| Author | Message | ||
     Rwven |
I've run down the problem with the burned up ground terminal in the 86 connector. I have an intermittent short in my main wiring harness that is sending current down that ground wire when I start the bike. I swapped out the 86 connector with the trailer plug today. The job went smoothly until I attempted to start the bike. The bike acted as if the battery was low. Rattling solenoid, lights blinking on and off and then smoke started pouring out of my new repair. Arghh! My first thought was what did I do wrong? I untaped the splices I had done and the insulation on the new ground wire was burned completely off. The old wire that I had attached to looked fine, it has a high temperature insulation apparently. I won't go into all the details but electrically the bike was acting funny but my repair seemed to be fine. Then I started pushing and shoving on the wiring harness and the problem disappeared. Now the bike starts and runs fine, so I know my repair was not at fault. Of course I don't trust it to take anywhere now. So it seems that ground terminal in the 86 connector got toasted because it was being used as a ground path for something in the starting circuit. Hopefully my warranty will cover this even though I spliced this other plug in. I'll probably be bike-less for months now. This sucks... | ||
| Froggy |
Wait, your bike is a 08, why aren't you letting the dealer handle this? The fix would be a warranty repair, and if there is an issue that Buell needs to know about, they can figure it out from what happened to your bike. | ||
| Rwven |
I have already sent a service request in to my dealer. I had to make a field repair yesterday to get it home. The real problem was not evident to me until my incident today. | ||
| Paul56 |
Sounds like a dedicated ground, somewhere, isn't connected, causing the failed wire to handle way too much current. | ||
| Yooper71 |
My 08 had what sounds like the same problem. A couple of no starts and smoke coming from the wrapped main harness when the starter switch was pressed. Took it in to the dealer and they couldn't replicate the no start but did find the burned wires and replaced the fuel pump. Since then it has been better. | ||
| Rwven |
Yooper, Did they install a new harness or did they just patch up the existing one? Would you mind giving me the dealers name and address so that I can reference your repair if needed? Ron | ||
| Yooper71 |
I was told there was a harness that they replaced along with the fuel pump. The repair was done at Appleton HD/Buell early September. Let me know if you need anything more... | ||
| Rwven |
Thank you I do not know if Harley dealers communicate with each other but I will pass this info on to my dealer on the chance that it might be useful. | ||
| Teeps |
Sounds like the ground strap located at the top tiebar is loose. | ||
| Rwven |
Teeps, One of the first things I checked. It's tight. There is definitely a short in the main wiring harness about 4" +/- from the fuse block. | ||
| Court |
PURE FRICKIN'TRIVIA: Anybody know where the term "86'd" came from? Hint: There was a fun picture of Erik, Henrik and I having dinner there that got posted on Badweb several years ago. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Ron - PM sent, rest easy  Court - shall we remind you to tell us a story here? I have a vague inkling that I may know the answer...but nothing significant enough for me to fake being smart enough to actually know, lol. | ||
| Tipsymcstagger |
PURE FRICKIN'TRIVIA: Anybody know where the term "86'd" came from? I believe it comes from the address of the (sadly) now closed Chumley's in NYC. Chumley's is/was located at 86 Bedford St. It was a speak easy during prohibition and had a series of tunnels and secret passages. The passages were used to restock the booze and also as an escape route during police raids. When a raid was imminent, patrons were told to leave quickly by using the code 86. I really miss Chumley's, which closed after a wall collapsed in April '07. I've been holding out hope for its return. According to the most recent NY Times article on the subject, all hope is not lost. Tipsy | ||
| Mayerhd |
Rwven, If it is any help, I had a similar issue earlier this year. I have an 08 X. The bike was doing some very strange things upon start up, or lack of start up, different lights going on and off and a loud "pop" when you hit the starter, like a fuse blowing. The dealer had my bike for a little over 3 weeks before getting it fixed. They replaced the wiring harness on the bike. They thought that it had to do with grounding. The dealer was Capital City HD/Buell in Madison WI. By the way they worked with Buell Tech Service so there should a record of the repair. | ||
| Rwven |
Garin, Thanks for the info. Buell must have gotten a few defective wiring harnesses. It happens. My 95 Triumph Speed Triple had the harness smoke up in me once. Off warranty but it was an easy fix, which is good because I had to repair that on the side of the road too. Ron | ||
| Ratbuell |
Ron - I think you and electricity just don't get along. Wasn't it an electrical gremlin (repeat) that got you off your PC that fateful day? Sorry I wasn't at the shop today, been working around the house, catching up on all the backlogged projects. And cleaning the garage (of course - now that I can ride again, gotta dig out and clean the bikes!). | ||
| Rwven |
Joe, You do know I am an electrician don't you? I must be working off some bad karma...  | ||
| Court |
http://gothamist.com/2007/04/05/is_chumleys_bei.ph p http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/180827/th e_origin_and_usage_of_the_term_86.html Here's hoping Chumley's reopens soon! |
