Electrical woes??

[Boxerkuh]

I need your help.... I will be as specific as I can and hope not to forget something.

My bike is a 1986 R 80 RT in the original configuration. Currently the following items are NOT working: brake light (front/rear levers), turn signals, horn button and the voltmeter jumps to zero. I can bypass the circuit by holding down the highbeam flasher and everything works great. Initally it began doing it every now and again, now it is pretty much there all the time not working.

What have I done? Well, first I thought that the load-sheading relay was shot, replaced it with a new one; that did not do it... then I thought it was the left handlebar switch unit, replaced it with a new one; that did not do it... then I thought it might have something to do with the ignition switch, tested it out and it is okay.

What will I do next? Well, I will clean all the contacts under the tank, as I believe it is in the wiring. I plan on cleaning all the contacts specifically between the handlebar switch and the relay and hope to find the wire that is loose, when I get home from work today. It may be a bad ground.... do you have any idea's? Thanks for all your help.

To make things interesting, where I live in South Carolina, there is a fellow with a 1985 R80RT with the identical problem. What are the odds of two airheads having the same problem at the same time?

[Motor31]

Just a question here. Have you tried checking the lights and things while turning the handlebars left and right to see if there is a breal in the wires at or near the fork tree? That's the point of most flexing and to me anyhow, the most likely place for a break.

Have you checked the wires in the handlebar grip switch mounts as well?

[Bill Burke]

Install new fuses. Could be a corrosion issue or a broken fuse which may look ok, but isn't. Your fuses are not in the headlamp bucket, like mine. If you can't locate them, ask again for advice from a post '84 R80 owner.

[Boxerkuh]

The fuses are both okay, I also checked the wiring in the switch and around the neck and it looks okay. I did a bunch of cleaning of the connections and it all looks good. Double checked all the grounds with no problems found. :banghead :scratch :dunno

[Bill Burke]

The fuses are both okay
Don't mean to beat a live horse, but I want you to know I read a post in the archives from a guy who chased these issues for a long time before replacing his fuses. His old fuses "looked fine." New fuses = fixed. It's your money and your call, of course.

[danielroth]

when i rebuilt my wife's /5 this summer, i was waiting on the correct battery so I jumped a full-size car battery that had been sitting in the garage to the wiring.
What i found was that the headlight would ONLY work on the high beam and the signals would not flash, no brake lights or starter. I thought the battery was good because I had been charging it once a month so I thought something was dreadfully wrong in the wiring.
Two head scratches later, moved the jumper cables from the 'good' battery to my /5 (only a 16 amp) and everything worked as advertised.
My advise is to keep it simple. Clean the contacts for the ground strap at BOTH ends and take your battery to a specialist for a load check. The load check is much more dynamic than putting a voltmeter across the poles but takes a little time. They will be able to tell you within a couple hours if you need to get a new battery or will service it for a low cost.
That Mustang battery i had was garbage and was pulling similar electrical wondermint as you described. The odds of two airheads with similar problems are great if they both have junk batteries/poor grounding.

[Boxerkuh]

UNBELIEVEABLE:clap :dance :hungover :doh :stick



Okay, I have to admit, I was skeptical. I replaced the fuses what I thought was just for kicks and well, guess what... you got it... it fixed it.... The fuses looked fine, were solid, but I was also at a point where I was willing to try anything... Well, shame on me... :nyah Bill was right and I can admit it... THANK YOU VERY MUCH :clap
I also took the battery (Odysessy PC 680) and took it to Auto Zone and had it bench tested. (Thank you Daniel) It was bad at 680 cold cranking amps, and tested good at 450 cold cranking amps. I send an email to Odysessy to ask them what gives... The bike is starting up fine and although the battery is 4 years old, it does not act as if it was ready to die. However, I have heard that they just give up life all of a sudden. They also came out with a new model the PC 925... Well, I guess that I am learning something about batteries in this deal too... :D Since the bike is my primary mode of transportation I reinstalled the old battery and will wait and see what I find out...

[Bill Burke]

Glad you're up and running again. Good job.