severdog Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 If you were looking at a mini fuse, you'd notice that the metal inside sort of forms the shape of a horseshoe. On one side of that horseshoe, about 1/2 of the metal is missing so there is a fair sized gap in the metal. I would estimate it to be almost 1/3 of the total fuse material. There is no discoloration. OK, that tells me that it wasn't a total frag job.....the fuse blew somewhere near it's rating. It would have shown a lot more carnage if it was a direct short to ground. I talked to the Service Manager at the dealership this morning and they are 100% convinced that a Scotchlok connected to the fan wire caused the fuse to blow and caused the radiator to boil its coolant. The fact that the driving lights were not on and that there are no shorts doesn't cause them to wonder if they really found the cause of the failure but... I wouldn't have expected them to have looked beyond that tap. I believe that their diagnosis, while fundamentally and logically sound, is INCORRECT. As Warchild pointed out earlier, very little current is pulled from the "switch" PIAA wire; it's only purpose is to grab enough current to actuate the LED in the switch, and to power the relay coil. Maybe 100 mA at most (one tenth of one ampere). But it's a simple conclusion, kind of like finding a dead body with a gun in its hand, a hole in its head, and concluding that it was suicide....without checking prints on the gun. So your dealer probably exchanged high fives all around and got rotator cuff problems slapping themselves on their backs. The first thing I would do (after cleaning up your wiring) would be to put an ammeter in series with your fan, and run it until it it turned on. These motors do destroy themselves on occasion, and if the bearings are not loose there'd be a shiteload of startup current....this may have indeed created the chain of events that you experienced. That's my guess, based on your description of the fuse, that it was NOT a ground short. But I would still check out that wiring and aux fuse it. When you pick up the bike from the dealer, idle it in the parking lot until you complete at least 3-4 fan cycles. It would suck to have that happen on the way home again. Hope this helps, bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blkbrdrydr Posted August 21, 2003 Author Share Posted August 21, 2003 FINAL CHAPTER??? The vampire tap that powered the toggle switch for my PIAA driving lights was removed from the radiator fan wire. The Service Manager and I both inspected it thoroughly and found no visible broken or damaged strands. Before leaving the dealership, we ran the motorcycle long enough for the fan to come on several times. I then rode it 80 miles on the Interstate at 80 - 85 mph and the temperature stayed between 180 and 190 degrees. I then rode about 15 miles in very heavy, rush-hour, stop-and-go four lane traffic with numerous stoplights. The temperature varied between 190 and 218 degrees. It's 93 degrees here in metro Detroit today. So far, so good except... The towing service that HRCA dispatched severly damaged the right side fairing, the right side mirror and the left side engine cover by improperly securing the bike on the flatbed. HRCA has an Incident Management Team that is investigating. (The bike was 100 miles away and I hadn't seen it since the breakdown on August 9th.) The dealership Service Manager noted the damage on my repair order as well as the fact that the bike was improperly secured when it was delivered at his shop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SD Marc Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 :evil: BASTARDS! :evil: :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.