Corroded Harness Connector

03HiYoSilver · Jun 30, 2007

I have been experiencing some rough idling and some surging at speed and found out the Corroded Wire Harness Connector may have been the culprit. After cleaning the Connector, for the second time in a year, my idling & surging has subsided.

Be Carefull and don't use a wire brush while the battery is connected, this connector is Hot and may Short something out. After some cleaning, I took some silicone and sealed the wire sides of the connector to reduce moisture from entering.

This is the largest connector about 3" wide by the triple tree as pointed out below.

The arrow points out where most of the corrosion was found in the female connection.

The arrow points out where most of the corrosion was found in the male connection.

Just thought if you are having some wierd problems, this may be something to look at.

FJRAust · Jul 1, 2007

Thannks 03HiYoSilver.

Definitly something to keep in mind when chasing those odd issues.

Thanks for the pics

FredandJeannesRacer · Jul 1, 2007

The arrow points out where most of the corrosion was found in the female connection.

I notice a lot of rust on the hose clamp and other metal parts under your tank. Do you ride much in the rain? There seems to be a moisture problem there.

03HiYoSilver · Jul 1, 2007

FJRAust said:
Thannks 03HiYoSilver.Definitly something to keep in mind when chasing those odd issues.

Thanks for the pics

Your welcome. So far I have cleaned this connector 2x after experiencing unstable/intermittent problems and each time it has made a difference. Also, this is an item that most motorcycle mechanics WILL not look at and what little diagnostic equipment they have, if any, this would not have been on their radar to check out.... all four of mine didn't!

The pictures(not the greatest) made it look like rust but it is not and only ride in the rain when it was not planned.

one day · Jul 1, 2007

Anybody have a tech manual handy to try and track down what circuit is in play at that pin location?

Just curious.

03HiYoSilver · Jul 2, 2007

Update! I just found a wiring diagram fjrpierre.smugmug.com/gallery/635233/1/116789360/Medium

and it appears that the 2 High Voltage Coils (one for #1 & #4)(one for #2 & #3) pins in the Wiring Harness sit right next to each other with no Isolation. Thus any dirt/corrosion causes a leak path(shorting) between the pins causing Irregular/Intermittent poor running conditions. (These 2 pins sit tooooo close to each other with the voltages involved)

I cleaned them last night and......

I did a run tonight and it is SMOOOOTH as silk with no Surging/More Even Power throughut the RPM Range and a Smoother idle.

Can't wait to see how the Gas mileage is with a full tank.....it has been between 28-32 mpg with this unsolved condition.

Let me know if anyone else uses this fix with their results. This is something the Mechanics will probably Never Diagnose....at least mine didn't.

rcsnclh · Jul 2, 2007

So, what's the "correct" (garage mechanic) way to clean this connector? And what about di-electric grease upon reassembly? Or is that just asking for trouble? I've never been sure whether that stuff is an insulator or a conductor or something in between!

BTW, my 04 A came back from the tick repair with a hesitation off idle that was worsened by a recent throttle position sensor replacement. At this point when leaving from a stop, I get a gurgle, a hesitation and then a hit at about 2,000 rpm like I used to get on my 1977 RM 125 when it hit the powerband. Not something I enjoy with 140+ hp in a parking lot or other slow speed situations.

Seems like everytime I take her in for one thing, she comes back running worse in some other regard.

I'm hoping, although pesimistic, that something this simple would be the fix for my woe's. It's usually MUCH more difficult than cleaning a connector at my house and usually involves a lot of plastic (of the Visa type)

Clay

ngarider · Jul 2, 2007

Man, that's great news! I really felt for ya after hearing how horribly the bike ran.

Just goes to show you, you want something done right......

Cheers

03HiYoSilver said:
Update! I just found a wiring diagram https://fjrpierre.smugmug.com/gallery/63523...116789360/Large
and it appears that the 2 High Voltage Coils (one for #1 & #4)(one for #2 & #3) pins in the Wiring Harness sit right next to each other with no Isolation. Thus any dirt/corrosion causes a leak path(shorting) between the pins causing Irregular/Intermittent poor running conditions. (These 2 pins sit tooooo close to each other with the voltages involved)

I cleaned them last night and......

I did a run tonight and it is SMOOOOTH as silk with no Surging/More Even Power throughut the RPM Range and a Smoother idle.

Can't wait to see how the Gas mileage is with a full tank.....it has been between 28-32 mpg with this unsolved condition.

Let me know if anyone else uses this fix with their results. This is something the Mechanics will probably Never Diagnose....at least mine didn't.

Vstar2FJR · Jul 2, 2007

03HiYoSilver said:
Update! I just found a wiring diagram https://fjrpierre.smugmug.com/gallery/63523...116789360/Large
and it appears that the 2 High Voltage Coils (one for #1 & #4)(one for #2 & #3) pins in the Wiring Harness sit right next to each other with no Isolation. Thus any dirt/corrosion causes a leak path(shorting) between the pins causing Irregular/Intermittent poor running conditions. (These 2 pins sit tooooo close to each other with the voltages involved)

I cleaned them last night and......

I did a run tonight and it is SMOOOOTH as silk with no Surging/More Even Power throughut the RPM Range and a Smoother idle.

Can't wait to see how the Gas mileage is with a full tank.....it has been between 28-32 mpg with this unsolved condition.

Let me know if anyone else uses this fix with their results. This is something the Mechanics will probably Never Diagnose....at least mine didn't.

