mtc maintence and repairs on his new ‘85

[mtc]

From your description, it sounds like a new wire to the ignition switch running directly from the battery.  Good that it's fused.

Possibly a fix for a faulty stock wire.

i guess i'll have to check, so you are saying 1 stock wire is 12v "hot"  and should meter 12v?

is this something notorious with the fj's?

so the stock wire is powered directly from the battery as well?

thanks very much

[Millietant]

It certainly looks like a PO has been messing with the electrics, so I'd go with Hooligan's thought of a "fix" to a previous problem. There are no extra loose wire's running outside of my loom and it does look like there are some home-done splices n your wiring. But if it works, that's all good 

[mtc]

It certainly looks like a PO has been messing with the electrics, so I'd go with Hooligan's thought of a "fix" to a previous problem. There are no extra loose wire's running outside of my loom and it does look like there are some home-done splices n your wiring. But if it works, that's all good 

the phote was of the dyna connection, i checked it against the instructions and they were good , the bike runs well albeit, the handlebars vibrate a bit much, the front wheel shimmies, and take off,  and it does, not pull like a freight train, as i recalled , having an 84 in 87,

i think the pods filters has something to do with that,

looks like i have to trace the hot lead to the ignition and see if it has juice, i will when i can take close ups, thank you for your input much appreciated

[FJ_Hooligan]

i guess i'll have to check, so you are saying 1 stock wire is 12v "hot"  and should meter 12v?

is this something notorious with the fj's?

so the stock wire is powered directly from the battery as well?

thanks very much

Yes, there is a 12-volt hot fused wire going to the input side of the ignition.  When you turn the ignition switch on, this 12-volt input becomes a "switched" 12-volt source for most of the electronics. 

Not a chronic problem, but some people have had issues with the ignition switch itself.  The original ignition hot wire is relatively small.  A new thicker gauge FUSED wire from the battery to the ignition couldn't hurt. 

[mtc]

i guess i'll have to check, so you are saying 1 stock wire is 12v "hot"  and should meter 12v?

is this something notorious with the fj's?

so the stock wire is powered directly from the battery as well?

thanks very much

Yes, there is a 12-volt hot fused wire going to the input side of the ignition.  When you turn the ignition switch on, this 12-volt input becomes a "switched" 12-volt source for most of the electronics. 

Not a chronic problem, but some people have had issues with the ignition switch itself.  The original ignition hot wire is relatively small.  A new thicker gauge FUSED wire from the battery to the ignition couldn't hurt. 

for some reason, the lock on the bike i just got did not lock. when i took it out, suddenly the key would not go in,luckily i bought the 18.00 ebay ignition lock is without a "P" position, so i lost the parking light( don't know what the heck that battery drain was therein the first place,

so it appears , until i can get to it tomorrow that the fused  12v wire running to the switch IS the "couldn't hurt " remedy the PO did, as a supplementary wire to the switch

so if he had not did what he did, what would or would have been the down side?

[mtc]

i guess i'll have to check, so you are saying 1 stock wire is 12v "hot"  and should meter 12v?

is this something notorious with the fj's?

so the stock wire is powered directly from the battery as well?

thanks very much

ok i traced the wire, i took out the fuse the the key on the "ON" position energizes the bike,i.e. head light on, neutral light on , and the pictures show where the wire is coming and going,

thanks for your help again














Yes, there is a 12-volt hot fused wire going to the input side of the ignition.  When you turn the ignition switch on, this 12-volt input becomes a "switched" 12-volt source for most of the electronics. 

Not a chronic problem, but some people have had issues with the ignition switch itself.  The original ignition hot wire is relatively small.  A new thicker gauge FUSED wire from the battery to the ignition couldn't hurt. 

for some reason, the lock on the bike i just got did not lock. when i took it out, suddenly the key would not go in,luckily i bought the 18.00 ebay ignition lock is without a "P" position, so i lost the parking light( don't know what the heck that battery drain was therein the first place,

so it appears , until i can get to it tomorrow that the fused  12v wire running to the switch IS the "couldn't hurt " remedy the PO did, as a supplementary wire to the switch

so if he had not did what he did, what would or would have been the down side?

