Wiring worries

[sproggy]

I've just got my TA back on the road after a fairly major strip and rebuild that I started the day after I bought it.

It's a pretty tired (read: well abused) 2000 model 650 but I thought I should share the wiring problems that I found as both were caused by design/assembly issues rather than by 6 years of unsympathetic treatment, and they may be waiting to happen on other bikes.

When I bought the bike I was aware that there was some sort of unhealthy short between the rear light and the brake light, with the brake light not working independently of the rear light. Operating either brake lever with the seat off turned out to cause very impressive clouds of smoke from behind the LH side panel, accompanied by frenzied 'fizzing' noises!

The rear light wiring runs along the LH side of the subframe, past the Reg/Rec. There are welded brackets in this area attaching the plastic under-panels to the subframe, and the loom passes one of these with no clearance - the sharp edge of the bracket had worn completely through the brake light wire, half through the rear light wire ('welding' the two together in the process) and had worn the insulation back to the copper core on two of the other three wires. Not healthy.

I repaired the wires and fitted a rubber pad to the bracket to stop it wearing through the wires again. It may be worth giving this area a check if you're working on your bike - unless Honda changed the loom routing or detail design in this area the problem is likely to crop up on other bikes.

The second sympton was the clock not working. Some checking traced this back to the fuse box which is mounted in such a way that one or more of the wires (in my case the live feed to the clock) are squeezed hard against the frame. Over time this had crushed the wire so badly that it had separated, with a couple of others well squashed but still OK. I repaired the wire, and bent the fuse box mounting bracket to improve clearance. Again, and easy thing to check and perhaps a way to avoid a problem in future - in my case it was a non-critical wire that had failed, but the next active fuse up is for the ignition.....

Good to be back on a Transalp, though - 4 years since I last rode a very tired 600 and I'm surprised how well it pulls even compared to the significantly more powereful bikes I've been riding ever since.

[Mudwiz]

Thanks for that, I'll check mine next time I clean it.
My 2000 VY is probably similarly abused, although I do try to take some care at times!