I must have made the monkey mad

[Fire-medic]

Just fix the stuff you found and go from there. Sounds like you need to disassemble the molded electrical connectors and clean the connections. After-all, it's 26 years old, plenty of time for corrosion to do its work. And just because you clean it doesn't mean the wire has not parted-company someplace inside the pvc jacket! Use a buzzer continuity tester on your multimeter and flex the individual wires outside of the plastic connector block (remove the wires from the connector block w/a thin blade screwdriver) to check for unseen internal breaks, the insulation appears intact, but the conductor breaks. You may be surprised at what you cannot see but that which is broken inside, causing your sporadic operation. I had that exact problem on my FZR1000, which is roughly-comparable in age. One of the fuel pump leads was broken internally at the point where the crimp was (stock fitting) and caused the pump to run intermittently.

I use a variety of wire brushes on my Dremel to clean both conductors. I also am going to try some baking soda in my Harbor Freight media blaster on some connectors.

 

[a113ycat]

I actually have a 1300 Venture motor sitting in my shop. Its a nice bike though it would be a shame to cannibalize it. But we gotta feed the beast right? I am going to have to give it some thought for sure. I spoke to Sean briefly about this but it does sound pricey. I have gasket sets for this bike as well as a lot of other bits that I have collected over the years in my inventory. I will likely do some pretty good mods to it while its down but that will depend on the help I get here and whether or not Sean or one of the other advanced mechanics here would be willing to do some work for me.

 

[a113ycat]

Just fix the stuff you found and go from there. Sounds like you need to disassemble the molded electrical connectors and clean the connections. After-all, it's 26 years old, plenty of time for corrosion to do its work. And just because you clean it doesn't mean the wire has not parted-company someplace inside the pvc jacket! Use a buzzer continuity tester on your multimeter and flex the individual wires outside of the plastic connector block (remove the wires from the connector block w/a thin blade screwdriver) to check for unseen internal breaks, the insulation appears intact, but the conductor breaks. You may be surprised at what you cannot see but that which is broken inside, causing your sporadic operation. I had that exact problem on my FZR1000, which is roughly-comparable in age. One of the fuel pump leads was broken internally at the point where the crimp was (stock fitting) and caused the pump to run intermittently.

I use a variety of wire brushes on my Dremel to clean both conductors. I also am going to try some baking soda in my Harbor Freight media blaster on some connectors.

At some point someone over the years had added a device from Sears that shows continuous power looks like a battery tender but not like any Ive ever seen. I thought it was an alarm at first but once I got a closer look at it it is not. Ill have to remove the battery to get it out its tucked in by the fuel tank behind the battery box. The wires coming off of it are melted. GRR We are defiantly going to follow your advice on the wire testing.

 

[Fire-medic]

I am not a mechanic. There are many people on here who make their livings trouble-shooting other people's internal-combustion problems. They are often willing to assist you, or any member humble-enough to ask for advice and assistance. Having faced some issues along the way in my own 45 years' of dealing with incalcitrant, malfunctioning vehicles, I can tell you from experience what has worked, or not, for me.

One of the pieces of advice my father offered me when I volunteered to begin working on family cars, was, "within reason, don't force anything. There is a cause and effect for whatever you do. If you don't know, find someone who does, and listen to them." Of course in my own stubborn way at times I made things harder than they had to be, but over time, I have found his advice to be of great benefit.

An enemy of electrical function is corrosion, or oxidation, or whatever you wish to call it. Stranded conductors have more surface area to conduct, but are more-prone to breakage because of their thin gauge. However, in places where the movement of wiring may occur, the solid conductors will fatigue and fail well-before the point-of-failure of the stranded comductors. When you have pollution, dirt, gasoline, oil, sunlight, all these things can contribute to deterioration of the conductor or its insulation and especially any connectors. I bet that if you methodically go through your wiring harness you are going to find a number of other failed points of conduction, which interfere with 'patent' electrical circuits. Yes, it's tedious work, but when you are done, you will be able to restore operational performance to the systems controlled by your electrical wiring. Remember, just because it looks OK from the outside doesn't mean there isn't a problem on the inside. At the very least, disconnect your connectors, clean them, hook one lead from your multimeter to one end and the other lead to the opposite end, and with the audible continuity function activated, flex your wires individually along their paths to find the ones which are hiding shorts, dirty connections, and intermittent contact from you. Remember that the crimps are notorious for being 'weak links' as are connectors. Good luck.

