Electrical problem — need help/advice

My 2006 (83k mi.) lost headlights 8 months ago while traveling. Mechanic couldn’t find problem so workaround was to hardwire high beams direct to battery with fuse and toggle switch. Another competent mechanic couldn’t locate the fault either after searching for several hours. (Gen 2 spider recall had been done previously.)

Now a ground fault intermittently drains the battery when the bike is turned off — not every time, but frequently. Don’t know if related to headlight issue or not. As a result I can’t ride to any destination that doesn’t have an outlet to plug in a battery charger in case I have a discharged (dead) battery. Two mechanics have said that locating/diagnosing the electrical gremlin will be prohibitively expensive. Help! Any ideas??

Yikes! That could be a million things. I hate electrical gremlins. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come along.

I can say that many years ago my FJR lost headlights and the cooling fans. Turns out one of the clips for a coolant hose had pierced the main wiring harness taking out a couple wires. I was fortunate. I had purchased the Yamaha four year Y.E.S. warranty and so the replacement of the main wiring harness which must have been a bitch of a job was completed for free!

I am no electrical expert but how does a ground fault drain a battery when off? It sounds more like a short somewhere.

Has the ignition switch recall been done? A possible source. With respect to the battery mysteriously draining, try checking ignition-off draw using an ammeter. If you CAN'T find anything, you might consider putting a high current capable switch on the battery ground wire so you can easily disconnect the battery at any time.

Sounds like a grounding issue to me relating to the headlight issue. There have been other reported "spider" grounding faults and at least one non-spider fault reported by several inmates.

The so-called S6 is the next most likely ground junction, although not the only one.
Also, read this (non-spider ground)...
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/itsy-bitsy-spider.158418/

Good luck

Bruce,

Try to pull up on the brake pedal, and if it does not "live" at the top of the range, clean and lube the foot brake pedal pivot so the lever comes up fully. Less likely, but the same goes for the front brake light switch. A sticky brake lever will keep the brake light on and drain the battery. The sticky foot brake pedal is common on the FJRs. Some riders install a Zerk fitting on the pivot so you can easily clean and lube the lever with two shots from a grease gun. Wipe away the dirty grease that comes out.

Not likely this time, but dirty battery terminals can prevent a battery from being fully charged by the bike. Clean electrical connections are shiny metal. Dull metal is corroded metal. Every battery cable has TWO ends.

A smart battery charger is always a good idea for the FJR. Connect it with a pigtail, so you can hook up the charger without dis-assembling anything.

If you know how to use an Ammeter, unbolt the battery negative (ground) cable from the battery. Connect the Ammeter from the battery ground cable to the battery negative terminal. There will always be a slight drain there, to keep the electronic stuff (like memory) happy. A battery is rated in Amp-hours. A two Amp load will drain a 10 Amp-hour battery in five hours. A 2 milliamp load ( 0.002 Amps) will drain the battery in 5000 hours. If you see any significant load on the Ammeter screen with everything OFF, go the the main fuse panel, the relay panel, any auxiliary fuses, and the relay panel in turn. Pull out one item (fuse or relay) at a time, and see if the removal of any one item causes the heavy load at the Ammeter to vanish. Report back with that information, if you will.

Happy hunting.

infrared said:

A sticky brake lever will keep the brake light on and drain the battery.

Click to expand...

Except that the brake light doesn't function unless the ignition is on (at least mine doesn't).

Yes, a good idea to verify parasitic draw. The issue MIGHT be with the battery. An internal short that discharges might temporarily clear itself but will eventually become a permanent problem.

Bruce Ente said:

My 2006 (83k mi.) lost headlights 8 months ago while traveling. Mechanic couldn’t find problem so workaround was to hardwire high beams direct to battery with fuse and toggle switch. Another competent mechanic couldn’t locate the fault either after searching for several hours. (Gen 2 spider recall had been done previously.)

Now a ground fault intermittently drains the battery when the bike is turned off — not every time, but frequently. Don’t know if related to headlight issue or not. As a result I can’t ride to any destination that doesn’t have an outlet to plug in a battery charger in case I have a discharged (dead) battery. Two mechanics have said that locating/diagnosing the electrical gremlin will be prohibitively expensive. Help! Any ideas??

Click to expand...

I appreciate there is a big difference between 2006 & 2016, but as far as failed headlights go, consider this -
Thread 'Both headlights, at the same time?!'
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/both-headlights-at-the-same-time.181139/
(look at post #15)
The key takeaway is, I think, sticking a meter test probe into a connector from the outside tends to tighten the pin being tested.

Sorry, I have no insight into the battery discharge problem, except to ask, is it possible the battery is the problem? Or the wiring the first mechanic did to get the high beams working?(you mention wiring was direct to battery. . . . .)

Best of luck finding solution, these are ugly problems to sort out.
-Steve