Blown 10A fuse

[Zwartie]

Today at lunch I had to run a few errands and while on my way back to work my trusty FJ sputtered and died. I had noticed that the neutral light didn't work when I started it a few minutes earlier but thought it may be the glare of the sun. I was able to get her started again but it took a bit of persuasion and I had to keep the revs up. It was then that I noticed that the tach wasn't working either. Fortunately I was only a minute from my house so I nursed it into the garage and checked the fuses. One of the 10A fuses was blown so I replaced it, fired up the bike and it ran for about 30 seconds while I put my gear back on and then died again - and sure enough, the fuse was blown again. I had to head back to work so I haven't looked into it any further. My next steps will be to check the schematics in the Clymer manual and of course look for anything obvious, like a wire shorted to ground. If anyone in the group has experienced this before and found the "smoking gun", your input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Zwartie

[aviationfred]

I had the same fuse blow on my 89'. It ended up being a short at the rear brake switch as the cause.

Fred

[Zwartie]

So I did a little troubleshooting last night and couldn't seem to recreate the problem (of course) so I took the FJ for a little ride this morning and about 5 minutes into the ride the fuse blew again. It kept running but I had no turn signals, neutral light, tach and as I later found out, brake lights. I took a look at the Clymer manual schematic and began to check for the obvious...and I found it. One of the horn wire spade connectors had popped off and decided to short against the horn body itself. I verified it by manually shorting it to the horn and sure enough, the fuse immediately blew and the bike stalled out. A quick pinch of the connector so it would actually hold on the spade terminal and we were back to the races - giddy up!



Thanks!

Zwartie

[Pat Conlon]

Yep, those pesky horn wires are always hot, yet the horn only works when the circuit is grounded at the horn button....I wonder why they did it that way?
If they ran the power starting at the horn button (instead of ending) things would be easier to figure out.
If I pressed the horn button and immediately popped a fuse, at least I would know where to look.....
Those horn wires are very often subject to chafing when they rub against the steering neck as you turn your handle bars back and forth, and of course, loose spade connectors.

For electrical gremlins, the horn wires are the first spots to start looking.

Good catch Zwartie!

[RichBaker]

Voltage drop.... If the switch is on the hot side, it will burn up more easily. At least, that's what they taught us in tech school many, many......many years ago.