Electrical Gremlins... where to look

[RexxyPup]

Went out on the bike for the first time since early September (Holidays, inner ear infection and basd weather). I couldn't wait any longer, and rode over to drop something off to my folks 20 miles away. The weather was windy with sudden heavy showers.

On the way home I was following a car (I'm still running in at 5k rpm) which hit deep standing water covering me in a deluge sweeping up from the road and coming up through the fairing gaps either side of the headstock.

All was well until a mile down the road I noticed that the rev counter had stopped, and as I looked, the speedo and odometer gave a couple of flickers and stopped also.

By the time I reached the traffic lights, a mile further, some of the lights in the strip across the top of the instruments were quite dim, making it very difficult to see if neutral had been selected. the engine became slightly rough at idle, and when the lights changed there was a slight misfire when pulling away.

Then the indicators failed. Next the MIL light came on (I will hook up and see what that says this evening). The engine running became rougher and the bike didn't want to accelerate at all. Round a left hand bend and all of a sudden the speedo and revcounter were back and the engine was running smoothly again.

400yds up the road and the instruments had gone again as I pulled on to the drive.

I switched the engine off, opened up the garage, and thought to try and start the engine again. All the usual lights came on, but pressing the starter simply gave a relay clicking sound, and nothing. Not even a hint of trying to turn over.

I wheeled the bike into the garage and left it. An hour later and it starts fine.

Any idea where I might look for the culprit, or should I simply go around filling all my connectors with grease and hope I get the beggar?

Rexx

[pushr0d]

RP,

You'll either have to re-make every connection, or wait for the gremlin to show up again so you can troubleshoot it.

There is nothing worse than an intermittent electrical fault!

[Beach]

Rexx,

The problem you describe has surfaced before. I cant for the life of me remember where the culprit lay. Hopefully someone will chime in with the answer.

For now, it would be good for you to go over the other little gremlin that creeps up on 99-04 Sprints.

The wiring harnesses that run from the left and right handlebar switch blocks have a bunch of really tiny "Y" crimps. These are prone to corrosion as moisture gets in and doesn't get out. The usual problem there is the whole ignition circuit becoming intermittent. If you get the bike started, you're fine, but you may find it dead when you turn the key leading you to believe the battery has suddenly died.

When you get your problem sorted, be sure to let us know in big letters and flashing lights!

Brett.

[iggypop]

Originally Posted by RexxyPup

...
Any idea where I might look for the culprit, or should I simply go around filling all my connectors with grease and hope I get the beggar?

Rexx

Hmm.... Progressive systemic failure related to water exposure... Look for wiring points where multiple electrical systems converge (or diverge) physically, or are reliant on a single point of failure. Possibly ignition wiring as Beach mentions, leading to something like an general electrical 'brownout' on the bike. Or things like the ECU harness or the dash harness. Or even moisture getting into the ECU or dash through a bad seal or casing crack.

[hopz]

Bummer... I would start at the fuse box... especially number 3.

Pull the fuses, see if you can detect any moisture. Pull, Dry, Inspect and Reinstall all- one at a time.

That is just a start...

good luck.

[KitNYC]

I would be inclined to let it dry for a couple days, then go around filling all the connectors with grease.

Cheers,
-Kit

[hopz]

I would like to add... not just any grease but Dielectric Grease... available at your auto parts store.

Looks like Vaseline but does not conduct electricity- which is a good thing in this case.

[john348]

I've had the clocks going then the idiot lights with rough running and it was straight forward battery volts. I had a meter on the bike and saw the volts just dropping away. It was a bit strange to see the clocks go first though. Luckily a friend on a blackbird had had exactly the same a few weeks before so I knew what was happening. Mine was the rectifier had stopped. Of course as it had stopped charging the battery it didn't miraculously come back? So not sure about that bit.

[RexxyPup]

Thanks guys, all that is really helpful. I'm convinced it was the water. You should have seen it.

The girl in the car in front of me must have hit 6" deep standing water at around 40 and the resulting whoosh was perfectly timed as it came right up through the fork leg apertures and up in front of me. I couldn't see Sh!t and then it dumped in my lap.

I reckon that I start with all the block connectors in the nose fairing area, and that the water probably got onto the top of the engine/gearbox where there are a bunch more.

I think that my best bet is to do the di-electric grease on the rear of all the blocks and not go looking to surf again!

Rexx

[Landstrom]

My fuel guage and low fuel light constantly indicate empty. Yet, sometimes, (about .1%) they work for a few seconds. I'll have to check those little connections....