98 blowing horn, brakelight & indicator fuse?

Hi all. Just got back from a 3000 km trip up to the Snowy Mountains here in Aus. Right near the end of the ride I suddenly had no indicator lights, brake lights or horn. Every time I put a new fuse in & turn the key it blows straight away :frown: I obviously have a short somewhere & don't know where to start. I am very much so electrically impaired :redface: but would love to avoid bringing it to the stealers. Any help appreciated. Cheers.

 

Hi,

I had the same problem with mine a while ago, when my fuse for the brake lights blows every-time. What I did was to remove the side fairings in front and the seat also. And the trace the wires from your indicators back to the fuse box. And the same with the horn. Also checked the wiring from the back brake peddle to the fuses and same with the front brake lever. It could help if you have the wiring diagram, just to compare the route it takes. My problem that I found was that one wire just rubbed against the frame and then the wire rubber through and made a short there.

This is a simple solution but may take some time to trace.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi mate. HAd a similar problem in a truck trailer wiring. Tha autoelec had a device for finding shorts. He used it to trace the loom until he found where it shorted. MAy be useful in a last ditch effort.
Cheers

 

A wiring diagram and routing diagram will definitely help with this witch hunt. You'll have to locate the connectors and unplug all the ones connected to this fuse. This will let you know if the short is in the main harness or at the source ( ie the switch or it's wiring). You don't have to keep blowing fuses to test it. Just check the continuity between the positive side of the fuseholder and ground, there should be none (there will be continuity, as long as it is shorted). If the main harness is good, just reconnect the plugs until the short returns. Then narrow it down to the individual component or wire.

If the main harness is the culprit, a quick visual check for external damage at rubbing points, coming from the handlebars in particular, may save you a lot of wire chasing. Before you tear the harness apart, a good twist and bend check, often helps to find blind shorts as well.

Good luck.

:crazy:

 

Found it. Turns out it was one of the wires coming from the front brake (on the handle bars). Unplugged & replugged them & then put a new fuse in & all was well...thank goodness. Thanks to all for there help here

 

Great result

 

Yeah cheers Pap. Was sure it would be one of those nightmare jobs that could have eneded in beers & tears. Oh well all is good. Got a FEW 10amp spares on board just to be sure