76 ltd wiring harness replacement

Does any one make an exact replacement wiring harness for the 76ltd900? Mine has always drained a brand new battery within a week or two if left sitting and since i have it down to bare frame now i figure its a good time to replace it

maybe try americanclassix.com?

same boat

I got a small onboard trickle charger mounted on my bike where the air box used to be. Now I have a hot extension cord stashed where I park at home, work, girlfriends, and I've even been known to steal power from the occasional 7-11 or whathavya. I am not yet convinced that it is the harness though. Please post results.

I'll let you know what i find. My bike charges fine but it has drained batterys since it was a year old. If anyone can explain how to track such a small power draw i would be very greatful.

In my experience on other types of vehicles with a similiar problem I would see if I could disconnect various parts of the wiring harness one at a time to see if I could isolate which area was draining the battery. I'm wondering if you put a test multimeter (probably would have to be fairly sensitive and read milliamps) on the hot side when everything was in the off position if it could detect it.With everything off I would think there should be NO draw unless there was a short.Then start unhooking things farthest away...??

I got a small onboard trickle charger mounted on my bike where the air box used to be. Now I have a hot extension cord stashed where I park at home, work, girlfriends, and I've even been known to steal power from the occasional 7-11 or whathavya. I am not yet convinced that it is the harness though. Please post results.

why not just put a killswitch for the battery??:whistle:

That is my plan if i can not fix it right. I figure i'll get a constant duty solonoid and run a switch under the seat somewhere.

brawnyrebel wrote:

That is my plan if i can not fix it right. I figure i'll get a constant duty solonoid and run a switch under the seat somewhere.

Please don't.

It ain't supposed to work that way.
I attended college in electronics engineering curriculum. I didn't grajgitate, but I can tell you where to start, with a circuit trace procedure that should make sense to you. Do _NOT_ let this intimidate you.
Get a DMM (Digital Multi-Meter), read the directions _VERY carefully_, and set it up to read DC current.

__CAUTION__

A current meter is what we call a "short circuit device". A voltmeter is a open circuit device.
You can check the voltage "across" any battery, but if you try to check the current "ACROSS" that same battery, you will cause a diatomic explosion resulting in the death of yourself, your lady, kids, dogs and cats. I exaggerate only a little.

Now, current flows through a junction, voltage is "impressed" across a junction. In order to track down a current leak, which is what drains the battery, we are going to start at the only logical "starting" point, the battery. Step 1) charge the battery, or at least make sure it is not dead/discharged. There is a difference between "dead" and "discharged" batteries, which I can get into later.
Leave the positive battery terminal/cable connection alone, but disconnect the cable from the negative battery post. Now, set the DMM to read DC current, oh say ten amps at first. Note: You might have a more sensitive scale, but, if you put too high a current through a current scale, you may pop a fuse in the meter, or worse.
Now, put one of your meter leads, preferably the negative, on the negative battery post and put the positive meter lead on the negative cable clamp such that the current meter is connected in series, between the negative battery post and the negative battery cable clamp/connector. If you have the meter connected and set correctly, and you do in fact have a current leak, then you will read somewhere between 1/2 Adc and oh, maybe 1.5Adc.
What you have done at this step is to establish that when the key is off, the battery has no current drain on it, and you are good to go. Or, when the key is off, you _DO_ have a current drain on it and you will continue to kill the battery until you track down the problem.
If you do NOT show a current value, or even if you do, then check out your meter by connecting the current meter leads across a 1.5Vdc size c or D flashlight battery. You can "short" this puppy out long enough to test your meter and not do any damage to battery or meter, provided you have the meter set for ten amps DC range. If you have a 200mA or 300mA range and you connect it across said battery, then you will damage meter or internal fuse.
If you check across said flashlight battery and you do not read any current, then that battery is dead or the fuse in the meter is blown, the meter is bad, the lead is bad or the leads are not making connection.
___DO NOT___ repeat, do _NOT_ try this test with a car battery or with your scooter battery.

I am going to " pull the plug " (that there's funny), on this technical bulletin, until I see if I get any response and interest on the post/procedure. If I get responses, then I will address how to start isolation of the particular circuit causing the problem.

Post edited by: JimatMilkyWay, at: 2007/02/03 02:12

Please do continue. I have a nice fluke multimeter that i need to figure out how to set up to read the current between the battery and disconnected negative cable. I am with you up to this point and really appreciate it.

brawnyrebel wrote:

Please do continue. I have a nice fluke multimeter that i need to figure out how to set up to read the current between the battery and disconnected negative cable. I am with you up to this point and really appreciate it.

