Fried My Bike Today....

Hey guys, new member here. Was hoping to get some input from you guys, because I'm sure you're more knowledgeable than me on this subject. My 2004 Interceptor battery was mostly dead today, so I hooked up a jump box to start the bike. This is where the dumb-assery comes into play. For some reason unbeknownst to me, the negative lead has all red wires running to it on my bike. You can probably guess where this is going...

After about 5 seconds, the bike started smoking from under the fuel tank, and I immediately took off the jump box. After a quick inspection, I've clearly melted the insulation off of some wires, and blown a couple 30A fuses, as well as trashed the battery (clearly swelling). I'm going to have to drain the gas, and remove the tank to fully assess the damage, replace the damaged wiring, etc. My question for you guys is, are there any specific things I should look for/at because of my dumbass move, or are there any maintenance things I should do for the bike while I have the tank off? I bought the bike last summer, but it came with a VERY limited maintenance history. It has 29K miles on it. Just trying to be as efficient as possible with my repairs/work. Thanks for the help guys!

 

Sorry, man....looks like you've got a tough road ahead, goodness knows what all had the smoke let out of it. At least the main fuses blew....with any luck, that may have saved a few things.

 

Thanks man, appreciate it. I'm actually fairly skilled at the electronics work splicing new wiring won't be too much of a hassle. Tracing the wiring, making sure no switches/relays are fried, etc., will take far longer. Luckily, it mostly looks like it's melted insulation, so here's hoping.

 

Although it's no consolation....whoever put a red clad wire on a ground circuit, without marking it, has got some karma comin'. Best of luck to you! I hope it isn't too big of a shit show for you in the long run....hopefully, the fuses saved any of the really expensive tender bits from getting boiled.

 

You'll need to replace the starting system lockout diode for sure.

 

Thank you sir! I'll research that presently. Are there any other components that you could think of that could be potentially fried? I'll check them out as well.

 

I "crossed up" the wires on our family station wagon years back when I was a kid. Fried the alternator. (Luckily, this car well pre-dated computers etc.).

One of many stupid things I did back then...copped a shitload of trouble for that one, let me tell you!

Thing is, episodes like this teach you things. One thing I took from it is to be doubly-paranoid, when attaching jumper leads/re-connecting terminals etc.

I always check, double-check, and then triple-check to ensure I have the right terminals connected before applying power (or terminal to battery)...and always earth off 1st, and back on last...

I hope the OP gets it sorted...