crazyramen
Forum Apprentice
Got some electrical questions for yall now.
I've been reading and trying to follow the Ground Loops and High Performance Power discussions with my limited electrical knowledge. What I gathered from them is that I should be using a single point ground to minimize the likelihood of electricity being redirected through the wrong path due to impedance caused by bad connections. (I think this is all the right terminology, please correct me if I'm wrong)
Here's what I did on my '79 GS750:
First off I cleaned and repaired all the connections I could access on the electronics panel. This mostly involved a wire wheel to any grounding lugs/points on the frame. I made sure to get rid of any paint where a connection was (I learned this the hard way after getting another bike's frame powder coated.) Then I cut off and added new connectors wherever there was corrosion in the bullet connections. Honestly my crimps on the new bullets look pretty bad and I'm leaning towards blaming the tool - it's the cheapest one I could find and it doesn't seem to round the tails of the crimp well enough they pass the tug test but I'm not completely convinced they'll last. It looks like this one on eBay. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good quality crimper for uninsulated bullet connectors? I do have a solid ratcheting one for the hardware store insulated crimps.
OK now for the grounds I made:
It's got the regulator and rectifier separate, so I just tied those grounds together rather than having them run through the battery box. Then I added the frame, wiring loom, and starter solenoid grounds to the same point. I would have done it directly on the rectifier but it's a little awkward with the single mounting bolt in the center. I think I can tidy this up a bit by running the rectifier (-) directly to the point and getting rid of the cable going to the solenoid since it grounds through the panel. With the ignition switch on everything works so at least I didn't screw anything up too bad!
My big question is what the heck is this top fuse holder for? The only connection it had when I got it is to the frame. I was thinking it was the main fuse, but that's included in the other fusebox. Looking at my Clymer manual, there is one picture of it, but I can't make out where the connections go - only that the wire that I have connected to the frame should not be.
I've been reading and trying to follow the Ground Loops and High Performance Power discussions with my limited electrical knowledge. What I gathered from them is that I should be using a single point ground to minimize the likelihood of electricity being redirected through the wrong path due to impedance caused by bad connections. (I think this is all the right terminology, please correct me if I'm wrong)
Here's what I did on my '79 GS750:
First off I cleaned and repaired all the connections I could access on the electronics panel. This mostly involved a wire wheel to any grounding lugs/points on the frame. I made sure to get rid of any paint where a connection was (I learned this the hard way after getting another bike's frame powder coated.) Then I cut off and added new connectors wherever there was corrosion in the bullet connections. Honestly my crimps on the new bullets look pretty bad and I'm leaning towards blaming the tool - it's the cheapest one I could find and it doesn't seem to round the tails of the crimp well enough they pass the tug test but I'm not completely convinced they'll last. It looks like this one on eBay. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good quality crimper for uninsulated bullet connectors? I do have a solid ratcheting one for the hardware store insulated crimps.
OK now for the grounds I made:
It's got the regulator and rectifier separate, so I just tied those grounds together rather than having them run through the battery box. Then I added the frame, wiring loom, and starter solenoid grounds to the same point. I would have done it directly on the rectifier but it's a little awkward with the single mounting bolt in the center. I think I can tidy this up a bit by running the rectifier (-) directly to the point and getting rid of the cable going to the solenoid since it grounds through the panel. With the ignition switch on everything works so at least I didn't screw anything up too bad!
My big question is what the heck is this top fuse holder for? The only connection it had when I got it is to the frame. I was thinking it was the main fuse, but that's included in the other fusebox. Looking at my Clymer manual, there is one picture of it, but I can't make out where the connections go - only that the wire that I have connected to the frame should not be.
