Author Topic: rats Vs. my wiring...  (Read 18889 times)

MrFozzy

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rats Vs. my wiring...
« on: September 01, 2014, 11:22:57 am »
hey guys!
can someone help me out by telling me what the two connectors in the picture are for? looks like the rats wanted to much on my cycle. anyone got any extra harness lying around?

this could be what was draining my battery and messing with my headlight, but im not too sure.

J6G1Z

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2014, 11:47:15 am »
Yes that is a big problem & I'm surprised that your bike even runs on both cylinders. Those two junction boxes are for the connection between your ignitor boxes that are hidden behind your battery & your coils up front above the front cylinder.

You need to insulate those wires individually. You also need to look around & see what may be chaffing on those wires. You can carefully back each soldered pin out of the junction box, place a length of heat shrink tubing over the part of the wire that is bare & then carefully apply some heat to the shrink tube so it shrinks down tight on the wire. Re-insert the pin exactly where it came from & then do the next wire. Or you could carefully wrap each wire with electrical tape. Those junction boxes disconnect fairly easy. Just make sure you don't get them mixed up.

Good luck
J.

MrFozzy

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2014, 12:18:52 pm »
thanks for the quick response!

im not sure if i can save those wires... they look pretty bad. thoughts?

Upon further inspection of my bike i found that my choke cable has broken off inside my carb... old plastic i guess. are there any cheap choke cables out there?

Luke

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2014, 12:38:24 pm »
That's pretty strange ... those particular wires must be cheese flavoured.  :)   Mine was eaten in the same spot.
1984 VT500FT - WIP

MrFozzy

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2014, 12:49:34 pm »
have you gotten around to fixing them? if so, let me know what you did. im not a huge fan of removing them from the connector but thats all because of inexperience. there is alot of old plastic on this bike and it just wants to crumble mostly!

MrFozzy

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2014, 01:21:12 pm »
    ok some options:
find new male connectors for the quick connect (im sure thats near impossible)
create a new male/female quick connect (pita, more work than necessary, wont fit right in tight area)
electrical tape (im just worried that the wiring is already too far gone.. but if i need to resort to other measures the area is pretty accesible)

J6G1Z

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2014, 01:46:16 pm »
Some of that wiring looks like some of the core wires have been broken. You really need good electrical flow in these wires & connectors. I think one of the problems is the acute turn the wires make coming off that junction box. My bike has had some modifications & work done in that area. I removed the piece of steel bracket that holds those junction boxes. I can't remember if you need that bracket for anything else, but I don't think so. If you can reduce the pinch & curve in the wires, you can straighten them out & work on them easier.

Pick out the junction box that has the worst wire. Disconnect the junction box. Look at the back side of the plastic junction box & see how the wires are arranged. Make a sketch of what color wire goes in what hole in the junction box if you need to, or take some pictures. Gently pull that really bad wire out of the back of the connector & then trim back the wire to a good clean core of wire & re-solder the connector back on. Then return it into the junction box. If you don't have the soldering equipment, you are just going to have to repair what is left & insulate it. Heat shrink tubing will be the easiest & cleanest repair. Electrical tape is a last resort, but works just fine usually.

Sorry that I can't think of much more that will help you.

Good luck
J.

Luke

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2014, 02:15:01 pm »
^^^ good info .. Thanks J

Have not fixed mine yet ...
1984 VT500FT - WIP

MrFozzy

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2014, 05:55:53 pm »
Some of that wiring looks like some of the core wires have been broken. You really need good electrical flow in these wires & connectors. I think one of the problems is the acute turn the wires make coming off that junction box. My bike has had some modifications & work done in that area. I removed the piece of steel bracket that holds those junction boxes. I can't remember if you need that bracket for anything else, but I don't think so. If you can reduce the pinch & curve in the wires, you can straighten them out & work on them easier.

any pictures would help. im not against modifying the connection.

J6G1Z

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2014, 07:43:22 pm »
The steel bracket is right there. Half of the junction boxes are on one side & the other half connect on the other side. I think there is a single 10mm bolt that fastens the bracket. Here are some pictures of the bracket on my parts bike.

J.

Bucko

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2014, 11:27:55 pm »
    ok some options:
find new male connectors for the quick connect (im sure thats near impossible)
create a new male/female quick connect (pita, more work than necessary, wont fit right in tight area)
electrical tape (im just worried that the wiring is already too far gone.. but if i need to resort to other measures the area is pretty accesible)

Connector shells are available from http://www.vintageconnections.com/ in addition to Male and Female pins and good hand crimpers and dies, all at reasonable prices and they are very good to deal with.

Eastern Beaver is another source but they're in Japan (also good to deal with and very fast shipping).

Luke

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2014, 12:15:40 am »
^^^ Thanks for that!

I was just thinking where the heck am I gonna find connectors like that without robbing them from the original tail piece?
1984 VT500FT - WIP

MrFozzy

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #12 on: September 07, 2014, 01:05:58 pm »
ok! just ordered the ck-5l kit from http://www.vintageconnections.com/
cant wait to get this fixed. will post results as soon as possible!  ;D

J6G1Z

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2014, 02:53:36 pm »
ok! just ordered the ck-5l kit from http://www.vintageconnections.com/
cant wait to get this fixed. will post results as soon as possible!  ;D

Thanks for posting that link. What an interesting business. I have saved the link for the future in case I ever need any new connectors. Please let us know how well it works out for you.

J.

MrFozzy

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2014, 05:04:23 pm »
i received my vintage connections wiring within a couple days after ordering and just finished up the nasty cheese flavored wires.
this kit is really something, it fits the old plugs as if it were stock. heck, even the male prongs were nearly identical. definitely a great purchase!

within an hour of starting this project, i was done with a smile on my face. i would reccomend getting the tool that comes with the kit because it would be rather difficult in the space provided otherwise. thanks to Bucko for providing the vendor and to J6G1Z for the added support. all grins here! 8)

now i just have to find a choke cable...
my choke cable has broken off inside my carb... old plastic i guess. are there any cheap choke cables out there?

Luke

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Re: rats Vs. my wiring...
« Reply #15 on: September 13, 2014, 08:54:56 pm »
Awesome .. glad it worked out for ya!
1984 VT500FT - WIP