Dotetcher Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 The original location is fucking impossible to get at. Looking for a more accessible location to attach ground to bike. Any suggestion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 6 hours ago, Dotetcher said: The original location is fucking impossible to get at. Looking for a more accessible location to attach ground to bike. Any suggestion? If you are talking about the largest black wire, any engine case bolt should work, but ideally you make it one that is close to the starter for best voltage and amps, since that takes the most power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 If you ground it to the fuel pump, it should really deliver a lot of fuel. For a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotetcher Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 3 hours ago, jon haney said: If you are talking about the largest black wire, any engine case bolt should work, but ideally you make it one that is close to the starter for best voltage and amps, since that takes the most power. That's the one. I'm just going to move it one bolt back from where it is now. Still a starter mounting bolt but at least I can bend the coolant hose to get at the bolt. Thanks Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotetcher Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 3 hours ago, SwampNut said: If you ground it to the fuel pump, it should really deliver a lot of fuel. For a while. If the starter mounting bolt doesn't work I'll try that next. Will the bike be faster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 6 hours ago, Dotetcher said: Will the bike be faster? Certainly, for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 On 6/3/2022 at 7:01 AM, Dotetcher said: The original location is fucking impossible to get at. Looking for a more accessible location to attach ground to bike. Any suggestion? Curious why you want to have easy access to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotetcher Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 1 hour ago, superhawk996 said: Curious why you want to have easy access to it. I'm replacing it. Having an electrical issue while riding. Bike dies like battery is dead. All gauges go to O and engine dies. Wait a minute or two and it fires right back up. Checking grounds was a suggestion so for $20 I figured I'd replace the main one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 The likelihood of it being because of a bad battery ground cable is extremely low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 6 hours ago, superhawk996 said: The likelihood of it being because of a bad battery ground cable is extremely low. You are not familiar with east coast corrosion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 6, 2022 Share Posted June 6, 2022 40 minutes ago, OMG said: You are not familiar with east coast corrosion? I've heard, but to make the wire go bad seems a bit much. Corrosion at the connection maybe. If the terminal is only crimped and not soldered I guess that connection could go bad. The main reason I say it seems unlikely is because of the symptoms; the system looses power while running (fairly low amperage load), but then can carry enough power to crank/start, that makes me think the problem is in the ignition feed circuit, not battery cable. Electricity can do strange things so it's not impossible, it's just less likely. If there's a relay that carries all of the 'key on' running power, probably labeled main relay or ignition relay, that's where I'd start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotetcher Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 18 hours ago, superhawk996 said: If there's a relay that carries all of the 'key on' running power, probably labeled main relay or ignition relay, that's where I'd start. That will be my next step. Thanks. I've replaced headers and oil coolant lines do to massive corrosion. Salty roads in winter and actual salt water during storms while in the Outer Banks (Hatteras Island) NC. Salt is a motherfucker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 Poor birdie... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 4 hours ago, Dotetcher said: That will be my next step. Thanks. I've replaced headers and oil coolant lines do to massive corrosion. Salty roads in winter and actual salt water during storms while in the Outer Banks (Hatteras Island) NC. Salt is a motherfucker. Ahh, I didn't know it was being exposed to so much salt, the possibilities are somewhat endless in that case. It's like working on an ocean boat that wasn't prepared for ocean use. What year is the Bird? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 (edited) The tractor guys are bypassing the hot wires AND adding in a low voltage relay switch. The safety still works. There is still enough current to close the relay, but the powered side of the relay delivers much more current directly from the source. The key gets power to the signal side of the new relay. https://www.mytractorforum.com/threads/stx-problem-solved-thank-you-brad.1302371/#post-12716298 Edited June 7, 2022 by XXitanium Because I made no damn sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotetcher Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 8 hours ago, superhawk996 said: Ahh, I didn't know it was being exposed to so much salt, the possibilities are somewhat endless in that case. It's like working on an ocean boat that wasn't prepared for ocean use. What year is the Bird? 1997. JcRichs original '97 I bought off another guy (cant remember his name) after my first bird got its beak bashed after a soccer mom ran a stop sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 8 hours ago, XXitanium said: The tractor guys are bypassing the hot wires AND adding in a low voltage relay switch. The safety still works. There is still enough current to close the relay, but the powered side of the relay delivers much more current directly from the source. The key gets power to the signal side of the new relay. https://www.mytractorforum.com/threads/stx-problem-solved-thank-you-brad.1302371/#post-12716298 They're not bypassing anything, they're adding a relay between the ignition switch and starter solenoid to feed it more power/take some load off the switch. Some cars are wired like that. Modern cars probably all have that, more modern do it via the can bus system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 (edited) Right, poor choice of words. The first draft was worse. Might that help corroded bird wiring? Edited June 8, 2022 by XXitanium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 On 6/7/2022 at 8:06 PM, XXitanium said: Might that help corroded bird wiring? Probably not in this case, but it depends on the source of the problem. I did something similar on one of my Cherokees for the headlights, the circuit is known to be on the weak side and after a couple decades increased resistance was making the headlights even more dim than they already were, and the switch would get pretty hot. I added a relay up front with a power wire straight to the battery so the factory circuit only had to handle the load of powering the relay and the relay powered the lights, made them much brighter and no more hot switch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotetcher Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 (edited) On 6/6/2022 at 10:20 AM, superhawk996 said: If there's a relay that carries all of the 'key on' running power, probably labeled main relay or ignition relay, that's where I'd start. Replaced main ground. Still having issue. There is the ignition relay. My next question would be is this the relay that carries all the key on power to the bike.. I don't see anything labeled main relay. Anyone? Im thinking it would because that 30 amp fuse that is connected to it.is the main fuse for the bike. But not 100% sure. Edited June 15, 2022 by Dotetcher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 That tractor link that I put up earlier talks about putting a relay in parallel with the regular circuitry that might be corroded bypassing in a way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 7 hours ago, Dotetcher said: Replaced main ground. Still having issue. There is the ignition relay. My next question would be is this the relay that carries all the key on power to the bike.. I don't see anything labeled main relay. Anyone? Im thinking it would because that 30 amp fuse that is connected to it.is the main fuse for the bike. But not 100% sure. That's probably it. Pull it with the bike running to see if the effect is the same as when it dies out on its own. If all the same stuff goes dead it's a good clue that you might be on the right circuit. I've run across a few relays that developed a temperature 'happy place' that would go open circuit above or below its sweet spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 6 hours ago, XXitanium said: That tractor link that I put up earlier talks about putting a relay in parallel with the regular circuitry that might be corroded bypassing in a way He first has to find the bad circuit, then decide on the repair. The relay trick has its ups and downs. It might be easier than fixing the high resistance problem, but as the problem keeps getting worse the relay will stop working too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 13 hours ago, superhawk996 said: It might be easier than fixing the high resistance problem, but as the problem keeps getting worse the relay will stop working too. There's a small chance of self-repair since it could also lead to a fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 @Tom are you still living in a coastal corrosion area? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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