FJRF009.2: "Intermittent Ground Wire Connection"

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Dropped my bike off on Saturday , 23rd, and I knew it would be an entire harness replacement. The dealership would have to order the harness AFTER verifying the damage. The black cap on my S4 had a hole melted through it and I had to chip away some of the melted plastic that holds the pins just to remove the spider when I did a temp fix 1.5 years ago. Sucks 'cause it is my daily commuter. I was lucky enough to borrow a friends '05 DR650 until it is fixed. I just wish there were some dirt trails on my way to work!
Have they given any indication on how long it will take for the new harness to arrive?

 
I had planned on waiting a little to bring the bike in for the recall, but I've had a new failure that has accelerated my timing. On a regular basis, the starter won't spin when I push the start button. I troubleshot and determined that the starter relay (located behind the battery) is bad. The coil actuates the relay, but the main contactor doesn't always make (verified with voltmeter across main contacts).

So I called my selling dealer to schedule the recall and YES warranty covered starter relay fix. No wanting to drop the bike off and wait days for parts to arrive, I convinced the service writer that I knew what I was doing and it for sure needs a starter relay and so they agreed to order the relay ahead of time. Once parts are in, they will schedule a day when I can dropoff on the way to work and pickup that evening. Nice to have a helpful dealer (RMC in Renton WA) around! BTW, they didn't have any recall harnesses in stock either, but should have some this week. They had a list going of owners that are waiting.

 
Mine went in last Friday, need the full harness recall, parts have been ordered just waiting until tomorrow to find out how long to ship. While her clothes are off the dealer is wiring in a battery tender relay for me as well. Don't have enough miles on to do any other maintenance at this point.

 
The dealer installed the subharness last week and put new plugs in while the tank was off. Bike runs fine - no drama w/the recall process. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

 
I installed a Brodie harness on Saturday as a precaution against the other spiders biting. All the spiders looked fine I think. The reason I say I think is the only one I dropped (and consequently lost in the body work) was S4. The connection looked fine and I serviced them about 3000 miles ago and they looked good then too.

I haven't done the recall yet but will wait a bit and see if I can get my old friend who's a Yamaha dealer, to sign off on the Brodie Harness and skip the factory fix. He was ok with me doing the Brodie harness for the ignition and I actually did the replacement of the switch myself as I had it apart at the time.

The bike runs great and I have a renewed confidence. Now, do I have to worry about the CCT???

 
Have they given any indication on how long it will take for the new harness to arrive?

They said a week, but I'm betting probably more like 2 weeks.

 
Had the recall done last Tuesday, mainly went in to have make sure the entire harness didn't need to be replaced, it didn't. Went ahead and also installed Art's spider harnesses last night everything installed easily and should be good to go.

Andy

 
Mine went in yesterday, and came out yesterday. :yahoo:

Wiring harness wuz fine, they just replaced that spider under the left side of the tank with a spider that has a ground to the neg terminal.

 
They said a week, but I'm betting probably more like 2 weeks.
Be a good bet. Still waiting on mine. I week, 2 days and counting. My only salvation is the temp has been about 104 EVERY DAY that it's been at the stealership, so I'm not bitchin' too much... yet. Supposed to be ready Friday.

 
Took mine in today for the jumper fix. NO spider bites.

'07 with 8500 miles on it and no electrical extras except heated grips. Spent its first 3 years in Mississippi.

Took a week to get the part, a week to bring it in for the fix. About 1 1/2 hour wait. Knowing mine would be the first of 5 they had going, I removed the plastic myself for peace of mind and to help the guy out.

One more recall, and I'm switching to Vespa.

 
It sounds like my local shop as room for improvement, but is more supportive than many others also.

I walked in to talk with the service scheduler about the sub-harness status. He had them on order, told me when to expect the parts to be in then we would schedule.

I told him I would like a quote for a TBS and plug install while the tank is up for the recall. 1.5 hours would be the additional charge. Since I've never used a shop, I felt better about giving them some paid work for the efforts. No to mention any work outside for the last month and the coming month is painful due to the temps we are experiencing.

Left the bike, I was called the same evening to pick her up. I went and retrieved it the following day. Do all shops leave the bikes outside with keys after repair? I was surprised by that.

I did ask the scheduler about my TBS. I wanted to know how much adjustment was needed. He didn't know, It wasn't written down, and the tech was out to lunch... At 10AM?

