Help! Having Electrical Problems

[James Burleigh]

I installed a replacement fuse panel on my '05 last night, and somehow during that process these symptoms have appeared:

1. Keyed horn tie-in to the fuse box relay is no longer hot.

2. My glove box will not open when ignition on.

3. Brake lights do not go on.

4. When I turn the key on, I hear a new whirring sound on the bottom right side of my faring that last for several seconds then stops.

I feel like the guys in Apollo 11 when they had multiple electrical failures all at once.

How do I even go about addressing this issue one step at a time???

Here's what I was replacing (electrical connection power plate shown at top).

Thanks!

JB

 

[Fred W]

Sounds like you blew the "signalling system fuse" (15A). All that stuff gets power from that fuse

edit - I have no idea what the whirring is, unless you are hearing the normal fuel pump noise.

 

[ionbeam]

...I have no idea what the whirring is, unless you are hearing the normal fuel pump noise.

I'd go with that thought!

 

[James Burleigh]

Sounds like you blew the "signalling system fuse" (15A). All that stuff gets power from that fuse

edit - I have no idea what the whirring is, unless you are hearing the normal fuel pump noise.

I'll look into that. Thanks. As for the whirring, part of me thinks maybe it was always there but I never paid attention, but that I'm hearing it now that I'm kinda hyper-attentive to all the sh*t that's happening!

Why would that fuse have blown? Do I REALLY need to disconnect the neg terminal when f**king with the battery and electrical...?

 

[weekend rider]

The answer to that question is a big yes. Only one reason why fuse(s) blow when messing with the eoectrical, you ground the hot leg,poof there goes the fuse....

 

[SacramentoMike]

Nothing useful to offer but sympathy. You've had more than your share lately. Problems, I mean, not sympathy, Good luck.

(As for no. 2, though, what do you need the glove box for? Don't you still carry that man-purse? )

By the way, the whirring thing made me curious so I went out put my head right down by the fairing on my '05 and turned the key on. Yep, some kind of whirring-ish sound. I think if I was being paranoid about electrical problems and heard it, it'd make me nervous. Never thought about it before, I guess.

 

[James Burleigh]

Thanks, all. I'm really glad to have the forum to go to for help. You guys are great. Mike, thanks for the sympathy. As for the man-purse, :****:

As long as I've got you on the phone S-M, still up in the air about the show Saturday....

 

[dcarver]

JB, your artistry skills amaze me.

Your mechanical skills, they too amaze me.

..just in different ways!

:****:

Hugs n' Kisses (from TWN, of course!)

:lol:

 

[James Burleigh]

Hugs and kisses right back at ya, Don.

Yeah, I thought about a fuse problem when it happened. But the user manual wasn't helpful, and it didn't seem like one fuse could control so many separate items.

So instead I panicked and went off to work on the horrible BART train with a feeling of dread.

But thanks to the FJR Forum, problem solved in about 20 minutes.

Thanks again.

 

[Fred W]

JB,

The reason that you want to disconnect the negative side of the battery is so that the battery's power no longer has a continuous path. With no return path, if you do happen to touch a "hot" wire to ground (tools, the frame, etc) there will be no current flow. Otherwise, unless you are extremely careful, you will blow fuses when fritzing around with hot wires.

One would think that they could just as easily disconnect the positive battery cable to get this preventive effect, but think about swinging those tools around in close quarters while they are attached to the positive battery terminal. If the tool happens to be in contact with the + terminal and also bumps a frame ground you will have massive amounts of current (arcing and sparking) since there will be no fuses to blow and the battery will discharge as fast as it can. Sometimes with enough current to melt or weld the tool to the frame. No, no... you always want to disconnect the negative side of the battery.

edit - Oh yeah, I figured it out... That whirring noise on the lower right side? That's your ABS motor going through its Power-On Diagnostic. When you don't hear it is when there's a problem.

 

[James Burleigh]

JB,

The reason that you want to disconnect the negative side of the battery is so that the battery's power no longer has a continuous path. With no return path, if you do happen to touch a "hot" wire to ground (tools, the frame, etc) there will be no current flow. Otherwise, unless you are extremely careful, you will blow fuses when fritzing around with hot wires.

One would think that they could just as easily disconnect the positive battery cable to get this preventive effect, but think about swinging those tools around in close quarters while they are attached to the positive battery terminal. If the tool happens to be in contact with the + terminal and also bumps a frame ground you will have massive amounts of current (arcing and sparking) since there will be no fuses to blow and the battery will discharge as fast as it can. Sometimes with enough current to melt or weld the tool to the frame. No, no... you always want to disconnect the negative side of the battery.

edit - Oh yeah, I figured it out... That whirring noise on the lower right side? That's your ABS motor going through its Power-On Diagnostic. When you don't hear it is when there's a problem.

Thanks for the clarification! Speaking of clarification, so when I'm working on electrical stuff, I ONLY need to disconnect the negative, and can leave the positive connected?

 

[ionbeam]

...so when I'm working on electrical stuff, I ONLY need to disconnect the negative, and can leave the positive connected?

Yes.

