Okay, Boys and Girls, I am feeling on top of the world this morning! First, a big thank you to this site and group; the resources found here are tremendous! Now for the problem solving! As I have reported previously, I traded my 1999 BMW F650 for a 1988 R100RT; EVEN. Some thought me crazy, I think I got the better end of the deal. After undoing some crazy wiring and fixing many other problems, I still had an electrical leak. I poured over Snowbum's articles on the subject and finally decided to dive in this morning.
The previous owner had installed a battery disconnect to isolate the negative terminal from the system with an untwisting of a large green knob. Worked great and I get it, a good idea for winter storage, etc. But I left this connected for a week or so as I thought I would be able to ride (darn Florida rain) and the battery went low. So, I went back to using the disconnect and connecting a charger while not riding. This morning I removed the seat and tank, and hooked up my indicator light (no batteries) to the negative terminal. I found a screw just above the terminal that would light the light with the green knob isolating the battery. I then began unplugging things...as in all of them, one at a time! I did put di-electric grease on all connections and checked that they were all in good order. There were a few crazy connections due to the installation of a cassette player in the past. Finally, I get down to the checking the dash and find that the clock (which does not work) was the culprit. I removed the red wire from the clock and boom, light goes out. Electric leak solved and I am just ecstatic. Also thankfully I was smart enough to not have a celebratory malt beverage at 1030! There will be one at 1700 though!
Anyway, this would not have been possible if not for the resources I found here and the hints and tricks that abound when someone responds to your post and gets you thinking in a different direction! Thank you, and if you have an electrical leak, check the clock! I am also in the market for a new clock for an 88 R100RT, so if you got one, hit me up!
Courtney
#16121
Courtney -
Congrats on finding that leak. Some other thoughts....
• IMHO, using the battery disconnect is a far better choice than charging the battery. There are so many battery chargers on the market now that will over-charge a motorcycle battery. Even some of the ones with an "automatic shut off" charge at such a high current rate that they simply cook the battery. And not all battery chargers charge at the correct voltage, especially on AGM batteries. And then too, few batteries like to be charged all the time.
• I had previously written that the clock should have its own fuse. Anything connected to a RED wire within the main harness is direct to the battery. If the clock had turned into a full-fledged short circuit, like it did in my 1988, your $300 main and $64 dash harness would have been toast.
• No one can contact you becasue you haven't put your email in your profile.
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
Thanks for the advice. I will forego the charger once it comes back up as I think I solved this one!
As for the profile, I have my email, phone and all in there. I am also in the dAirectory - both versions too. If you are not seeing them, then who do I talk to?
Courtney
Courtney.Black@tdginc.com
16121
Well, now that I look it appears email addresses are no longer shown in the Profile for anyone.
Not having PM on this forum is a bummer. Email sent.
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
Where in Fl. we do several Tech Days around the state
I am in Hawthorne, the town is located on 301. I am over on Cowpen Lake on Route 20. I am going to check on the Tech Days and get to one soon.
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