'Leccy problems - Possible solution?!?!?!?

[DanceLikeAMon...]

This one has got me stumped, answers on a postcard please

One of my twin headlamps blew.
Took out the battery to charge it while I waited for a new bulb.
Washed bike without seat on (a clue here in that I may have got water on the wiring/fuses etc)
Put new bulb in.
Put freshly charge battery in (I checked and it was at 12.7(ish) volts.
Bike and bulb worked fine - went out for spin.

Next day, turned key and got nothing, no lights no power at all.
Took out fuse, and put same fuse straight back in - got power, bike worked fine.

Next day, while riding the bike the indicators started doing the fast blink as if the reg/rec wasn't working.

Went out this morning to see if I can find where the fault is, turned the key to start it up, but got absolutely nothing again.

Took out the fuse again, put it back in - got power, but got the speedy indicators again (although the battery was running at 13.1v - so it is charging). Had to go into work at this point, but five minutes into the ride (ie when the bike was warmed up) the indicators went to normal speed and everything was fine.

Anyone got any clues at to what's going on? It was about -5 C this morning, so could it be the cold causing electrical problems?

Ta for any advice.

Ooh, one other thing, I coated everything with WD40 this morning (including the connectors) to try and keep the damp out - is there any product available that's better?

[stinkwheel]

Is the main fuse on the starter solenoid? This type are very prone to corrosion round the terminals and even tracking back up the wire which can lead to inermittant contacts.

Also make sure the contacts have a good 'grip' of the tags on the fuse, they sometimes need a wee bit of a tighten up with a pair of needle nose pliers.

WD40 is as good as anything for getting the water out of electricals, that is its primary function. "WD" stands for "Water Displacing".
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[DanceLikeAMon...]

There's only one fuse on the whole bike, so all problems do seem to point towards that area, but would a dodgy conenctions around there make the indicators do their merry dance?

[Guest]

What Stinky says, it sounds like a loose fuse and/or a bit of water ingress.

Give the area a thorough clean up, fuse holders can hold water too. A few minutes with a hair dryer wouldn't hurt it either. Then douse with WD 40

If you can't get at the bit the fuse pushes into to squeeze the tabs up, gently bend the tabs on the fuse (assuming it's one like this)

https://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/wfc-fuse-blown.jpg


away from each other - only a smidgeon mind

[DanceLikeAMon...]

Cheers for that.

I have spent the last 2 hours outside freezing my balls off looking at this and the plot is thickening...

There is definitely a poor connection somewhere near the fuse, but I have yet to track it down. The weird thing now is that when the bike is idiling it is producing about 12.9 volts and if I put the indicators on the voltage drops to about 12.8 and they flash normally.

If I rev the bike up the voltage goes up to 13.1 which is fine, but if I keep it revving and put on the indicator it drops right down to 12.4v and the lights blink like heckfire again.

Going to see if I can find me an auto-electrician to have a look-see. I reckon it'll take someone with more skill than me a few minutes to diagnose and fix (I hope).

[DanceLikeAMon...]

An answer (maybe).

Firstly I think I have found out what was causing the power to go off - there was a short on the sidestand relay that I have probably knocked when I was taking the fuse in and out. I have used a cable tie to hold it in place and it hasn't happened again (yet)

I took the bike to an auto electricians for the problem with the bike not running off the battery. He testing the circuit all the way from the alternator through the reg/rec to the battery terminals and said that the power was all the way along, but the battery still wasn't charging. He did a check on the battery and he said it was loosing charge, but his machine didn't say it was "bad". Even so, he still thinks that all my problems are down to the battery. It's a cheap one that I put in, so I am going to have to splash out and get a semi-decent one. I have also been charging it with a cheap biek charger I got off Ebay (about £5), so I suppose that could have fried it.

Any one got any thoughts and/or battery recommendations (it's a cheap old GS500, so nothing too fancy!)

[Dazbo666]

Had a similar problem with my car just before I sold it last month.
Would advise checking or replacing the fuse, and also check the regulator or relay on the lighting circuit.

Apparently it was a knackered regulator on my car... when it starts to fail it'll get noticeably warm to the touch, and also cause the indicators to flash at least double speed.

HTH
____________________
1st bike (Sept'06 - May'10) : 1991 GPZ500S / Current bike (since Nov 2009) : 2003 Suzuki Bandit 600N
Word of the day : DILLIGAF

[DanceLikeAMon...]

Aye, it's a new regulator and it's giving the correct output so that's one thing off my list!