superhawk996 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Been having issues for quite some time that seemed to point to it, but being an '01 it's not supposed to have that issue. The problem also came and went several times when trying to diagnose it making me think it was something else. At one point I had concluded it was the stop switch, then the battery, then... I'm guessing that removing the resistance in those other areas was helping to compensate for the resistance in the test connector until it finally got so bad that there was no getting around it. It was running fine for a few months after replacing the battery, only had a couple very brief hick-ups, then suddenly it stalled a bunch of times in a half mile ride back from a friend's house. I had to restart it several times just to get up my driveway and into the house, the living room is the bike garage. The computer showed a bunch of fault codes so I figured it had to be a connection issue or faulty computer. I finally tore into the connector and yes, it was corroded. Cut and soldered all the wires together and the problems vanished. Looking at how the harness is assembled I saw that there are several groups of wires that join into the harness. Every one of those sets enters the harness in a way that any water that got onto them would funnel towards the main harness and there's no way to seal those bundle junctions with just tape. Add to that that the ends of those sets of wires point upward and have an unsealed length of wires between their plugs and the harness tape as another point of water entry. I used liquid electrical tape, could use almost any liquid sealer really, to seal the harness junctions. I also sealed up the upper ends of those sets of wires so that water can't enter their individual bundles and be carried into the harness. The rubber boot that covers the two plugs next to the fuse box (I think they're charing system wires but didn't pay attention) just sits loosely over the harness so it's of little use. I taped it to the harness and ran tape over the top of the loop so water can't funnel down between the layers of tape. Hopefully it's set for life now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) Excellent post- thanks for taking the time to do it. I also own a 2001 with a strange electrical issue, and after eliminating other possibilities it's seeming to point to the dreaded test connector. I've been through this with my 2000 model and I also thought our 2001's didn't have it- wrong. I think it's now an age related corrosion issue. So un-Honda like and frustrating! Edited December 14, 2015 by sandman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuffguyF4i Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I have found liquid electrical tape to be complete garbage. Even with proper prep, it doesn't really stick. That entire area of the bike gets hammered with water during rain riding. When I did my loom fix, I packed the connector with DI grease. Cleaned any excess, and taped it up. I also tucked it away so that water would not drain into the connector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02 SilverBird Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Where exactly is this connector?? can you post a photo?? I have an 02 and would like to know for future reference> Thanks Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redxxrdr Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Yes, Thank you for the update. I knew the plug still existed on the 01, but I have never cut the tape down to find it. Photos and guidance on how you bypassed it would be appreciated. On a gremlin note, I had been lax on plug service on my 01. Miss read the manual, and changed the plugs at 16 K, then just changed them at 56K. Yes, I know...... Damn sorry of me. Plugs were sooty, not gummy. I know that the XX tends to run a little rich with a stock Ecm. But so far, my intermittent stumble and rough idle have cleared. Simple things can still give these bikes grief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecome Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I never wrenched on other bikes too much as an adult. With the help of others I have learned that a novice who cares about their bike can pull off the general stuff on the Bird. Also learned many shops do not have the talent to do it right. Seems once you have worked on or with a bike there is more of an emotional tie. Love mine never want to leave it. Did I mention I went from being intimidated to change the TPS to swapping a motor from the air-box to the exhaust. These bikes are great. I have learned much about how we may set limits on ourselves that are not necessary or accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 I didn't think to take photos while it was all apart. The connector is in the lowest part of the harness along the left side of the bike about where the battery is. Gotta remove the tail fairing, removing the chain guard is worth it for working space. There's a small bundle of wires running up to a red connector next to the battery, disconnect that to gain slack. Pull the harness down, there's a tab off the battery tray that holds the harness up, I just pulled that down, takes a lot of force, and got the harness under it for some working room. You'll find a rectangular bulge in the harness, that's the connector, cut and pull the tape away to reveal it. There's a bunch of