Anyway... The bike starts up off less spark, so I know the plugs are in. The bike is overall smoother from idle thru the RPM's (I assume TBS), seems to even shift smoother. That I can't explain.

 
Has anyone with a Brodie harness installed went in and had the recall done yet?

I looked through this thread and couldn't find an instance, but may have missed it (old eyes).....

 
Just adding my experience for those keeping count: 2007 w 36k miles w Yammie heated grips. No damage to harness, needed only additional ground wire installed. Repair done same day as drop-off! Peace of mind for an upcoming 3 day 1500 mile trip to lake placid ny and adirondacks.

 
So I posted earlier that I dropped my bike off on the 22nd of July and I wrote that I needed the full harness recall. I called again today and asked for an ETA, the parts dept. is closed on Mondays so they couldn't provide any information other than they were waiting on parts.

I decided to call Yamaha directly to inquire about what was taking so long and ended up talking to a guy who called the dealer on my behalf. The Yamaha rep told me that the dealer that they had ordered the quick fix harness, not the full harness and was waiting on an ECU to fix some altitude issue which is unrelated and separate from the grounding issue. Yamaha rep basically said that if the harness wasn't melted that the quick fix was all I needed and I could be back on the road and could do the ECU fix whenever they got the part in.

I'm a bit confused because the dealer doesn't appear to be providing me all the information but it would sound like I should have had my bike back several days ago, I'm not going to be happy if this is the case. I should know more tomorrow.

 
Has anyone with a Brodie harness installed went in and had the recall done yet?

I looked through this thread and couldn't find an instance, but may have missed it (old eyes).....
I'm scheduled to take mine in tomorrow. I PM'd Brodie to confirm that if I disconnect his harness at S4 and re-install the spider and black cap that the bike would still run with no issues, which he confirmed. My intention is to have the recall done, then disconnect the recall harness at S4, plug the Brodie harness back in, and leave the recall harness in place disconnected.

I didn't want to go down the road of trying to explain to the dealer all about the Brodie harness, nor did I want to ignore the recall as I'm sure at some point that might come back to bite me during resale or future work.

I'll let you know how it goes but I expect no issues. The dealer indicated he had the recall harnesses so I expect to get the bike back Thurs of Fri (he's doing plugs and TBS too).

Randy

 
Just made my appointment for the inspection on my '08 for next Weds; the service manager said they had done 5 FJRs so far, and 2 needed the full harness replacement, and that maybe I should make arrangements to get home should mine need a full harness. This lead me to believe that they are one of the dealers that will keep the bike if it needs a full harness, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. . .

 
So I posted earlier that I dropped my bike off on the 22nd of July and I wrote that I needed the full harness recall. I called again today and asked for an ETA, the parts dept. is closed on Mondays so they couldn't provide any information other than they were waiting on parts.

I decided to call Yamaha directly to inquire about what was taking so long and ended up talking to a guy who called the dealer on my behalf. The Yamaha rep told me that the dealer that they had ordered the quick fix harness, not the full harness and was waiting on an ECU to fix some altitude issue which is unrelated and separate from the grounding issue. Yamaha rep basically said that if the harness wasn't melted that the quick fix was all I needed and I could be back on the road and could do the ECU fix whenever they got the part in.

I'm a bit confused because the dealer doesn't appear to be providing me all the information but it would sound like I should have had my bike back several days ago, I'm not going to be happy if this is the case. I should know more tomorrow.
Got my bike back yesterday, the actual mechanic was very cool but the counter lady was kinda bitchy. The gist of the problem was that the dealer found that I needed the high altitude ECU recall done as well as the partial harness recall but never once called me to talk to me about it, never once told me they were going to do the ECU recall and never once asked if I wanted the ECU recall done. Yamaha USA told the dealer that 1) it didn't need to be done in the context of the wiring harness recall 2) it was not needed immediately given that Des Moines, Ia is only 900ft above sea level and 3) there are no ECUs in stock in the country. This apparently upset the counter lady because she felt the need to defend the shops actions which amounted to no communication, out right lying to me on the phone twice and berating Yamaha USA for telling this shop what to do.

Needless to say I won't be going to have them replace my tires which need to be done soon.

If anyone cares it was Hicklin Power Sports in Grimes, Iowa. I'm sure they are great but my experience says otherwise.

 
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