Electrical problem — need help/advice

[Bruce Ente]

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??

 

[SkooterG]

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.