When the rage subsides...

[zagger]

Good to talk with you on the phone. If I can ever help with anything, feel free to call me. Of course, posting your question gives me (and others) a chance to think about the answer before responding! It sure looks to me that you are on the final victory lap! I really think that you will be pleased with the final result.

zag

[Geobob]

Just another thought: If you find yourself needing to crimp on wiring connectors, I would strongly suggest that every connector should be soldered after it is crimped to the wire. It does take a little more time, but the final connection is not going to be damaged by water. If you don't already own a decent soldering station, then this would be a good time to get one. A cheapo soldering iron that plugs into 110VAC power is not very easy to work with and produce good solder joints - usually they have a single tip which cannot be changed. A professional grade soldering iron has a small soldering iron with a selection of tips and a detached power supply that is the part that plugs into 110VAC power. This might be a good place to start: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=weller

Weller is an excellent brand which has been around a long time, but I'm sure there are others that are also good.

zag

 

PS Just another thought about soldering. Bike wiring is usually VERY oxidized which means that solder won't "wet" the copper and create a good electrical connection. On my other bike, I recently had to solder 3 wires to replace a bad connector from the alternator. In order to get a decent solder joint, it is necessary to fan out the little individual wires inside the larger wire and scraped them with something (I use a knife blade) until it is obvious that the copper is exposed. Then use solder which has flux in it - or even use a bit plumbing flux to help create a good solder joint. Most solder is designed by folks who assume that the thing to be soldered is relatively clean. Copper wires that have been exposed to the elements for 30 years are not what they considered. However, it only takes a minute to scrape a copper wire clean enough to make a good solder connection. And a small tin of plumbing flux has enough extra mojo to help the situation. Just wipe off the excess melted flux after making a good solder joint and seal it up with heat shrink tubing. Hope this helps.

 

I should have read this and spoke with you before attacking my circuit board. I had a hell of time soldering the diodes in.

[Geobob]

Hi Tyler, I was reading through the thread and kept asking myself what in the world prompted you to restore this bike. The list of things you have had to deal with is significant. I realize finding a good condition 83 might not be easy but finding a well maintained 87 or later is reasonable.

[s.tyler58]

Hi Tyler, I was reading through the thread and kept asking myself what in the world prompted you to restore this bike. The list of things you have had to deal with is significant. I realize finding a good condition 83 might not be easy but finding a well maintained 87 or later is reasonable.

I got excited by the 83 reputation for speed and comfort. P.O. did transmission rebuild, front tire, rebuilt fork. What P.O. didn't tell me was that she had played on her right side in the yard for a year and a half. He dropped it, turned it off and walked away. Thought she just needs a battery and carb rebuild. Now, for three weeks I've made no progress because of this dang short somewhere in the harness. All wires going through the triple horn to the dash and bars are fine.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

[cowpuc]

I got excited by the 83 reputation for speed and comfort. P.O. did transmission rebuild, front tire, rebuilt fork. What P.O. didn't tell me was that she had played on her right side in the yard for a year and a half. He dropped it, turned it off and walked away. Thought she just needs a battery and carb rebuild. Now, for three weeks I've made no progress because of this dang short somewhere in the harness. All wires going through the triple horn to the dash and bars are fine.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

 

Ty,, I've been down for long enough now that this simple little suggestion has probably already been made and I missed out on seeing it but,, maybe not so I will toss it out here.. If you are talking about popping a fuse (proving you have a short to ground somewhere) - if you pull the faulted fuse, then build a pig tail (or use a 12 volt test light but I like doing what I am telling you with the pig tail cause it stays in place better while I am fooling around with the harness) for the fuse panel where the fuse plugs in.. Simply use two male spade terminals crimped onto a piece of wire so you end up with one spade touching one fuse blade connector and another spade touching the other connector = basically ending up with a fuse with no fusable connector to blow - get it? Now attach a 12vdc light socket with light in it to that two wire pig tail = a tail light off an old bike works fine but so will anything holding like an 1157ish - dont use a headlight though as it will draw to much.. Now when you turn your key on, if that circuit is gone to ground the 12v light will light up as it has a source and its grounded somewhere = get it? If its not grounded and you were not blowing a fuse - the jumper wire your light is hooked to would only have a source - it would not be grounded. Now, with the key on and the light shining away, start unplugging devices associated with that circuit.. Everything is suspect.. You could looking at running light on bike having lost its element to ground internally = still working but shorted out.. Ya just keep fiddling till the light goes out.. Dont be afraid to move harnesses around some - sometimes just jiggling wires will cause the light to blink and instantly hook you up with the source.. Also dont forget to test the leads heading down to the stator - its not impossible for shorts to occur there...

Any of this make any sense?? Hope so!! If I one of the clubs actual electronics guru's now come on here and tell me I am nuts and correct my idea we will both gain so consider the "source" of your logic here too

[s.tyler58]

Ty,, I've been down for long enough now that this simple little suggestion has probably already been made and I missed out on seeing it but,, maybe not so I will toss it out here.. If you are talking about popping a fuse (proving you have a short to ground somewhere) - if you pull the faulted fuse, then build a pig tail (or use a 12 volt test light but I like doing what I am telling you with the pig tail cause it stays in place better while I am fooling around with the harness) for the fuse panel where the fuse plugs in.. Simply use two male spade terminals crimped onto a piece of wire so you end up with one spade touching one fuse blade connector and another spade touching the other connector = basically ending up with a fuse with no fusable connector to blow - get it? Now attach a 12vdc light socket with light in it to that two wire pig tail = a tail light off an old bike works fine but so will anything holding like an 1157ish - dont use a headlight though as it will draw to much.. Now when you turn your key on, if that circuit is gone to ground the 12v light will light up as it has a source and its grounded somewhere = get it? If its not grounded and you were not blowing a fuse - the jumper wire your light is hooked to would only have a source - it would not be grounded. Now, with the key on and the light shining away, start unplugging devices associated with that circuit.. Everything is suspect.. You could looking at running light on bike having lost its element to ground internally = still working but shorted out.. Ya just keep fiddling till the light goes out.. Dont be afraid to move harnesses around some - sometimes just jiggling wires will cause the light to blink and instantly hook you up with the source.. Also dont forget to test the leads heading down to the stator - its not impossible for shorts to occur there...

Any of this make any sense?? Hope so!! If I one of the clubs actual electronics guru's now come on here and tell me I am nuts and correct my idea we will both gain [emoji23] so consider the "source" of your logic here too

Thanks Puc! Gonna work on this today while it rains. I have an old trailer light that should work. Don't know how to get a spade for a mini fuse connected to the wires but hoping I can jam the pigtails into the fuse holder.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk