Spikey D Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Hi there, I have a Yamaha XVS125, and the other day I was riding to work, the power kept cutting out. I assumed it was the battery, but there was a funny burning smell, a bit like coolant from a car radiator? Anyway, after making it to work, I decided to put the battery on charge just in case it was something simple - I hadn't used the bike for several months. Put the battery back in, got 8.5 miles into my 10 mile trek home when all the power just died to the bike. It hadn't been intermittant like on my way to work, it just died while I was doing 60mph in the dark! The smell was back and was really bad, even to the point I was feeling sick, although this could have been due to the 1.5 mile trek home pushing the damn thing!! The was no obvious smoke though. I've had a look at the bike today and found that the 30A fuse in the unit described by one ebay supplier as the "WIRING HARNESS MAIN LOOM" (link to item - If you can't tell, I'm an amature at this kind of stuff, so I go by pictures!) had blown. Realising that this could not have been the initial problem, as the power cutting was intermittant, I took it out of the bike, and it looks corroded around the pins that presumably go on to connect to the ignition and lights. I tried swapping the fuse over with the spare, but as soon as I connected the four-block of pins into the unit, it blew the second fuse. On trying to remove the unit, I had stupidly forgotten to disconnect the battery, and when my spanner touched both +ive and -ive contacts on the bike, it tried to turn over despite the keys not being in the ignition. Is this normal?! What I want to know is, is this unit likely to be at fault or could it be something else further up the electrical chain? (I have also had the generator, rectifyer and the battery replaced on this bike over the past 18 months due to other electrical issues) Would cleaning the corroded contacts help? And would the unit in the link above be the same as in my bike? Many thanks guys and gals! Spikey D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 It takes an aweful lot of power to blow a 30 amp fuse. I'm afraid your electrics are dead. Disconnect the battery and stripout the wiring loom. You will need to repair/replace it with a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spikey D Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 It takes an aweful lot of power to blow a 30 amp fuse. I'm afraid your electrics are dead. Disconnect the battery and stripout the wiring loom. You will need to repair/replace it with a new one. Ah! Cheers for the advice. Just a couple of things if you will - Is it a fairly straight forward job and do you have any rough ideas about cost for a new loom? Am I better off getting a mobile mechanic to come out? Cheers, Spikey D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 You can make your own from the old one. Just ensure that you make it long enough. Cut through the ould loom leaving enough wire to join the new one to. Make sure you use heavy cable where its needed. Tell us you have been successful!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1evad Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 You can make your own from the old one. Just ensure that you make it long enough. Cut through the ould loom leaving enough wire to join the new one to. Make sure you use heavy cable where its needed. Tell us you have been successful!!! Sounds like you have got a dead short somewhere on the live side of the battery (V+) in the feed to the ignition, was probably getting bad when on your way into work, and got really serious on the way home. usual places for this sort of problem are where the wire harness runs through the gaps in front forks and under the tank. it cah get trapped in the headstock lock stops or similar tight spots. when you turn the bars the wires can get stretched and break or touch each other inside the loom. the nasty smell you got was the battery overheating trying to dissipate the the energy going strait into the bikes frame, instead of going to the harnes where it belongs. Your battery will probably be shot now and you will need to replace it. On the basis you did not say the Ignition light was on while you were riding, the generator might have survived ok. before stripping the whole harness out, CAREFULLY slice the harness open and peel back the outer insulation tape on the section between the fuse(s) and the ignition switch and the same between the battery and the fuse(s). you will probably find some burned out or badley chaffed wires some where. Usually where the harness bends sharply or may be trapped between frame and headstock somehwere. try just replacing the affected wires and make sure all are insulated from one another and espessially the bikes frameor metal parts. with a battery connected and ignition OFF, try fitting a new fuse, if it blows straight away the problem is between the battery and the ignition switch somewhere. If ok turn on the ignition WITH NOTHING ELSE TURNED ON. (lights, indictors etc) If it blows then you have a problem AFTER the ignition switch. If ok then try ONE switch at a time to turn on lights, horn, brake lights etc, If fuses go at any of the stages you will have identified the correct area of he harness to deal with. If you see any smoke or smell any thing "burning" disconnect the battery at once. Get in touch via the forum if you are still all at sea with this problem and I`ll try and narrow it down for you. it is a faily basic system on this bike so we should be able to get it sorted. (its what I do for a living after all) If you are local enough to me I might be able to come and shake my head and tut a lot for you, no promises mind. Good luck.........D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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