green wires and a connector, all the connector does is join all the wires together electrically. I read lots of stuff about paring certain wires, BS, they all connect together. I cut all the wires off right at the connector and one by one stripping and tinning each one. Tinning just means coating them in solder, but I hit them with flux first. Some of them were browned with corrosion so I kept cutting them back to reveal clean wire. One was lightly browned pretty far back so I scraped it as clean as I could, fluxed, and the solder stuck pretty well so I called it rather than cutting the harness further which would have taken a lot more work. Once they were all tinned I used some thin stainless wire to bundle several at a time and soldered them together. Once I had 3 bundles, just what happened to be convenient for the lengths of wire I had, I bundled those into one with the stainless wire and soldered the whole bundle into one solid lump. I then put a few drops of WD-40 (couldn't find my can of CorrosionX) onto the wires between the solder and the insulation to help protect them from corrosion. I then coated that solder blob and wires with liquid tape. From there I zip-tied them tight into the rest of the harness, added more liquid tape, and then taped it up like the original. I brushed liquid tape on the ends of the tape to help keep the tape from pulling away down the road. As far as the liquid tape not adhering I didn't have that issue. One could use silicone, Permatex Right Stuff which is better than silicone, maybe hot glue, or whatever to seal the joints I described in my first post. I used several coats of the liquid tape everywhere, it's impossible to get a good one coat covering. If one pulls the connector and finds no corrosion, impossible unless you're cutting in before faults start happening, you could just clean it and coat it in dielectric grease. If the wires are clean you could hit it with some corrosion inhibitor and probably be ok if you seal it all up well. I read another write up where someone just soldered all the terminals together instead of stripping the wires back, it worked for a little while then he had to go back in and cut the harness open because the corrosion had set in damaging the wires way up into the harness. Once symptoms start it means there is corrosion, the sooner you get on it the less likely it is that wires will be terribly damaged. It was very odd having the 'reliable' Honda on a lift while the Ducati was the rideable bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 (edited) Yes, Thank you for the update. I knew the plug still existed on the 01, but I have never cut the tape down to find it. Photos and guidance on how you bypassed it would be appreciated. On a gremlin note, I had been lax on plug service on my 01. Miss read the manual, and changed the plugs at 16 K, then just changed them at 56K. Yes, I know...... Damn sorry of me. Plugs were sooty, not gummy. I know that the XX tends to run a little rich with a stock Ecm. But so far, my intermittent stumble and rough idle have cleared. Simple things can still give these bikes grief. Everything I've read says they, along with most or all other stock bikes, run lean. EPA mandated thing. If the plugs were sooty I suspect a problem unless you're using crappy old gas or high octane or maybe the wrong plugs. Or maybe you just need to man up and twist the wrist once in a while to blow it out. I am curious about the plugs becoming sooty as it shouldn't happen. Edit: I would suggest you cut into it now before it becomes a problem unless the bike never sees water. If the connector is clean you just need to protect it which is less work than fixing it. Edited December 15, 2015 by superhawk996 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 I never wrenched on other bikes too much as an adult. With the help of others I have learned that a novice who cares about their bike can pull off the general stuff on the Bird. Also learned many shops do not have the talent to do it right. Seems once you have worked on or with a bike there is more of an emotional tie. Love mine never want to leave it. Did I mention I went from being intimidated to change the TPS to swapping a motor from the air-box to the exhaust. These bikes are great. I have learned much about how we may set limits on ourselves that are not necessary or accurate. I bought his old motor after he'd been through a couple shops trying to get it fixed and it continued to be shitty. The symptoms were rough running and a knocking noise. I suspected a major issue but decided to give it a go as he made me a good deal on the motor so I figured if it was junk I could sell the parts and still be ok. The shops he went to checked and readjusted the valves among other stuff, he spent money on it in good faith that the shops would take care of his bike. The first thing I did was a compression test, then a leakdown test to see why one cylinder had such low compression. That cylinder had burnt exhaust valves, most likely due to being too tight from the first shop. Ok, now why was it knocking? A set of intake valves were super loose showing that the second shop fucked up too. If I remember it right, the second shop also said the engine had low compression on all cylinders, I found only one low. He was the unlucky victim of two shitty shops. He wound up buying a motor from another member, CBRbear I think, and installed it with some help from a friend. DIY isn't for everyone, but unfortunately shops aren't always a solution. All I can suggest is to get as much help as possible from trusted people no matter which way you go. Had I known cecome before this I would have been down that shop's throat to make it right or at least refund his $. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 (edited) "There's a small bundle of wires running up to a red connector next to the battery, disconect that to gain slack." To those like me who are jumping in to this fix, this is the wire section that goes up and connects to the fuse box. I also gained needed slack by removing the rubber strap that holds the two large black boxes (ecu's) down by the tail light. The dreaded test connector can now be accessed, the wiring harness now drops down enough. Edited December 19, 2015 by sandman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 Ah yes, I didn't think about the ECU because I already had it up to access the diagnostic port. I also unclipped the fuse box, pretty sure it was for more slack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuffguyF4i Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) Is that your kitchen you have a bike lift in? Edited December 19, 2015 by TuffguyF4i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I would say, living room. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I've now exposed the test connector completely. It's different then earlier XX's on my 2001 model- mine has 2 different gauges of all green wires, 10 total (row of 7, and 3 in other row). No visible corrosion, definitely no signs of burning wires. As long as it's exposed, I want to eliminate it as a possible cause for my fuel pump not getting power. Question: when you soldered all the wires together, did you use something with serious heat such as a butane mini torch? There's no way a Weller or similar soldering gun or iron puts out enough heat to solder 10 wires together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuffguyF4i Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Tin each of the wires really well. Zip tie the groups together and twist the tinned wires together a bit. Hit it with a propane or butane torch and add some more solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 I tinned each wire, then made groups of 3-4 and soldered, then soldered them all together. I used an old electric 2 speed gun on high, ID missing so no clue what it is. It couldn't make enough heat to do a good solder on the entire bundle, but done in stages it turned out fairly well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Is that your kitchen you have a bike lift in? Living room? Family room? Dunno how to define it as no part of my house is a formal gathering place. It's at the back of the house and next to the kitchen where motorcycles, engines, and other projects have been known to reside. It's also next to the dining room, where I sit at the computer with the TV slightly to my right and the spanktimonium slightly left. The fireplace is nearly straight ahead, just slightly left from where I sit. Right here at the dining table is where I spend the vast majority of my indoor time, whether wanking it, chatting with you guys, cleaning or fixing guns and random stuff/projects, or sometimes just watching TV--tho that's pretty rare. If I'm inside and not sitting here, I'm in bed or working on something. The bedroom I sleep in is just to the right of the spanktimonium. When the weather's nice I'm generally outside whether doing projects or loungin in the patio. I have a possible plan to enclose the patio in clear sheeting and install heating for the winter.....another project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuffguyF4i Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I've got some experience in manufacturing electronics made for outdoor environments. A 2 part potting compound would be ideal for sealing that connector to near waterproof. It is a good thing to have around the shop. You'll never use anything else again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXBirdSlapper Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I think the easiest and cleanest way to deal with this is just to cut off this "test connector", and remove all the wires and ECM. Out of sight, out of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXX Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I think the easiest and cleanest way to deal with this is just to cut off this "test connector", and remove all the wires and ECM. Out of sight, out of mind. Better yet, yank all the electrics out, put a magneto and a kicker on it and crank your bike like a real man: https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0LEVzr_OYdWQTsA4h_BGOd_;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=opening+scene+to+lawrence+of+arabia&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dopening%2Bscene%2Bto%2Blawrence%2Bof%2Barabia%26ei%3DUTF-8&fr=%26fr%3Dipad&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.4POpWEezzaKhZ6UQxgVtMQ%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymotion.com%2Fvideo%2Fx8gqhv_lawrence-of-arabia_shortfilms&tit=Lawrence+of+Arabia&l=206&vid=ab8f3412cf52b0c380a48831df590ba0&sigr=125bo2eq3&sigb=12ejfatod&sigt=10i5avrcc&sigi=11v3481nv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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