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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Stranded at the moment...help (electric failure?)
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Message started by Prophet_10 on 08/15/08 at 07:30:53

Title: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failure?)
Post by Prophet_10 on 08/15/08 at 07:30:53

I just rode in to work and after a bit I decided to run out for a cup of coffee, I got down the street a bit, and upon shifting into 2nd the whole bike went dead.

Right now turning the key produces no lights or any other functions (won't start)

Can you folks please give me an idea of where to start looking so I can go home tonight? - not to mention I have a lunch meeting that I would like to make (I hope!)

Thank you

-Matt

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Sandy Koocanusa on 08/15/08 at 07:41:35

I would start at the battery connections and move on quickly to the kill switch. I've been having trouble with my kill switch lately. If I use it to shut the bike off, I sometimes have to flip it back and forth a few times to get things going again. Time to open it up and look around, I guess.

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Moofed on 08/15/08 at 07:45:33

Sudden loss of lights probably means a fuse blew. Should be an extra in the toolkit cover. The kill switch doesn't affect lights.

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Jimmer on 08/15/08 at 07:45:50

I'd check the fuse first. If it is blown you will get know no power to the ignition switch. Install a new fuse, if it blows start checking for a wiring short. Possibly wire cover rubbed through,contacting bikes frame.

Good Luck
Jimmer

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Prophet_10 on 08/15/08 at 07:56:32

4F6D6D646766020 wrote:

Sudden loss of lights probably means a fuse blew. Should be an extra in the toolkit cover. The kill switch doesn't affect lights.

Thanks, I tossed my toolkit in the shed months ago. Can you tell me what the fuse would be rated?

And where is it, under the seat?

Thank You!

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Moofed on 08/15/08 at 08:03:32

My extra fuse is glued to the inside of the chrome toolkit cover, not in the toolkit itself. I think it is a 20 (yellow?). And yes, the fuses are under the seat.
Edit: Yes, it is a 20A fuse. Manual says so.

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Prophet_10 on 08/15/08 at 08:08:18

4062626B68690D0 wrote:

Cool, yeah I think I remember seeing one in there.

And I did just RTFM - fuses pg 66 under the seat.

Thank you!

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Prophet_10 on 08/15/08 at 08:23:07

OK, the top fuse was shot, I put in a new one, turned the key to ON, and instantly blew the fuse again.

Sucks being at work and not in the shop.

Can anyone tell me where to start looking being that it is the TOP fuse that is blowing?

Thanks!

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by mornhm on 08/15/08 at 08:35:13

Look for shorted wiring along the frame. There may be some evidence of arcing or sparking. The larger the fuse rating, the more chance for damage (arcing/sparking). If not, look for worn or missing insulation.
Just moving the wires around may eliminate the short, but if you don't find the problem and fix it, the problem will revisit you. (Probably around 2 am on a Saturday night, when you're riding through the South side of Chicago.) ::)

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by T Mack 1 on 08/15/08 at 09:29:42

Ok.... not sure who first suggested this but it works. And, as a electronics tech type, the science behind it is valid.

Use a light bulb in the place of a fuse then jiggle the wiring until the light goes out. That spot will be the "general" area of the short. The light has "resistance" to control current flow so that you don't create a dead short and burn up the wiring.

I know they have a type of Auto light bulb that is all glass and the wires are bent over the flat bottom part. It's the type that get pushed into a flat looking socket and sometimes a holder that then twists in (a bigger version of our Speedo light bulbs). Well, if you bend the wires, I believe one of those could be made to go into the fuse holder...... Other wise, buy a socket and wire up something.....

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by Sandy Koocanusa on 08/15/08 at 09:37:17

Would a cheap probe-type current tester do the same thing? That would be easy to insert in the socket, and could be used again for other purposes later. I'm not the electonic tech type, so maybe it isn't the same.

Title: Re: Stranded at the moment...help (electric failur
Post by T Mack 1 on 08/15/08 at 09:53:23

6B6D6C6E73756E6F010 wrote:

Depends, if it's the type made to check house current, NO. They use neon bulbs and that requires AC voltage to work. Well..... if you have high enogh DC voltage, you can get one of the electrodes to glow, but 12 v isn't high enough.

Bulbs are fairly cheap, 2 for three of four bucks.