Nearing the end of my 74 RD350 build and the wiring is causing me fits. Definitely my weakness when it comes to wiring. I installed a new wiring harness from HVC Cycle and when I turn the key to position 1 the headlight works, low and high, and the horn works but the brown wires are getting too hot and starting to smoke. I've checked and cleaned the grounds at the battery terminal and under the tank and that hasn't helped. Anyone seen this before? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Treetop
ATL GA USA
1974 RD350
I
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start unplugging stuff. remember, theres 2 browns, a dark and a lighter. darker is TS where lighter is switched 12v.
look for frays in the gauge lights and the bucket.
unplug items and individually re-connect them to find the draw and the short. also, switches can be a culprit. and those emgo coils.. make sure they arent causing issues. the connectors can rub the frame.
All good advice, thank you. I will check all those points. Yeah it's the lighter brown 12v switched that's getting hot. I don't have any of the wiring for the speedo tacho lights plugged in but I may not have wrapped those bullets in tape either, so they could be the culprit!
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Like Mark said, there are two "browns". One run is labeled "Br" for brown and the other "Ch" for chocolate.
I would disconnect anything brown/chocolate in the headlight bucket and recheck each connection. Hot as in smoking is really no good and can't go for very long before stuff gets ruined.
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Yea, smoking means battery is finding ground through those wires directly. At minimum you'll compromise the shielding on the wire, at worst you'll start a fire and/or burn yourself.
Quote from: m in sc on March 29, 2021, 11:12:22 PM
start unplugging stuff
You can also do the reverse. Start with everything unplugged except for grounds. Begin adding components to the system one at a time until plugging something in creates high amperage load. This method allows you to take your time and not worry so much about burning anything. Once you identify and eliminate the short circuit I recommend testing the resistance of the affected wires. A quick online search will give the desired resistance value for the wires based on gauge and length. Replace any wire you find to have an incorrect or floating value.
Great looking bike; by the way. Please post more pics or even consider adding a build thread. Thanks
thats what i said.. but i didnt phrase it till the 3rd sentence. lol. My bad.
it IS a great looking build. really good. I agree, we need details please. :toot:
Sorry Mark. I did wonder if that's what you meant. No offense intended. Who, me, oversimplify? You must have me confused with someone else. 8)
A lot people seem to be intimidated by electrical issues so perhaps I feel like explaining things the way I do helps remove some uncertainty. :umm:
I'll just shut up now and go back my Crayons and coloring book.
you phrased it way better than i did!! :toot:
I feel like I owe you a beer.
Thanks for the replies. I will try that method of unplugging and leaving the grounds on and plugging back one at a time and get back with results
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you can also try and find it by pulling one fuse out at a time until you find the problem circuit and then once you find the problem circuit you can troubleshoot the individual components within that circuit.
Good Luck!
Quote from: forexer on April 01, 2021, 12:43:04 AM
you can also try and find it by pulling one fuse out at a time until you find the problem circuit and then once you find the problem circuit you can troubleshoot the individual components within that circuit.
Good Luck!
There is only 1 fuse
yup. only 1.
Quote from: m in sc on April 01, 2021, 10:10:19 AM
yup. only 1.
Makes sure that any short in any part of the harness stops you dead in your tracks, usually right in the middle of traffic..
at a stoplight. hit turn signal, bam. darkness. push of shame... been there.
Yup, first time bringing my RD to work, fired it up to show my buddies and bam lights out. This followed by a number of kicks making me look ridiculous until I realized and checked the fuse. This followed an hour long search of the office basement to find a fuse to get home.
At Deals Gap on the Dragon several years back. Faulty tail light\ brake light harness. After exhausting my supply of fuses out along the road. I figured out it was only blowing the fuse when the brake was applied. Tom Judkins (TJud) stopped and gave me a couple spares. I unplugged the tail light harness and made it back to the resort and found one of the tabs for the harness underneath the fender has punctured the brake light wire. Put on my spare harness and wrapped a bit of tape around the tab...
Quote from: Kawtriplefreak on April 01, 2021, 03:56:34 PM
At Deals Gap on the Dragon several years back. Faulty tail light\ brake light harness. After exhausting my supply of fuses out along the road. I figured out it was only blowing the fuse when the brake was applied. Tom Judkins (TJud) stopped and gave me a couple spares. I unplugged the tail light harness and made it back to the resort and found one of the tabs for the harness underneath the fender has punctured the brake light wire. Put on my spare harness and wrapped a bit of tape around the tab...
sorry off topic, but where are you guys getting your fuses? I went to home depot and got some but they are 1-1/4, just a little too big.
Ebay for me. Sometimes Amazon.
thanks. I was hoping to just get some, Amazon it is!
I swapped out the fuse holder for one that uses mini fuses
Quote from: rodneya on April 01, 2021, 01:33:45 PM
Quote from: m in sc on April 01, 2021, 10:10:19 AM
yup. only 1.
Makes sure that any short in any part of the harness stops you dead in your tracks, usually right in the middle of traffic..
Which is a great argument for getting a HPI or a VAPE :vroom:
Quote from: Dvsrd on April 02, 2021, 10:34:13 AM
Quote from: rodneya on April 01, 2021, 01:33:45 PM
Quote from: m in sc on April 01, 2021, 10:10:19 AM
yup. only 1.
Makes sure that any short in any part of the harness stops you dead in your tracks, usually right in the middle of traffic..
Which is a great argument for getting a HPI or a VAPE :vroom:
If you wire the vape into your stock kill switch, blowing the fuse kills power to the relay which will stop the motor. You will have to add in a bypass with a switch.
My poor neighbor had the single fuse blow on his Triumph at night, on a dark road, and off the road he went, and down.
Update: the wiring harness was fried. I put the old original harness back on and it's working fine, no heat no smoke! Now I have an issue with the Dyna S Vintage Smoke ignition. The rotor is not in line with the trigger at 2mm TDC. It's pointing up at 12 o'clock. So the spark happens on the down stroke. Any ideas? (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210424/35bc6613302ef3a4e2dcfe2e75447708.jpg)
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Is the key in place that positions the generator rotor on the crankshaft?
thats what i was thinking.
ive never seen one clocked wrong.
I pulled the rotor off and then reinstalled it and that fixed the issue. The woodruff key looks fine, I don't know why the rotor was out of alignment. The notch in the ignition trigger is at 9 o'clock now, right where it needs to be to adjust the timing. Thanks for the ideas and the feedback!
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