Fixing P.O.'s ground wire issues

[B_Roost450f]

Hey guys!
I am slowly starting to comb through the wiring on this 92 VS800 I picked up a couple weeks ago.
When I initially picked the bike up, the first wiring issues I could see were the fuse panel and battery cables hanging out of the side of the bike (end connectors/terminals gone).

I started getting into it today to see what I had and this is what I found:
-Starer solenoid badly corroded/leads corroded (Ordered new leads and solenoid last night!)
- B/W running from the fuel pump the the ground joint was completely melted (marked with gear emojis)
-B/W running from fuel pump to ground joint was replaced with crimped twin yellow wires and connecter (visible in first pic, removed before taking second pic)
-B/W coming out of ground joint (larger gauge) hooked up to nothing at all (labeled "unknown" above and below)


My two questions are: Would a bad fuel pump cause its ground (B/W wire) to melt like that? and where exactly does the larger gauge B/W wire (labeled "Unknown" go once it leaves the ground joint?

[enforcer]

Been a while since I owned my Intruder, so I doubt I'd be able to identify anything in that rat's nest, but here's a color wiring diagram.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/6wiv9 ... iagram.pdf

And any bad ground can melt, but it most likely just shorted. Test the fuel pump and relay to be sure.

[B_Roost450f]

Been a while since I owned my Intruder, so I doubt I'd be able to identify anything in that rat's nest, but here's a color wiring diagram.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/6wiv9 ... iagram.pdf

And any bad ground can melt, but it most likely just shorted. Test the fuel pump and relay to be sure.

Dude! That diagram rocks! Been looking at old scans that I can't read. That helps a lot.

I am pretty confident that my "Uknown" is supposed to be crimped into the negative battery cable at the battery connection, and it was pulled apart when the connector was removed. But I will keep digging. Thanks man very much!

P.s. planning on pulling apart the "ground joint", recutting the wires to remove corrosion on connection, and re-connecting them by soldering them all together and heat-shrinking. That's gonna be adequate to assure that THAT area of my common ground wires is ok, right? I assume the soldered joint would be better than a brass crimp like whats used on the factory harness?

[enforcer]

Been a while since I owned my Intruder, so I doubt I'd be able to identify anything in that rat's nest, but here's a color wiring diagram.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/6wiv9 ... iagram.pdf

And any bad ground can melt, but it most likely just shorted. Test the fuel pump and relay to be sure.

Dude! That diagram rocks! Been looking at old scans that I can't read. That helps a lot.

I am pretty confident that my "Uknown" is supposed to be crimped into the negative battery cable at the battery connection, and it was pulled apart when the connector was removed. But I will keep digging. Thanks man very much!

P.s. planning on pulling apart the "ground joint", recutting the wires to remove corrosion on connection, and re-connecting them by soldering them all together and heat-shrinking. That's gonna be adequate to assure that THAT area of my common ground wires is ok, right? I assume the soldered joint would be better than a brass crimp like whats used on the factory harness?

Come to think of it, the negative lead is on that side. So, the larger gauge wire could be a supplemental ground wire attached to the negative lead would make sense.

Solder is preferred over crimped connections, but make sure to heat shrink and make it water tight no matter what you choose.

[WintrSol]

Solder is preferred over crimped connections, but make sure to heat shrink and make it water tight no matter what you choose.

A crimped connection made with a crimping tool calibrated for the job is better than solder, hands down, but how many of us have access to that? If you do use solder, make sure that there is enough wire loose to form a service loop, so tension and vibration don't cause it to fail.

[enforcer]

Solder is preferred over crimped connections, but make sure to heat shrink and make it water tight no matter what you choose.

A crimped connection made with a crimping tool calibrated for the job is better than solder, hands down, but how many of us have access to that? If you do use solder, make sure that there is enough wire loose to form a service loop, so tension and vibration don't cause it to fail.

Exactly. A good solder and heat shrink job is my go to. Never been a fan of the service loop. If I felt like it was a point of excess stress, I'd lengthen the wire or run a whole new wire.

[B_Roost450f]

WintrSol & Enforcer, I can smell what you guys are steppin in!

Wiring is actually one of my stronger suits, I'm always learning but my jobs come out well.
Worked for years at a Polaris dealership and picked up some good habits.

Looking forward to it cooling down around here so I can really spend some time getting everything routed and organized. I have some good ideas. I will see what I can get done tonight/tomorrow and I will let you fellers know!

But my battery cables and starter lead cable are on backorder from Motorsport.com, should be here by August 9th I think it said?
Still gotta order a new battery too (Using my XS650 battery to test the system until I get the right one up in the battery box) I was just gonna grab one of the Yuasa Yumicron batteries, or should I go for something else? Heard the G-Batts were awesome, not sure if I wanna go sealed, never had bad times with vented acid batteries as long as I ride the bike often enough.

[WintrSol]

Heard the G-Batts were awesome, not sure if I wanna go sealed, never had bad times with vented acid batteries as long as I ride the bike often enough.

In the stock configuration, sealed AGM batteries are great - dropping a battery several times a season to check and add water is just a PITA on this bike. As long as the regulator doesn't fail and overcharge it, a good AGM will last longer, even without a maintainer.

[enforcer]

Heard the G-Batts were awesome, not sure if I wanna go sealed, never had bad times with vented acid batteries as long as I ride the bike often enough.

