Wiring basics, best practices, etc.

[NobleHops]

CBXers,

I'd really appreciate it if maybe we could make this a rolling thread where we trade notes, techniques, products, specs, reference, etc for information on motorcycle electric projects. I am pushing myself to learn a lot more and be a lot better with this stuff recently, and I know I could really benefit from some coaching from you super-experienced guys.

I'll start with a gremlin I dealt with today: I recently replaced my wiring harness with one of the excellent repro harnesses that Phil Taber sells and that was an easy and satisfying project, and has given me impetus to tackle a few other electrical upgrades while I was at it. Tonight I was planning a ride-in to the local vintage gathering, and 5 miles from home, things started dying, One by one. First the voltmeter croaked. then (only) one of the turnsignal indicators. Then the neutral light. Paranoid I had done something to cause my wiring harness to erupt, I dropped anchor, turned around and headed for home. The bike ran fine.

I threw the bike back on the lift, took off the side cover and rechecked all the work I had done. Everything looked fine. No evidence of too much heat, nada. I did take the opportunity to install some Hitachi connectors in place of some bullet connectors, but found no problems there, and also re-tapped the power for the coil relay directly from the battery on a fused lead as my friend Tony Herd has suggested I do. No change. So I started inventorying the connectors under the ignition and gauges and VOILA! the culprit. The connector into the tachometer was slid loose, and was making poor or intermittent contact. I plugged it in, flipped the ignition switch on, and everything lit up. Yay me.

But testing the connection, it was clear that it wasn't latching. The connector captive in the tach was slightly pooched and misshapen, and the little bale that catches the fang on the wiring harness connector was stretched out just enough that it would not stay latched. Drive on down the road and good old gravity would start bobbing that stub of wiring harness up and down and out it would come, again.

This was my MacGyver'ed solution: I took a 1/2" length of a bit of a wire tie, slipped it under the fang to act as a spring, and reinserted it into the tach. *CLICK*.

IMG_6741.JPG

Here's an example of what I did (old crusty wiring harness).

IMG_6743.JPG

Will let you know how it works out, but it seems pretty positive now and the bit of wiretie is pretty snug in there.

Anyone got a variation on this theme?

N.

[Joner]

Hi Nils.

Good practical simple fix.

Cheers
Chris J.

[Larry Zimmer]

Looks good as anything to me, Nils! I'd say it's good for another 30 years. Then, replace the tie-wrap piece, again. Beats replacing the connector end. That nylon does age -- just doesn't turn gray to show it like the rest of us do.

[herdygerdy]

A great solution to a tricky problem Nils, I love your ingenuity in coming up with a solution to a problem where your old girl has lost a bit of "spring" in her step. Maybe a piece of tape neatly placed over the housing and your fix to reduce risk of it falling out down the track??

That said, I am kinda surprised if the plastic housing really was pushed all the way home, then the grip tension of the 6x female terminals on the male terminals in the other housing may have held it in place?? Does this mean they have lost tension too ?

In the interests of a 'belts and braces' approach to fixing it, would it be worth pulling each terminal out of the housing loom and either replacing it, or giving it a gentle squeeze with pliers to ensure proper contact with it's mate in the other housing when the two plastic housings are reconnected and pushed fully home ?

I like the idea of the theme of this thread and my worth is to:

a) spend the money and invest in a decent crimping tool that gives factory like crimps. Then doing anything electrical becomes a pleasure to do and not a battle.
b) keep the wiring smoke inside the wires by using heat shrink tubing to cover all exposed metal of connectors, joins etc.

Pleased you got your ignition coil relay mod sorted out.

Cheers..Tony