs. Today though voltage was only about 11 and when I put lights on the needle just dies-very similar to the problem I had while first wiring it up. Get home with this fault intermittently occuring,thinking something expensive is going wrong. Get digital multimeter out and check readings and they show a healthy 12.4v even when the needle is dying with lights on. Give the voltmeter a whack and hey presto it behaves normally. Looks like my pod voltmeter is a bid dodgy with some sort of internal short.
 
Analog automotive voltmeters are notoriously inaccurate. For best results, they should be directly connected to the battery with discrete wiring. Errors in line losses/connectors etc. are then minimised....
 
I've rigged it up to the ignition coils positve connection as this will only be on when ignition circuit on-i.e. when key is turned. Seems to work well, apart from the dodgy voltmeter. I am tempted to dismantle it and fix it but get the feeling that it might be just too much trouble foir little savings- maybe something to do if I find myself with little to do some evening.
 
Being a CBX6 owner for 26 years we ( as a group) are very aware of voltmeters, as together with the problematic (for some) alternator & the line voltage drop, it always comes up in the forums. My feeble attempt prior to suggest wiring directly was a jerk reaction (in more ways than one...:o ) Removing those resistive leaps & hurdles only can improve the accuracy. In reality, I believe a good ammeter to be more beneficial but that too has problems....:rob
 
Took voltmeter out to fix it yesterday as the replacement one from ebay was in even worse shape. I noticed that the light bulb was askew in its holder and reinserted it straight. Problem solved, voltmeter works now .:D The bulb must have been shorting the contact points inside the holder, such a simple cause of what was a very irritating fault.:blast
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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