Future winter project: Hand made wire harness

[noratx]

After having gone through the stator and r/r test, i found a few bad connections and damaged/badly repaired wires.

I have replaced the connectors on those wires which had a need for it, and made, to my knowledge, better repairs than the PO. However, they are temporary. I refuse to chase for gremlins and take out the loom during driving season.

I am searching google and fleabay for a new good looking harness, but anything used from fleabay is something I am trying to avoid. Have done that in the past and ended up with a loom that 1. didnt match up with my connectors even though they were supposed to be for the same make and model. 2. Was showing up as being used and in a somewhat bad shape even though it was marked as unused and pictures was showing something that looked brand new. (I know, pictures can be borrowed and text falsified...)

Unless I manage to find a dealer who happen to have an unused harness laying around at their shelves, I am thinking of making a new one by hand.

I am for sure not a good electrician, but continuity tests is nothing hard to do. Measuring the resistance is not a very hard thing to do either I have found, at lease as long as I know what values to look for, and which would be considered "out of spec".

If I am going down this road, i plan on finding and old harness in unusable shape, as long as its for the correct make and model (1982 Gs850 G) to have as a reference for length and gauge of wires, and to pull sockets from to re-use unless badly damaged.

I also plan on taking the spare harness to an electrics shop and try source all wires in exact gauge and colors to make an as exact replica as possible.

Questions are now, is there someone of you who can give me some advices on this?
Am i looking at a too advanced project? What do I need to know beforehand? Any do's and don'ts?

It's a long time ahead befor I will even considet starting the project, but since I can't let go of the thoughs, I thought I might at least get the questions out there to see if its even doable for me with the little knowledge I got in electronics.

And as a last though before posting... is this even correct forum for this? Should I have posted in another part of the forum? If so, can an administrator please move the thread to where it belongs?

Thanks!

/Rickard

 

[76_Mike_82]

I did a harness for my 82' 850. If you do a quick search for motorcycle connectors you'll find a few places that have replacement connectors that match exactly. If I remember I had to shop two places to get the connectors and two or three to get all the correct color wire. I know there was one color I could not find (not saying it's not available just I couldn't find it.) my work around was to use a wire with the right base color and take heat shrink in small sections 1/8 to 1/4 inch and space them on the harness.
Just go slow and do one wire at a time and you'll be fine.good luck.

 

[noratx]

Hmm.. will try to see if I can find the connectors, if not, I will resort to connectors from the spare harness.

Regarding colors of the wires, I am thinking that if I can not find the correct color, i will take another color that for sure is not in the diagram and be sure to label it where it is visible.

 

[noratx]

By the way... is there anyone knowing of the differences between for example the G and GL model?
I have found another thread saying therea a difference between 1981 and 1982 models due to the side kick switch.

But I wonder if not a GL harness could work for the G model as well. Or does the GL have different electrical features and/or lengths?

 

[sam000lee]

Get the connectors from here: http://vintageconnections.com/

 

[Steve]

Another source for connectors: Eastern Beaver. :encouragement:

He ships directly from Japan, so his sources could easily be the same as the ones that Suzuki uses. :-k

.

 

[Steve]

By the way... is there anyone knowing of the differences between for example the G and GL model?
I have found another thread saying therea a difference between 1981 and 1982 models due to the side kick switch.

But I wonder if not a GL harness could work for the G model as well. Or does the GL have different electrical features and/or lengths?

The only G and GL comparison I can do here also involves different years, so the differences are not definitive.

There will be several things the same, but I have noted that some of the parts that I have as spares do not fit one bike or the other. One example is the switch housing on the left side (turn signal, beam selector and horn). One bike has a large bundle of wire that includes the headlight wiring, the other has headlight wires outside of that main bundle. The two are not interchangeable because of the location of the plug for the light.

There are also differences from year to year on bikes that are otherwise VERY similar. One example is '82/'83. The '82 bikes have a fuse box with round, glass fuses. The R/R is mounted below the battery box. The '83 bikes have a fuse box with blade fuses. The R/R is mounted to the side of the battery box, and uses a long, flat connector with five spade connectors.

You have noted the difference with the side stand switch. That started in '82 on the 850s, so the harness for your bike will be rather unique. I think the only other one that might be used would be an '82 1100G, which is essentially the same bike with a larger engine.

.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

A source for wire is Rhode Island Wire, you will need to spend some time on the website to find the right stuff, or call them as there is so much to learn about ordering automotive wire.

http://www.riwire.com/

Vintage connections listed in the above post is very good, I have purchased from them before and they have the correct connectors and tools to repair or rebuild an OEM harness.

http://vintageconnections.com/

Go to the prices tab to see pictures, I can't remember which size bullet connectors I ordered but measure yours before ordering. (3.5mm or 4mm), I also got an assortment of non latching housings and a bunch of extra connectors for them.

Buy their crimping tool if you don't already have one, they are required to do a proper job.

I tried soldering the wire in but it makes the wire stiff and doesn't work well, proper way is to crimp the wire only with a good tool to get a reliable connection.

Vintage Connections also have the wrap for the harnesses and really good 3M tape that's hard to find.

Eastern Beaver is good as well, but shipping is a $$$ if you just need a few pieces.

Good luck.

David