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TOPIC: Re:Help! * electrical power gone!
#233243
Clifford (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
If nothing works at all then the battery is not grounded! Remove bolt, scrape top of battery post, scrape both sides of wire terminal, scrape bottom of bolt head, reassemble (coat everything with a film of di-electric grease); If that doesn't do the job then do the same to the other end of the battery ground wire. Both ends of the battery ground wire and both ends of the battery hot wire are the only things that are common to everything on the bike!

Clifford
 
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#233326
Ratl (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
The connections to my battery are working. The battery has juice. Power goes to the main fuse at least. It seems that this is not a battery connection problem.

Just to be sure, I hooked up jumper cables from my truck to the positive lead and the frame. No power flow to any gauges or lights that way either. So, even if the negative lead were not connecting, I would have gotten something working that way.

I had her flat bedded home today and I will work on her when I have some time. I appreciate the feedback and I will let you know what I find (if I find it ).
 
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#233328
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
I have an 05 just like yours and I had the same power. mine was the battery cable.
 
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#233330
Clifford (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
There are 2 big and 4 small wires on the starter relay. 1 of the big wires is the + wire from the battery; you should have 12 volts from that wire to the frame. 2 of the small wires are red, both of them should have 12 volts with the key off. The red/white and blue wires should also have 12 volts with the key on. Check to see if that is so.

Clifford
 
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#233358
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
Trying to get someone to diagnose electrical problem over the net is kinda like trying to give a haircut over the phone.

I'm not sure about having 12v from that wire to the frame, If I had that Red wire grounded out to my frame my bike would be on fire or my battery would blow up. I think he means something else right Cliford? Maybe he means with a test light in the middle. It is hard to explain especially when you know what you are doing.

Anywho,

From the battery the 12V cable goes to the area under the right side cover as pictured below. You can see the ground on the left with it's cover still on. Test that area. You should have power there and beyond there, the other side of relay and fuses and so on. When you run out of power. there is your problem, You have a big problem, a main or a main relay.

1st Establish Power in the battery. Hook a 12V light to it, maybe a 12V Drop light. Something. A test lamp or best yet a Load tester.

If the battery is great, Keep testing, Test it while you crank, If the light goes out, That would be a sign of like a bad battery with a bad and shorted out cell. Need new battery. Whole reason for a load test to begin with. You can have a good battery and a shorted cell. You can jump a bad cell with a coat hanger but lets not suggest that with a bike.

So your battery is really good? Really?

Clean the crap out of everything with a brass wire brush, or something like that! Make it all shiny, Coat with dielectric grease and try again.

Still no progress?

Get a good test light and hook the clip end to the ground. Put the pointed end on the pos terminal of the battery. If it lights follow that cable to the next spot, (As pictured above) if it lights there, keep following that wire to the next spot, other side of the relay and other side of the fuse and keep on going. somewhere it will not light and just before that is your problem. If what you say, the battery is good, then I suspect a bad connection at a mail fuse or relay. Electrical contact cleaner and dielectric greases will prevent this problem.

You could also have a bad ground, It's traced back the same way, BUT you put the clip end of the test light on the POS terminal and touch the ground with the pointed end and follow that back until it does not light.

You either have to have the equipment and the know how to diagnose these problems or the money to pay a shop, It's cheaper to DIY because it can certainly be time consuming and a real brain teaser, but each time I find an electrical problem I always say. "I should have looked there 1st!"

It's always something so simple it will Tick you off!
 
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#233415
Clifford (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
MS1700 put a nice picture in his post of the starter relay. The red wire that is disconnected is the wire from the positive battery post; connect a voltmeter black wire to the frame and touch the red meter wire to the end of the big red wire in the pic. If it shows 12 volts that is good, if no volts then you have one of four connections is the problem; the neter isn't properly grounded, the other end of the big red wire isn't properly connected to the battery, the battery ground wire isn't properly connected to the battery or the other end of the battery ground wire isn't properly grounded to the frame.
There are 2 fuses in the picture one is the main fuse for the bike the other is a spare. Between the two fuses is a plug with 4 wires, 2 of which you can see in the pic. With the big red wire hooked up; the 2 wires that are out of sight should have 12 volts with the key off, and the 2 wires that you can see should have 12 volts with the key on.
The other big wire is the wire to the starter. When you push the start button the relay internally connects the two big wires and the starter works.
If you have 12 volts at the big red wire, but not at the 2 small red wires then the "operational" fuse is no good or the relay is no good.

Clifford
 
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#233469
speedster55 (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
Ratl, Just saw your post, I had a similar experience on my '99. Pulled into my local fire station, went inside for 5 min, came out, turned on the key, hit the start and everything went dead. I thought it was a main fuse at first but mine turned out to be the large black main power connector under the front of the tank on the right side. Kind of sits above the coils in that area of the frame. Terminals had corroded and lost their tension, started arcing and eventually melted the connector and terminals till it had no current capability. The factory connectors are not weather sealed and can corrode causing problems. I replaced the whole connector set with a Deutsch DT series connector, nice weather sealed part.

Anyway, just another thought on something to look for. Good Luck!

speedster
 
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#233574
Ratl (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
Thanks for the replies guys. I plan to dig into her tomorrow. After I check the basic connections, I'll take the meter and start from the main fuse and move on from there. Maybe I should start at the neg batt cable and work backwards? Maybe a mix, I don't know yet but, I'll touch base with you all in the middle if I start going crazy.

No sorrow about riding right now. A front is on its way in and it should be a rainy day.

Ratl.
 
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#233624
Road_Hawg (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
This circuit is simple. The only thing between battery power and the lights/gauges is the main fuse, the main switch, and the individual circuit fuses. Not likely all fuses are blown for every circuit and you said the main fuse and main switch are good. Power and ground wires from the battery are the only thing left. How do you know the cables are good? Just because they are tight does not mean they do not have corrosion between the terminal and the battery post, causing resistance. The ground could also have resistance where it connects to the frame. I have seen some crazy things in electrical circuits over the years. I saw a landing light on an aircraft creating a problem in the glide slope years ago. Totally two different systems, not even related. Electrical flux from the nose gear landing light was wreaking havoc on the glide slope function of the nav avionics in the nose of the aircraft. Crazy, never happens, but it did. Take nothing for granted. Check power coming out of your main (ignition) switch. Should have 3 circuits on the outlet side of the switch. An indicator of the integrity of your battery cable connections would be to check for power on the red/green wire going to the meter. This wire feeds the clock and odometer for memory. It comes directly from the battery, only passing through the main and backup fuses on the way. The symptoms you are describing are classic ground fault symptoms. You need to check both battery cables thoroughly from terminal to terminal. Don't just check to make sure they are tight. Take them off and clean them. I don't see anything else it could be other than the main fuse or main switch, both of which you say are good.
 
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#235430
rsmith (User)
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Re:Help! * electrical power gone! 2 Years, 3 Months ago  
2000 Roadstar 1600: My salesman sold me the wrong battery, the terminals were switched. I didn't notice at first. After tightening the neg cable (to the pos term) I proceded to install the other cable (to the neg term) That is when it became evident by the sparking when I tried to connect it. I took the battery out and went back to town, got the correct battery, charged it up, and installed it properly this time. When I turn the ignition switch to start, nothing happens, it seems dead. I pulled the 30amp main fuse and checked it with a meter, it was okay. Then I opened the fuse box and checked the 15amp ignition fuse, it was okay too. Still no power when I switch ignition switch to start. help please,
rsmith
 
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