[mtc]

Good fix, that will keep the elbow lock in. Now when you get fuel in the tank and you are ready to connect the fuel line... You should perform the suck test. With the fuel lines all connected properly take the vacuum line from the petcock that connects to the #2 carb boot and suck on it. The petcock has a vacuum powered needle valve connected to a diaphragm. Over time this diaphragm develops small holes. The holes eventually get large enough and the valve stays closed. The frustrating part is, it happens when you need fuel the most, you think you are running out of fuel. You pull over and check. Plenty of fuel. Start it back up and off you go. Then it happens again. Grrrrr.

When you suck on the vacuum line it should feel totally blocked. If you can slowly suck air then you have a leak. Make sure the hose is good by testing it by itself. A small leak may not be a problem, but a leak means you will eventually need to fix/replace it. Now hurry up and get riding while the weather is good.

OK I SUCKED IT.....

the tank is off the bike, i  puffed on it and and it felt like no air leaks

i sucked on it harder and the gas started flowing and made a little mess in my station wagon

did i do it right?

[Pat Conlon]

Ok, so the petcock opened...good....now when the you stopped sucking did the petcock close?
All the way close, with no dribbles or drips?  If so, you're good to go...

[mtc]

Ok, so the petcock opened...good....now when the you stopped sucking did the petcock close?
All the way close, with no dribbles or drips?  If so, you're good to go...

it stopped, but it was in the back of the wagon, on cardboard, made a wet messy pool, can't say if it completely stopped immediately, but it did stop flowing and i wiped it off as quick as possible and returned to in 1 hour later and it is dry but smelly

[FJ_Hooligan]

Looking at the pictures, it appears that this bike has suffered the alternator connector meltdown.

The red and brownish/red wire pair are the main power distribution wires.  The red wire is the alternator output that charges the battery.  The brownish wire should be providing a voltage reference signal to the alternator that controls how much the alternator is supposed to charging.

At the ignition connector, the red wire should be coming directly from the battery. The brown wire out of the connector is the main 12 volt feed to the bike's electronics.  It looks like there is a short white "jumper" connected to the brown wire from the connector and looping to the left to another connection.  I would assume the other connection is a brown wire?

The blue wire out of the connector should be running to the taillights.  Is this the white wire running along the frame and fused into the brownish wire under the sidecover?  That wire should be providing a good 12 volt reference to the alternator.  However, you might want to check to see if your taillights are working.  Not brake lights, but the running lights.  If they are, then the blue wire must be connected to 12 volts somewhere else. 

Bottomline, the connections appear to make sense as long as the taillights are still working.

[mtc]

Looking at the pictures, it appears that this bike has suffered the alternator connector meltdown.

The red and brownish/red wire pair are the main power distribution wires.  The red wire is the alternator output that charges the battery.  The brownish wire should be providing a voltage reference signal to the alternator that controls how much the alternator is supposed to charging.

At the ignition connector, the red wire should be coming directly from the battery. The brown wire out of the connector is the main 12 volt feed to the bike's electronics.  It looks like there is a short white "jumper" connected to the brown wire from the connector and looping to the left to another connection.  I would assume the other connection is a brown wire?

I HAVE TO CHECK TO SEE IF THE "WHITE" JUMPER GOES TO A BROWN

The blue wire out of the connector should be running to the taillights.  Is this the white wire running along the frame and fused into the brownish wire under the sidecover?  That wire should be providing a good 12 volt reference to the alternator.  However, you might want to check to see if your taillights are working.  Not brake lights, but the running lights.  If they are, then the blue wire must be connected to 12 volts somewhere else. 

YES

THE WHITE WIRE RUNNING ALONG THE FRAME AND CONNECTED TO THE YELLOWED WIRED 15AMP FUSE HOLDER IS CONNECTED TO THE BROWNISH WIRE, UNDER THE LEFT SIDE COVER, DOES THE TAILIGHT COME ON WITH THE SWITCH ON THE "on" POSITION?

Bottomline, the connections appear to make sense as long as the taillights are still working.

I will check those things on sunday, so the question is why did the PO splice the white wire in there? is this part of the Dyna install? and if all checks out and i get rid of the white wire or rewire the brownish wire back tot ehalternator somehow to provide the reference you are talking about?


last question, is this a band aid for a larger issue?

[FJ_Hooligan]

The wiring makes sense.  The white wire is providing 12 volt feedback to the alternator.  The brown wire in the sidecover is connected to the alternator.

The taillights should come on when the ignition is in the ON position.

I don't like the vampire connection between the blue and white wires at the connector.  I'd fix that. 