In the stock configuration, sealed AGM batteries are great - dropping a battery several times a season to check and add water is just a PITA on this bike. As long as the regulator doesn't fail and overcharge it, a good AGM will last longer, even without a maintainer.

∆This.

And they are cheap on eBay. About $40.

[B_Roost450f]

In the stock configuration, sealed AGM batteries are great - dropping a battery several times a season to check and add water is just a PITA on this bike. As long as the regulator doesn't fail and overcharge it, a good AGM will last longer, even without a maintainer.

Ok I would rock an AGM then, any suggested brands? Brands I need to stay away from?

Also... I confirmed today that my B/W "Uknown" did indeed tie into the negative battery cable at the battery connection.
The new negative battery lead I ordered comes with a larger gauge B/W coming off the battery connection with a plug that goes right into it. After I patch the melted ground from the fuel pump, the wiring harness will be complete and un-molested once again!

[WintrSol]

On the old, purple site, a torture test was done on an assortment of AGM batteries, and the G-batt and MotoBatt were running on top of the rest. One other brand failed miserable, but the others fell on the pretty good line. I put a MotoBatt in my VS800, and it showed no sign of weakening after 3 years; bike is now in Indiana.

[enforcer]

Ran a cheap $40 eBay battery for 5 years. Still running strong when I traded it in. Just notice the bike is up for sale again on CL. Talked to the new owner. He said it still starts up, first push. Same battery, 6 years later.

[Swcoinguy]

I prefer Motobatt. I have a Gbat in my C90 and although there's nothing bad about it I can't justify the extra money I spent for it. I run Motobatt's in all my other bikes and when the time comes I'll be replacing the Gbat with a Motobatt. My wife's C90 is probably the next battery I'll be replacing and it's going to be a Motobatt 100%. I can't say there aren't other batteries out there that will work fine but in many years of motorcycle starting I've not had a Motobatt crap out early.

[enforcer]

I prefer Motobatt. I have a Gbat in my C90 and although there's nothing bad about it I can't justify the extra money I spent for it. I run Motobatt's in all my other bikes and when the time comes I'll be replacing the Gbat with a Motobatt. My wife's C90 is probably the next battery I'll be replacing and it's going to be a Motobatt 100%. I can't say there aren't other batteries out there that will work fine but in many years of motorcycle starting I've not had a Motobatt crap out early.

Keith had a brand new one fail. Amazon made good one l on it but it just goes to show any battery can give up at any time. The key is a battery maintainer.

[Swcoinguy]

I agree, my Gbat is less than a year old and the other day it hesitated to push through the first compression stroke but it did go and I haven't had an issue with it since. I only use a maintainer if I'm not riding for a couple weeks or more(which rarely happens). I just got my mini LED volt meters in the mail and once I get one mounted I'll know the true condition of it. Fingers crossed.

[B_Roost450f]

Forgot who suggested this battery, but anyone have any experience with these Scorpion AGM batteries?
Reviews seem good and the price is decent..

https://www.batterystuff.com/powersport ... -BS-1.html

[WintrSol]

No matter which battery one uses, it is really important to ensure clean connections. I replaced the battery in my CB450, because the CCA measurement had dropped. The new battery tested fine, but the engine didn't crank that much better, so I connected the CCA meter from the (+) battery terminal to the starter motor case, and the measured CCA dropped over 20%. I pulled and thoroughly cleaned the terminal on the large ground wire and engine case with DeOxit, making sure no paint was in the way, and the CCA measurement was then almost the same as at the (-) battery terminal; the engine cranks like new now.

[B_Roost450f]

No matter which battery one uses, it is really important to ensure clean connections. I replaced the battery in my CB450, because the CCA measurement had dropped. The new battery tested fine, but the engine didn't crank that much better, so I connected the CCA meter from the (+) battery terminal to the starter motor case, and the measured CCA dropped over 20%. I pulled and thoroughly cleaned the terminal on the large ground wire and engine case with DeOxit, making sure no paint was in the way, and the CCA measurement was then almost the same as at the (-) battery terminal; the engine cranks like new now.

^^^ I felt this coming when I first got the bike. Battery leads were toast. Ordered replacement positive and negative battery leads, and a new starter lead. Currently going through and cleaning connections. I will post a big update when I get it back together and cranking over

[enforcer]

Forgot who suggested this battery, but anyone have any experience with these Scorpion AGM batteries?
Reviews seem good and the price is decent..

https://www.batterystuff.com/powersport ... -BS-1.html

Rebranded generic AGMs. eBay is full of them. And you can save yourself $25 more.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272178170561

[B_Roost450f]

Rebranded generic AGMs. eBay is full of them. And you can save yourself $25 more.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272178170561

Finally ordered a battery, it should be here today. Went with this:



So thanks Enforcer for the suggestion! This should get me going for now & it was cheap.


As for the rest of my bike, my wiring harness is back together. I got a weller soldering gun and took the factory joint where the black/white wires were crimped, heated it, and tinned/solered it all together. Wrapped everything up, hooked a spare battery up to it just to check, and everything is working 100%. Lights, blinkers, indicators, everything. My starting solenoid isn't turning my starter over, I think it's either not grounded well or I need to spend the money on the real OEM Suzuki solenoid. Working on that this weekend and I will let you all know.