 

[johnpclynch]

I had some corroded lines to my coils as mentioned above, causing intermittent
spark

 

[Fire-medic]

'johnplynch' posted a great pic! He deserves this:

 

[bazwell]

I had some corroded lines to my coils as mentioned above, causing intermittent
spark

I bet you're happy now!

This thread is a great read. From describing symptoms, giving possible causes, ruling some out, testing and finding the problem. This forum is an indication of the best part of human nature!

That problem, those wiring connectors, is not an easy thing to diagnose!

Well done. I hope it works! unk:

 

[88vmx12]

I had some corroded lines to my coils as mentioned above, causing intermittent
spark

If you need new connectors I should have them. Let me know :confused2:

Thanks G

 

[a113ycat]

If you need new connectors I should have them. Let me know :confused2:

Thanks G

Definitely Going to need some connectors. We found some pretty bad wiring in the harness where good ideas went bed over the years. I Just got home from a trip and have a lot of catching up to do at work. We did get some things opened up on the Max and apparently there was some "shady tree mechanicing" done over the years to my bike. Ill post pics today or tomorrow to show you guys what Im talking about...:damn angry::damn angry:

 

[a113ycat]

Well it was Christmas early Thanks Sean!! You are the MAN!!! Now all I have to do is everything else:rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:

 

[a113ycat]

I GOT IT!!!! YAY and WOW!!!:clapping::clapping:
7 hours of work today on my 85 and it is so tight that is is squeaking!
This is what we did...
1. Went through the carbs again:bang head::bang head:
2 Found a hole in the fuel line:bang head:
3 crap in the filter (cleaned it):damn angry:
4 Remove a battery charger that was robbing power from the battery (pic included):bang head::damn angry::confused2:
5 Cleaned every connection on the harness:eusa_dance:
6 Made 3 new connections that were melting (at the main fuse and coils dirty bad bad):damn angry:
7 Found several missing bolts and nuts:bang head::bang head:
8 installed the super trapp exhaust ( Thanks Sean):clapping::worthy:unk:
9 Detailed the HELL out of itunk:
10 Rode the HELL out of itunk:

everything works great now.....

 

[one2dmax]

Congrats!

 

[bazwell]

Cooool! unk:

 

[ninjaneer]

something caught my eye on the front of your bike. what is that hanging over the headlight? is that the frame for a windshield/fly screen? i like the look...i think...at least from the pics. if so, is it the frame for an OEM windshield?

oh almost forgot!

 

[a113ycat]

something caught my eye on the front of your bike. what is that hanging over the headlight? is that the frame for a windshield/fly screen? i like the look...i think...at least from the pics. if so, is it the frame for an OEM windshield?

Yep that is the mount frame for the OEM screen.. I was going to remove it when I couldn't find a replacement but it grew on me, so I left it there, I think it adds a little something....Not sure if that is good or bad but it adds it:rofl_200:

 

[ninjaneer]

Yep that is the mount frame for the OEM screen.. I was going to remove it when I couldn't find a replacement but it grew on me, so I left it there, I think it adds a little something....Not sure if that is good or bad but it adds it:rofl_200:

ya, it's like a bushy furled eyebrow that has "don't eff with me" vibe :rofl_200:. something's been missing from my bike front profile. maybe this is it. i'm gonna give it a try.

 

[johnpclynch]

Yep that is the mount frame for the OEM screen.. I was going to remove it when I couldn't find a replacement but it grew on me, so I left it there, I think it adds a little something....Not sure if that is good or bad but it adds it:rofl_200:

Kinda reminds me of Buffalo horns :biglaugh:
can you tilt it forward and down a bit?

 

[a113ycat]

Kinda reminds me of Buffalo horns :biglaugh:
can you tilt it forward and down a bit?

I looked at it and if it goes tipped down any more than it is it is against the top of the headlight case.

Hey I am in Texas...It may be a subliminal Longhorn thing:confused2:We take our horns serious down here!!:rofl_200:

 

[Barry barker]

Great!! You wonder how the bike ran before with the combination of poor ideas and workmanship from the previous owner. That was a lot of gremlins to flush out. Good work:clapping:

 

[a113ycat]

Great!! You wonder how the bike ran before with the combination of poor ideas and workmanship from the previous owner. That was a lot of gremlins to flush out. Good work:clapping:

I ran ok when I got it ( I thought it ran great) but after I got it all fixed its like night and day!! I was getting to the point where selling it or using it for parts was becoming an attractive idea. Now Im like "WTF was I thinking!" Im glad I took the advice provided here on this forum and did the work. No regrets.