[mtc]

The wiring makes sense.  The white wire is providing 12 volt feedback to the alternator.  The brown wire in the sidecover is connected to the alternator.

The taillights should come on when the ignition is in the ON position.

I don't like the vampire connection between the blue and white wires at the connector.  I'd fix that.  

oh... it is going to the alternator... thank you sir, you are an electronics engineer, what the heck did the PO do that for and that is why i came here to question it's intent,

so it's possible since the sole role of the green wire is to supply power to the taillight upon key "ON", and if it does indeed come on , with the switch, the "vampire" white wire and  go where? does the wire have to be switched or constant?


so....


how to i bring it back to stock and get rid of the white wire?

[FJ_Hooligan]

oh... it is going to the alternator... thank you sir, you are an electronics engineer, what the heck did the PO do that for and that is why i came here to question it's intent,

so it's possible since the sole role of the green wire is to supply power to the taillight upon key "ON", and if it does indeed come on , with the switch, the "vampire" white wire and  go where? does the wire have to be switched or constant?


so....


how to i bring it back to stock and get rid of the white wire?

There was originally a 2-wire connector for the red/brown pair in the sidecover.  This connector is prone to overheating and melting.  I assume this happened to the PO and it damaged the original brown wire running up to the ignition switch. 

Looks like the PO cut the original connector out and spliced the wires directly.  You can see the shrink wrap on the red wire and the brown wire is connected to the yellow wire with the in-line fuse.  I assume on the other end of the yellow fuse wire is where the white wire is spliced in. (yes/no?)  If the above is true then this wire needs to remain.  All of this is in the sidecover.

Moving back to the ignition connector, does the blue vampire connector have 2 wires coming out of it?  The white wire and a green wire (that you just mentioned and I can't see in the pic)?  If this is true then I assume the green wire is for the tail lights.

Other than replacing the vampire splicer with a real connection, all of this can (and should) stay as it is.  For originality, you can replace the white wire with a brown one.  If you dig around some more, I'll bet you can still find the original brown wire since it is probably still in the wire harness.

[mtc]

oh... it is going to the alternator... thank you sir, you are an electronics engineer, what the heck did the PO do that for and that is why i came here to question it's intent,

so it's possible since the sole role of the green wire is to supply power to the taillight upon key "ON", and if it does indeed come on , with the switch, the "vampire" white wire and  go where? does the wire have to be switched or constant?


so....


how to i bring it back to stock and get rid of the white wire?

There was originally a 2-wire connector for the red/brown pair in the sidecover.  This connector is prone to overheating and melting.  I assume this happened to the PO and it damaged the original brown wire running up to the ignition switch.  

Looks like the PO cut the original connector out and spliced the wires directly.  You can see the shrink wrap on the red wire and the brown wire is connected to the yellow wire with the in-line fuse.  I assume on the other end of the yellow fuse wire is where the white wire is spliced in. (yes/no?)  If the above is true then this wire needs to remain.  All of this is in the sidecover.

YES, THE WHITE WIRE HIDDEN FROM VIEW IS IN FACT CONNECTED TO THE YELLOW FUSED LINE

Moving back to the ignition connector, does the blue vampire connector have 2 wires coming out of it?  The white wire and a green wire (that you just mentioned and I can't see in the pic)?  If this is true then I assume the green wire is for the tail lights.

NO, THE CONNECTOR HAS 3 WIRES ,THE "VAMPIRE" CONNECTOR SLICES THE AFOREMENTIONED WHITE WIRE TO THE GREEN WIRE THAT YOU SAY IS FOR THE TAILIGHT RUNNING LIGHT, THE OTHER 2 WIRES ARE AS STOCK

Other than replacing the vampire splicer with a real connection, all of this can (and should) stay as it is.  For originality, you can replace the white wire with a brown one.  If you dig around some more, I'll bet you can still find the original brown wire since it is probably still in the wire harness.

SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT , ALTHOUGH THE SPLICED-IN WHITE WIRE AT THE IGNITION "SHOULD BE THERE" THEN WHERE DID THE "ORIGINAL" BROWNISH WIRE GET IT'S POWER?

IF YOU HAVE THAT ANSWER i COULD ELIMINATE THE "VAMPIRE CONNECTOR AND RELOCATE THE WHITE WIRE ALBEIT NOT BEING BROWNISH, TO THE ORIGINAL LOCATION

FOR ORIGINALITY, IN ROUTING ;BUT NOT IN COLOR CODING

thanks boss