Today I changed my oil and filter in preperation for winter layover. I decide to start checking connections for signs of corrosion. I found one! The culprit was a short black wire leading from a single connector to the 30 amp fuse holder next to the battery. This is not the fuse that is mounted on the starter solenoid but the loose single unit next to the battery. It starts as a red and white wire out of the harness, goes thru a single connector, continues as a black 14 ga. wire for about 3 inches and goes into the fuse holder. This wire continues out of the fuse holder as a red wire and goes back into the harness. The bad part was the black 3 inch wire. Out of connector for about 3/4" the insulation was burnt and missing, the bare wire was corroded, the rest of the wire although still insulated was extremely stiff. I started the bike and the wire got pretty hot. I spent the next few hours getting the terminals out of the connectors, cleaning all the terminals, soldering a 12 ga. wire between the terminals and returning the terminals to their connectors. This fix should be better than the original, but here are my questions. The fuse holder, after start up, still runs a little warm. Is this normal or am I being paranoid? Did I dodge a bullet or am I about to head down the slippery slope of all the R/R troubles? All other connections I checked are clean and seem fine, no discoloration and nothing burnt. Here are the facts. 2007 sixth gen. 19,000 miles. It ran perfect before I discovered this problem and it runs perfect now. Original R/R. Checking voltage across the battery terminals at idle 14.08. Battery with engine off 13.4 volts. Battery is 5 years old but is kept on a battery tender 24/7. All seems good, my thoughts are, a bad connection at the single connector caused excessive heat. I'm hoping I have fixed the problem and plan to keep my eye on it. I may just replace the Battery next spring just because it is getting old. You guys got any other ideas?
That's excellent service life on your battery, no indication of RR or charging system problems. That fuse doesn't seem to be OEM to me--i doubt they would put a black wire in a positive voltage circuit. Maybe someone has added that and the load exceeds the wire gauge, and the 30 amp fuse is too large for the wire gauge also?
I bought the bike new in 2008. This is all original wiring from the factory. Sixth Gen. I took it apart and fixed it before I thought about pictures. Yes I agree 30 amp is a big fuse. This is one of the two main fuses. One is attached to a connector that is attached to the starter / Solenoid. It is not that one. It is the one that is on just a single wire that comes out of the harness goes thru a fuse holder and back into the harness. Harness > Red/White wire > Single connector > Short Black wire > Fuse Holder (30 amp fuse) > Red Wire > Harness When the fuse is pulled all accessories work, the bike will crank but it won't start. I apologize I did not have time to study the wiring diagram and find out the path of this circuit but i'm pretty sure it runs the FI, Ignition etc. So VERY IMPORTANT circuit.
Long you are correct. I need to sit down and update the Avatar and add some pictures. For this particular problem it is just a completely stock 2007 RWB I added a Speedo Healer which is plug and play. And I added a circuit for my GPS which uses the license plate light for power. Those were added a few years ago. The bike still runs perfect.
Inspect/Check/clean the spade contacts of the fuse blades and look for signs of arcing in the holder--if the connection is not clean and tight it may be acting as a high resistance junction and be the source of the heat. Wouldn't normally expect to have the fuse holder getting warm, but if there are some high currents in that wire and resistance in the junction, then it could happen.
Thanks Kenny. I did check the fuse holder and they are perfect. No corrosion, clean and shiny. I ran a small piece of sandpaper thru the holder that accepts the blades of the fuse. I then sprayed switch and contact cleaner for good measure. One thing I did notice was the blades of the fuse seem very thin. I think I will check the thickness of other brands to see how thick they are. When this whole thing started the single wire connector near the edge of the burnt insulation was slightly discolored when I pulled the female spade pin out of the connector it was slightly corroded as well. Just like the bare portion of wire. I was able to solder in a new spade connector along with the new wire. I disassembled the male portion of this connector and cleaned this slightly discolored terminal. I also added some solder at the connection where the wire and terminal meet. As I said earlier this bad connection was hot before the repair. With the fix all wires and connectors are cool except for a slight heat at the fuse holder. Warm to the touch after about five minutes of running. I am assuming that anybody with a sixth gen has the same setup and I am wondering if their fuse holder has a slight warmth as well? Again the bike still runs perfect and it is sitting in the garage, covered, on the Tender and in a self induced coma for its long winter nap. It snowed today in Chicago.
i checked the wiring diagram for the 6th gen and that will be fuse b cct. there is no black wire in that line period, that fuse holder has been changed and is undersized for the load it is seeing. replace with a proper 30 amp agm type fuse holder with a cover
I will check the diagram but that is the fuse holder that came with the bike. Now maybe that short wire from the connector to the fuse holder was red and turned black when it fried. The fuse holder is proper and does have a cover. I changed the Burnt wire from a 14 ga. to a 12 ga. I soldered the new wire to the very clean and perfect condition terminal on the fuse holder and I replaced the spade terminal in the single wire connector on the other end. I think I have this item fixed but I would still like someone with a sixth gen to tell me if this fuse gets ever so slightly warm when they run their bike for a few minutes. As I said earlier, I bought the bike new with only 1.3 miles on it. I can't think of any reason for someone messing with the wiring. Thanks for everyone's help so far!
