Blowing Ignition fuse - 78GS1000E - Any pointers?

[salty_monk]

Went to go for a ride today on the Skunk with Ed & Rich - pushed the start button... nothing!

Bike last ran a week or so ago & hasn't moved or been started since. No issues last time out.

Checked the fuse - blown (bottom ignition one in the block). Put a new one in, blew again.

For some low level diagnosis I put a 3rd one in to see when it blew... answer - as soon as the ignition key is turned on (with run switch in on position when I did it not that I think this will make any real difference). No need to touch starter button, it was blown as soon as the key turned. 10A fuse (as listed).

Bike is stock loom & coils, stock points ignition. No Relay modification, all stock.

All other electrics work. Presuming I have a short somewhere & hoping someone will say "oh it's probably here, I had that etc" save me digging through the whole loom.

Cheers,

Dan

[tas850g]

Check the 4 wires coming out of the ignition. I had the same thing and all those wires were exposed next to each other. Don't know how it happened as there is nothing there to rub against. Regardless, for me the live wire would touch one of the others and blow the fuse. I had nothing, no lights, no starter, nothing. Even if there isn't exposed wires there, something maybe causing a shorting out.

This is what i experienced anyway.

Hope you find the culprit.

[salty_monk]

I have everything else... apart from ignition, got headlight, horn etc.... It's definitely on my list of areas to check.

Cheers,

Dan

[SqDancerLynn1]

Check the voltage reg or ign ? points or dyna ?

[TheCafeKid]

Check the main power feed to the fuse block (i think its orange with a white? tracer) Over time, combined with poor charging systems (which im sure YOUVE taken care of, but someone else may not have) dirty connections, etc, that connector gets hot, and melts just a little, that pin for that wire will waggle, and touch things, etc etc. I dunno if yours is the glass or blade block, if its the glass one, i think everythings hard pinned in the back?? Never cracked one open... But thats something to check. It comes back to the block from the ignition, so that would be a clue...

[salty_monk]

It's stock points ignition.

Glass fuses. I guess I'll start at the fuse box & trace the wires back from the fuse....

Dan

[salty_monk]

So fusebox is good, real clean. So burnt insulation at the next connection back though... hope that is it.

Reading the diag it seems like this fuse has only the Orange white on it so I guess if a fuse blow with the run switch "off" then it is between the fusebox & the switch or the switch itself. If it only blows with it "on" then it's between switch & coils.

Am I reading it right? Wondering how it also disables the starter (otherwise like my friends Honda the starter would spin even with the switch off).

Dan

[Guest]

Does it blow with the kill switch off?
Had the tank off?

[salty_monk]

Nah, just examined the fuse box & the first connector back. Will clean those up & try again. (They need cleaning up regardless...)

Also will try with the switch off & on at the next step.

Dan

[salty_monk]

Just to update... Seems to be a pinched run switch wire in the casing. Guess it had been pinched & must have moved or finally worn through or something. (Or maybe it was pinched & then re-fitted at some point, just happened to move & hit the case). Who knows.....

Of course I'd already pulled the tank & cleaned up a bunch of other connectors etc first before I found this... Oh well... liquid tape drying on there now, bit of real tape tomorrow & then back together to test.

I already got it to not blow fuse & turn over so should be good to go...

Dan

[tas850g]

run switch wire in the casing? where in the casing? or which wire? Just asking for future reference.

[salty_monk]

Sorry.. the right handlebar switch casing. It's cast aluminium. Guess it had been trapped between the two halves at some stage. I guess it was grounding out through this back to the bar, back to the frame etc.

If you split that box the upper with the run switch on it has two wires that go under the bar, one goes to the start switch (then to the headlight bucket) & the other goes straight out routed along the bars & into the headlight bucket.

Dan

[Guest]

Looks like you almost had "heated" grips!!

[salty_monk]

Wish I'd had them in Escondido this year....

[Guest]

I could have used them this past 4th of July weekend where I was in northern VT.

It was in the lower 50's, with wind & rain. People were wearing their winter coats!!

As they say around here, we have 4 seasons: almost Winter, Winter, still Winter, and road construction...