Intercom not working driver side only

[kwisor]

HELLO ALL

on the bumble bee a 99 rsv the frt intercom dose not work at first i thought it was my head set went bad but i hooked it up to the back for the passanger and it works fine what do i need to look doe is it a bad wire from the unit

thanks for and advice

bumble bee

1999 rsv

jax fl

[LilBeaver]

Okay, some clarification would be helpful here. You say the intercom does not work. Do you mean that:

1) Only the intercom does not work but you can get radio through the headset and talk through the CB

2) Nothing works through the driver headset including the mic for the CB, radio though the speaker, and talking to the passenger

3) Some combination of these that I have not listed.

 

Have you checked the volume for each (IC volume when you push 'select' on the handlebar control) and the rear volume control on the arm rest.

 

Next thing I would check would be the connections under the passenger seat (it is most likely NOT this one since you say the passenger one works fine, but it is easy to get to so it cannot hurt) then the connections under the front fairing. I believe the cable for the driver is marked with Red tape (but you can double check for your self when you get there) and the passenger one is marked with white tape. On these connectors inside the fairing, push the driver connectors together (as if you were plugging it in) firmly and pay attention to see if you feel any slack in the connector. If you feel slack, it is likely that was the culprit. Test to see if you have regained operation.

Regardless of whether you have fixed your problem or not (or felt slack in the connector), you may as well go ahead and unplug then reconnect each connector a few times (to help clean off any accumulated corrosion), then spray with electrical contact cleaner (let dry appropriately/blow out with compressed air), then apply some dielectric grease on each and reconnect and then test your system.

 

If you still have not fixed your problem then the next thing I would do is go ahead and check for electrical continuity between the ends of the driver cable. That is, take an ohm meter on a low range resistance setting and carefully probe each respective end of the cable to see if you have continuity between the ends of the cable where you should and do not have continuity across pins that you should not. If you find a short in the cable or that you do not have continuity through lines that you should then you have yourself a bad cable.

If you find that the cable appears to be in working order, you probably need a new radio unit . To be clear, the part that I am talking about is the unit that is under the front fairing that has the cables coming out the right side of the bike (when sitting on it, the side that your right hand would be on if you had your hands on the bars).

 

If everything else is functional, it is likely just a loose connection under the fairing as the motion of the bars pull on those connectors and they work them selves loose over time.

 

Hope this helps, Good luck!!