Just curious 03 HiYoSilver, did you have the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) replaced under the recall notice?

John

03HiYoSilver · Jul 2, 2007

Vstar2FJR said:
03HiYoSilver said:

Update! I just found a wiring diagram https://fjrpierre.smugmug.com/gallery/63523...116789360/Large
and it appears that the 2 High Voltage Coils (one for #1 & #4)(one for #2 & #3) pins in the Wiring Harness sit right next to each other with no Isolation. Thus any dirt/corrosion causes a leak path(shorting) between the pins causing Irregular/Intermittent poor running conditions. (These 2 pins sit tooooo close to each other with the voltages involved)

I cleaned them last night and......

I did a run tonight and it is SMOOOOTH as silk with no Surging/More Even Power throughut the RPM Range and a Smoother idle.

Can't wait to see how the Gas mileage is with a full tank.....it has been between 28-32 mpg with this unsolved condition.

Let me know if anyone else uses this fix with their results. This is something the Mechanics will probably Never Diagnose....at least mine didn't.

Click to expand...

Just curious 03 HiYoSilver, did you have the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) replaced under the recall notice?

John

Vstar,

Yes I did, but it ran fine before I had it replaced and they would not give me back the old one. Hopefully they installed it correctly and I don't think any of my recent conditions are TPS related. Do you think there is a relevance to this?

un4gvn · Jul 6, 2007

"and it appears that the 2 High Voltage Coils (one for #1 & #4)(one for #2 & #3) pins in the Wiring Harness sit right next to each other with no Isolation. Thus any dirt/corrosion causes a leak path(shorting) between the pins causing Irregular/Intermittent poor running conditions. (These 2 pins sit tooooo close to each other with the voltages involved)"

The only problem here is that these are NOT "high voltage wires" They are signal wires to the ignition coils which in turn step up the voltage to the secondary side of the coils. The secondary side is where you will find the high voltage i.e the spark plug wires.

I know I am slpitting hairs here but just thought I would set the record straight. However, I am glad your bike is running better now.

RonBB · Jul 6, 2007

Good info about this connector. Something for all of us to keep in the back of our mind.

Seems like everytime I take her in for one thing, she comes back running worse in some other regard.

I had this problem with one dealer I bought a bike from(not the FJR). The service manager was always fair and took care of the issue-A good thing. The issue was that that particular dealership tended to hire young kids just starting out. I nearly always had to take it back. I too was always concerned about it coming back worse than when I took it in. The last straw was when I got the bike back on a Friday and rode it a couple of hundred miles on curvy roads the next day on Saturday to discover that only one bolt was holding on the handle bars. True, I should have looked the bike over better before riding away-but that should not have happened. I ended up buying another bike at a different dealer and never intend to have service work done at the orginal shop again. Like I said, the service manager was fair about fixing the issues but I could have been killed as there was no quality control in his shop. Enough was enough. I suggest looking for another shop. Best of luck.

03HiYoSilver · Jul 6, 2007

"The only problem here is that these are NOT "high voltage wires" They are signal wires to the ignition coils which in turn step up the voltage to the secondary side of the coils. The secondary side is where you will find the high voltage i.e the spark plug wires.

I know I am slpitting hairs here but just thought I would set the record straight. However, I am glad your bike is running better now."

Thanks for the clarification and glad you pointed that out to me.

drc32-0 · Jul 18, 2007

Thanks for the heads-up 03HiYoSilver.I cleaned the connector on my '04 and it made a BIG difference-not perfect ,but much better.It did sound like a diesel,now it just has a little hiccup.Thanks again.

03HiYoSilver · Jul 18, 2007

drc32-0 said:
Thanks for the heads-up 03HiYoSilver.I cleaned the connector on my '04 and it made a BIG difference-not perfect ,but much better.It did sound like a diesel,now it just has a little hiccup.Thanks again.

Drc,

Your are Welcome. I am tickled you were able to benefit from this. I am amazed on how much it has helped my general running conditions. Last weekend, I finally got the stones to do the UnAuthorized TBS and this seems to have helped as well. Idling seems rougher, but the Higher RPM's are smoother...now to see how it does on a trip or two.

Glad it helped you out!

jeremybhm · Jun 21, 2008

Anyone have any idea where this guy is on a GenII?

I'm looking at a service manual and it appears that it might be forward of the battery or beside and under the battery.

ahchiu · Jun 18, 2009

I also want to know where this is on Gen 2 I have surging problems , TPS tested neg, I had to cancel CFR due to surging/dying eng. I want to check every possible thing.

Marcus

03HiYoSilver · Jun 18, 2009

ahchiu said:
I also want to know where this is on Gen 2 I have surging problems , TPS tested neg, I had to cancel CFR due to surging/dying eng. I want to check every possible thing.
Marcus

ahchiu,

Unfortunately, I have not worked on a GenII model and not sure if the wiring harness/connectors are the same or not.

I would contact local FJR Rider(s) to see if they could look at your bike and share a solution to your problem. There is some additional wiring connector problems mentioned here:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...13632&st=20

Hope this helps and you find your fix soon.

FJRBluesman · Jun 18, 2009

Excellent Post! I'll look into this. My bike isn't surging although it did until I got a TBS done, but sometimes at idle it's not as smooth as I think it should be. I'll check 'er out.

Unless it's inferior plating, I don't understand why that connector would corrode there. Not much moister in that area unless you use some high pressure washer deal.... :blink:

Corroded Harness Connector

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