I got nuthin'

[whereiwannabe]

I've had my 1100ES since April slowly making my way thru basic maintenance chores while I enjoy the fact it has started every single time I've asked it to... until today.

I replaced my droopy front turn signals this afternoon with some K&S aftermarkets. The last thing I did before putting the fairing back on was check the signals worked (which they did) and moved around (not much!) a couple of the main wiring bundles going into the bottom of the instrument pod to better clear a frame/fairing member. I didn't intentionally disconnect anything related to the pod.

I left it sitting on the centerstand in my garage for about an hour. When I came back to go for a ride, I turned the key, and I got nuthin'. ZERO nada zilch on the pod, no horn, brake or headlights, turn signals, nuthin'. No power whatsoever.

I checked the fuses and they all are fine. I decided to call it a day so I can start fresh in the a.m. troubleshooting.

Step 1: check the battery, even though it's been working fine and I check the water levels regularly.

Step 2: take the fairing off and see if I disconnected anything.

Step 3: ???

Any thoughts, tips, advice appreciated. I do own a voltmeter .

[BassCliff]

Hi,

It almost sounds like you pulled something loose on the ignition switch. Take another careful look at the wiring you moved around.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[whereiwannabe]

Thanks Bass Cliff,

I will take an extremely careful look at the ignition switch and report results back here in the morning.

[Redman]

Seems like a job for a voltmeter (multimeter) or a test lamp probe.


.

[whereiwannabe]

It was definitely a job for a voltmeter. I have a much better understanding of my wiring harness now... LOL.

BassCliff was right though it took me awhile to figure it out. Turns out my "slightly moving" the ignition coupling in front of the instrument pod caused the spade to break off at the base of the power wire. That wire and 3 others were sealed into a rubber bootie covering the coupling. By process of elimination I realized something had to be going on in the bootie so I cut it open and the power wire with the broken spade basically fell out.

[chuck hahn]

Yup you snagged something putting it all back together and theres a loose connection. When you find it, take a pair of pliers and VERY GENTLY squeeze the round female end a bit ti snug up the connections and then a wrap of electrical tape will prevent it from unplugging again when you put it back together. Also wiggle the bottom of the ignition switch where the wires go in with the key on. May be a dirty switch happening. If the wiggling the switch wires works then call me and I will talk you thru the process of opening it up and cleaning the connections.

[whereiwannabe]

Hey Chuck! Appreciate the offer but it's all fixed now. It wasn't the actual ignition switch, rather the coupling between the wires that come off of it and the wiring harness. I had no way to easily fix the broken spade so I basically put in a butt splice to add some wire, then new spade connectors on both ends, put the coupling (now with only 3 wires instead of 4) back together, taped the rubber boots back on them, and laid the refurbished power wire alongside it.