Persistant Blow of 20A Main Fuse

elfmagic17 wrote:

I've never tried it but I'm sure it works, Take a 10 AMP circuit breaker and replace the fuse with it, bike on and circuit breaker kicking in and out use a magnetic compass to follow the wires it will point to the short. Was a trick I was tought in my electronics class in automotive collage at University of Northwestern Ohio.

Just a thought . . . I had a crappier multimeter that would go haywire when my engine was on due to (I think) the magnetic field given off by the alternator or Dyna S or both. Might this interfere with a magnetic compass? Physics professors feel free to chime in on this one.

bountyhunter wrote:

locate what's getting the hottest.

I've groped every wire on that bike. By far the hottest are the two yellow wires from the stator and the runners up are the black&yellow and white&red off the reg/rec.

alexnelson wrote:

bountyhunter wrote:

locate what's getting the hottest.

I've groped every wire on that bike. By far the hottest are the two yellow wires from the stator and the runners up are the black&yellow and white&red off the reg/rec.

Have you tried dissconecting the stator and checking it for short to ground or high resistance?

Just nioticed... BC Gremlin is the culprit... I've been to your neck of the woods....

Coming off the ignition switch output harness... One of those conductors is going to be hot to touch compared to others.... Follow that conductor to source of drawing excessive amperage....

Have you tried the d-connect everything including starter motor but coil method?
Meaning fuse to SPST 20amp switch directly to coils/ignition module if EI.
Hit the frame... :S

One at a time, re-connect back end plug & test (hit frame)
Then brake light & test.
Then hazzards & test.

Another method to try....

Ok, without being able to measure/inform us how hard you are hitting the frame to blow the fuse....

Leave everything connected as usual...
Lights off...

Does the fuse blow in tapping the handle bars?

Open or remove the seat...
Put on a rubber glove and instead of hitting the frame, wiggle/tap the harness lightly....
Keep moving til you find the area more sensative to blowing the fuse....

You're so close to finding this PITA... So don;t give up for now it's a quest... We've ALL been there, trust me we have and that's including the experienced guys tht have been around these KZ's all their lives.... :S :blink:

Ask Plum, first nanny was a KZ1000 drag bike... His dad would stick a budwieser in his bootle, stick it in Plums mouth, start the engine where the soothing sound of the rpm purr would put and little baby Plum right to sleep... :blink: :huh: :dry: :blink: :laugh:

Because I'm sick & warped and enjoy electrical t-shooting... Yeah I know, I know.... :blush:

Maybe this will help...
Every connection inRED box, d-connect....
Coming off the ignition switch BROWN conductor, this connection normally feeds into R-Bar control housing.

As can be reviewed in GREEN box, take switch housing red/yellow and connect into ingoing brown conductor.... This bypasses the housing but still provideds on/off power control via the ignition switch....

Now with everything d-connected as depicted start the engine and do your test (Stick :S )...

This is your bare bone baiscs for if it still blows the problem is not in your harness/lighting but more in your charging system only....

EDIT: One other thing may be in the ignition switch itself... Mentioned before, battery to inline 20amp to SPST switch... Directly to coils it it still blows in bare bone configuration....

Translation, bad regulator ground, AC generator (Dynamo), generators rotor in the engine case off balance etc....

Now if it doesn't blow, then begin with the r/hand control switch housing. re-connect Brown & red/yellow conductors as original. Test...

Then re-connect the starter motor... Test
Then one by one re-connect the brake switches test...
Keep going until you find the one connection that blows the fuse....

Very important, one connection and test only.... Take your time, test with stick, giggle conductor/harness feeds into the component you just plugged back in....

Good luck... You're there.... Victory is close by....

OMR

This is a tool I have had for many years, I slid the cover off to take a picture for you. All you need is a circuit breaker and either a buzzer or a light bulb in Parallel to the circuit breaker. This way when the short occurs the circuit breaker will open, and the current will flow through your buzzer/ light. Great piece for finding faults. I would still use a fuse from the 12v + side to feed the circuit breaker, as I had mine fail, stuck on and let some of that Magic Smoke out of a couple wires years ago. The meter you see is sorta like a compass it is moved along the harness and the pointer will show which direction the short is in, it does work, if it is a constant short, but intermittent ones well it sometimes fowls up the search.
Easy enough to make the tester part anyway.
Here is a link to once source for the product, I got mine off the Tool truck.
www.jcwhitney.com/short-circuit-finder/p...zmac=129&zmap=18164G

Sized it once, still to big, wait, oH there it is!

Old Man Rock wrote:

giggle conductor/harness

What the hell is this OMR??? :laugh:

Laymens terms for wire conductors in the harness assembly...

Meaning wiggle individual conductors and or harness...

alexnelson wrote:

...It all started when I opened my headlamp to tighten the nut holding the left signal light to the headlamp housing. Now you're all thinking, "Well, your problem must be in there!" Maybe it is. But like I say, I've had then thing open so many darn times and can't see anything wrong.

I took my tac and speedo off a while ago. I rode for at least a couple weeks with them off before this happened though.

My point is I've been all over the bike and I can't see the problem with my own eyes so a method of testing is all I have to go on.

Maybe overkill, but would again closely inspect for possible short by reason of a frayed wire in passing through the hole in the headlight shell.

This could be any of the wires that feed switched voltage through the hole into the headlight shell, such as for example running lights, headlight, etc.

Good Fortune!

Well if you've been d-connecting the HD light harness connection and it still blows the fuse?

Ok, that one has me baffled....:S

Even with all connectors detached inside the headlight shell, there is still juice on the switched voltage wires running through the hole into the shell, which wires might short against edge of the hole.

And which short could blow the fuse.

Good Fortune!

If say every connector is detached, and fuse still blows --- Indicates a short in some wire before reaching a connector.

But which wire is shorting? :S
And where along the wire? :blink:

Time to dig out the compass. :lol:

Good Fortune!