With the negative wire disconnected there is no way for you to accidentally complete a circuit because the battery circuit is open therefore there is no way for current to flow.

 

[Fred W]

This post got me thinking, I can't recall ever seeing a comprehensive chart anywhere that shows what each fuse powers exactly.

So here is one for the First Gens. One of you (poor) second genners will have to make one up for those...

Under panel "C" and "D"
(right side)
Main Fuse
- 50A (always hot)
everything except ABS motor fuse, Fuel Inj fuse and Starter motor power passes thru this fuse
 
EFI Fuse
- 15A (always hot)
Fuel Pump, Fuel injector solenoids, PAIR solenoid (all via FI Relay)
 
ABS Motor Fuse*
- 30A
ABS motor (via Fail Safe relay contacts)
 
 
 
Fuse block under Panel "A" (left side)
Headlight Fuse
- 25A (ignition switched)
Headlights via (ECU delayed) headlight relay #1 and #2. High beam indicator (via Headlight relay #2)
 
Signaling System Fuse
- 15A (ignition switched)
Brake lights via front and rear brake light switches, Horns, Instrument cluster back-lights, Neutral light, accessory box relay and solenoid
 
Ignition Fuse
- 10A (ignition switched)
Starter relay, Starter cut-off relay, ECU, Radiator fan motor relay and Instrument cluster gauges.
Also, Starter cut-off relay and FI relay via kill switch.
 
Radiator Fan Fuse
- 15A (ignition switched)
Radiator fan motor (via fan motor relay)
 
Hazard Fuse
- 7.5A (ignition switched)
All turn signals, front, rear and instrument panel indicators, both hazards and normal (via flasher module and hazard or turn signal switches)
 
ABS Control Fuse*
7.5A (ignition switched)
ABS ECU, ABS Fail Safe Relay
 
Tail/Position Fuse
- 10A (ignition switched)
Front and Rear running lights
 
Backup Fuse
- 10A (always hot)
Instrument cluster (clock, trip meter), windshield motor (auto retract)
 
Windshield Motor Fuse
- 2A (ignition switched)
Windshield motor drive unit
 
* - ABS equipped models only

 

[James Burleigh]

This post got me thinking, I can't recall ever seeing a comprehensive chart anywhere that shows what each fuse powers exactly.

So here is one for the First Gens. One of you (poor) second genners will have to make one up for those...

This is GREAT! A real service to the forum community. After you posted above the fuse name and number, I went into Bin O' Facts to see where that particular fuse was located and what the amps were, etc. The word "fuse" was not anywhere on the BOFs page that I could find.

I'm printing this out and tucking it into my [lame-***] user manual.

Thanks again, FW, and others on this thread for walking me through this. I've handled that fuse box near the glove box many times without ever knowing it was a fuse box. [How lame is that? ]

JB (Hans)

 

[SkooterG]

I've handled that fuse box near the glove box many times without ever knowing it was a fuse box. [How lame is that? ]

You don't really want me to answer that, do you?

Yo Fred, I thought it was the Main Fuse (50a) that was down at the front of the battery.

 

[Fred W]

This post got me thinking, I can't recall ever seeing a comprehensive chart anywhere that shows what each fuse powers exactly.

So here is one for the First Gens. One of you (poor) second genners will have to make one up for those...

This is GREAT! A real service to the forum community.

...

Thanks again, FW, and others on this thread for walking me through this.

You are welcome. I just threw this list together from looking at the wiring diagrams and the owners manual. If there are any items that I have omitted, just ask and I will update / edit the post.

Yo Fred, I thought it was the Main Fuse (50a) that was down at the front of the battery.

Actually, all three (Main, ABS Motor and EFI) fuses are in that general vicinity. All the others are on the left side. Edited post to reflect this.

 

[SacramentoMike]

As long as I've got you on the phone S-M, still up in the air about the show Saturday....

I should get in about 11 to noon. Weather seems ok ("chance of showers," though I believe it when I see it). Not sure who else from Sac will be coming but there's a South Bay/San Jose group coming in about the same time. Hope I see you there.

Thanks for the clarification! Speaking of clarification, so when I'm working on electrical stuff, I ONLY need to disconnect the negative, and can leave the positive connected?

This reminds me of what happened to Old Michael when he was an apprentice electrician. This old guy, Joe, used to stand on one leg when he worked on live circuits--never cut the power. So OM tried it and got a hell of a jolt. When they picked him up, he couldn't understand why Joe could do it safely. "I thought the current came up one leg and didn't have a return path to the ground," he explained. "Didn't you know Joe's got a wooden leg?"

 

[FJRBluesman]

JB - BACK AWAY FROM THE MOTORCYCLE! DO NOT TOUCH IT!

You're giving Gen1s a bad name, better stop messin's with it.

And remember, for all electrical work disconnect the negative terminal, or take it in.

 

[BobbyBlue]

Ahhhh...the BACKUP fuse :crazy: ...so if i replace this, parking lots will fear me again...hehehe...the backup fuse...

Seriously Fred, thank you! You too JB for messin' 'round with ground !

Bobby