Well, you axed for it, so here goes.

I don't know what model Fluke (in your case, and for other folks...), Radio Shack, Walmart, Sears or other brand you have, and I don't care. Makes no difference. So if you don't have the operators manual, then ask Dr. Google. She can probably take you to a web site that can give a better explanation of your brand and model, than can I, about the operation of your meter. My Fluke 77 has two connection ports for the positive lead. One is 300mA, ac or DC, the other is 10A ac or DC. You want DC in all cases here. What you need to know, is that a fresh 1.5V D cell has the capacity to push more than 10 amps through a short circuit. "Short circuit" has nothing to do with length of any kind. It means resistance to the flow of current. I would encourage you to spend some time playing with your current function and some 1.5V batteries ranging in size from AAA to D. You will soon be comfortable with your understanding of polarity and scale or range. Polarity is not of concern as the only thing that happens with a digital, is that you get a negative sign on the read-out. I am going on and on about this because, in my previous post I tried to instill in all who read it, the absolute necessity of understanding the simple concept of "short circuit devise" when you have your meter set up to measure current.
Your meter __WILL NOT__ survive even momentary, accidental contact directly across the posts of a healthy, fully charged 12V bike battery, which will probably have enough "capacity" to push 300 to 400 amps through a short circuit until it explodes; and it will explode!!!
If you connect your meter leads to a 3A or 2A battery and it does not read current, then you need to first double check that it is set correctly to read DC 10 amps or so. If it is correctly set up, then take your meter cover apart and replace the fuse(s) inside. If the fuse is already missing, then buy 1/2A fast blow for the low current circuit and a 10A fast blow for the high current circuit. This may not be the correct fuses, but it should not cause major destruction in the event of a short. While you are at it, find out which fuse is correct, go buy some spares, and keep one or two inside the meter. The fluke should have a receptacle for a spare fuse or two, inside.

Now that you are clear in your mind what _not_ to do with the meter, you are ready to track down the problem.
Bear in mind, I am not familiar with your bike, only with testing procedures. What you will do is to leave your meter out of the circuit while you pull fuses out one at a time and then check to see if the drain/leak current is gone.
Mission accomplished!

I hate to over simplify things sooo much, but that really is all there is to it.
To start, disconnect the negative cable clamp as indicated, and put your meter between the battery negative post and the negative cable clamp as described previously. Do you read any current? The only bikes with a small current drain are those equipped with clocks or chip memory of any kind. That maintenance current should be on the order of 500mA (1/2A) or less. If you do in fact have a leakage current, then set your meter on the bench for a moment. Next, you want to pull one fuse out and then put your meter back between the battery negative post and the negative cable, and check for current again. When you are doing this, you can leave previous fuses out till you isolate the circuit with the problem. When you go from having leakage before pulling a fuse, to not having leakage after pulling the fuse, you are on the right track. Put the other fuses back in at this point and check for current leaks again. It is not outside the realm of possibility to have multiple problems on old bikes.
If you don't get any response from pulling fuses, then it could mean someone has jury rigged something and it is not even fused, for example.
It is not rocket scientist stuff, really. You can pull single wires out of their connectors anywhere and as many as you need, if that's what it takes to find out which branch is at fault. Just make a accurate journal entry or list of what you undo so you can redo at the end of the session.
I absolutely guarantee, _all_ of the current supplied by any battery will pass through both of the battery posts/caps at the same time. You/I chose to monitor the negative one for safety reasons only. Further, I guarantee that you will not get any current leaking through the side of the plastic battery case or through magic of any kind. Also, I promise, all the current _will_ go through your meter if you are careful to do as I say when connecting the meter to the battery and cable clamp. Makes no difference where the current ultimately goes, it will return to the battery through your meter.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as a current storage device of any kind. Current will not flow out of your battery and get trapped , like in your frame or something, and show up somewhere else later. Current flows or it don't, and the placement of your meter/test circuit insures it will all go where you can watch it.
Now, the only other mystical property that needs investigating is the concept of "intermittent leaks/problems" and this is a very important concern, possibly for another session.
You got all that?

That sounds like a lot to ingest, but I like to be thorough.
Now youse guys, go ahead and flame me, I'm ready.

Post edited by: JimatMilkyWay, at: 2007/02/03 13:29

I'm not gonna flame you I thought it was pretty good.