| Author | Message | ||
     Austinxb12s |
I just purchased a 2005 XB12S with a little over 5,000 miles which has a recurring problem blowing the 30A battery fuse. The first time the fuse blew it was accompanied with an error code 21 (exhaust valve) but since first instance valve seems to be working correctly and no new codes and wire routing correct per service manual. This has stumped me since the bike starts and idles nicely but after a ride of more than 15 minutes the seat heats up and then she bike shuts off when I stop (by blowing the fuse). The bike never shuts down when I'm riding. Now I just pop the seat and add another fuse and keep going and sometimes it doesn't happen again and other times it does. Additionally, I see some markings (burn marks) on the underside of the seat directly above the negative battery terminal. No apparent bad grounds or exposed wiring. Only main symptom seems to be noticeable increase of heat under the seat just before the fuse blows. Maybe it is the voltage regulator or stator? I guess I need a multimeter but really have never used one...and also battery is new from Harley... Any help is greatly appreciated! | ||
| Sparky |
You say "No apparent bad grounds or exposed wiring". Well, a bad ground connection can create unwanted electrical resistance that can produce a lot of unwanted heat. If it were me, I'd remove the battery cable connectors and clean all the mating surfaces of cables and wires connected there. Double check the integrity of the cable lug to the wire strands in the cable making sure that there are not dirty, oily, corroded, or loose connections there. Then trace the battery ground cables and verify/clean the connections to the frame or wherever those cables go. Most likely the voltage regulator and stator are OK as it seems to start up OK and run fine until the anomaly occurs but there are some electrical gremlins that need to be fixed. | ||
| Anonymous |
Any chance doing the both headlights at once mod OR the crank case breather mod could cause the fuse blowing as described? Sparky, thanks for the suggestions! Apparent unintended anonymous post by Austinxb12s (Message edited by blake on April 09, 2012) | ||
| Blake |
Where did you locate the outlet to the crankcase breather? | ||
| Austinxb12s |
The outlet for the breather mod was run out the front where existing wiring was found and then down behind the oil cooler. | ||
| Austinxb12s |
UPDATE: I opened up the sprocket cover to find the interactive exhaust cable in the wrong location (in front of the sprocket cover boss) rubbing on my drive belt!!!! The drive belt had rubbed through the black housing and was working on the braided interior cable insulation! I referenced the manual and then proceeded to run all the electrical wires in their proper positions and checked each connection (neutral switch connector, speed sensor connector, voltage regulator connector, stator connector, etc.) and didn't observe any fouling or loose connections or even any rubbed wiring. Today I went riding and the electrical demons were worse than ever! I let bike warm up for 5min and then went on a 15 minute drive and made the mistake of stopping at a gas station and the bike went dead. Sure enough the 30A fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse turned the key on and then the kill switch to ON and it turned over twice and the fuse blew again! This occurred two more times and then things got even worse since the fuse would blow as soon as I would turn the key to the ON position. I waited a while and then after replacing another fuse turned the key switch ON and strangely the engine started turning over WITH THE KILL SWITCH IN THE OFF POSITION. I reached over and turned the kill switch to the ON position and the bike started up but almost immediately died (after blowing yet another fuse). Finally I wiggled wiring down in the sprocket cover area and near the voltage regulator and after blowing two more fuses she started and stayed running long enough for me to get home which was only a few blocks away. I am baffled and just borrowed a multimeter that I intend to use tomorrow to check the voltage regulator and stator. I was able to determine that the battery holds a charge of 12.93A and has a steady charge of 14.2A to 14.4A at 1000, 2000, 3000 RPM, respectively. I performed a milliamp draw test between the negative terminal and negative battery cable that read .11MA. Any comments or suggestions would be helpful since riding season is here and I don't have the money right now to take my bike to the shop for the next few few weeks! | ||
| Dtech |
Check the "77" connector behind the sprocket cover, pull it apart to check the connections for corrosion, this feeds that 30A fuse from the voltage regulator & is a cause for many electrical anomalies. Your problem also got worse just after you were poking around there & you could have exasperated the problem within the connector. | ||
| Austinxb12s |
"77" connection looks fine...how do you know if you have the updated stator/VR connectors? After checking the connections I decided to pull the voltage regulator (VR) and it appears as this is the culprit. the back had several cracks in it and the plastic was soft and flexible. Thanks to everyone who helped! Anyone know where I can pick up a used (or new) VR?  | ||
| Dtech |
Those are the old style connectors (I just changed mine out Saturday). The new ones are round, not blade style. I bought a used VR & when I went to change it I pulled that connector apart & that is when I saw it was fried inside, yours looks OK (but you should still change it). I never needed the VR. If you buy a new VR you will get the new connectors. BTW, the backs are like that. Here is where I got the connector from: http://www.surdyke.com/AdvPartInfo.asp?PartNumber= Y1312.02A8 (Message edited by Dtech on April 24, 2012) |
