Charging issue resolved (was Con-fuse-ion)

[nwguy]

My 99 Bassa stopped running while on a short ride to warm it up prior to fluid changes. I coasted into a gas station and put 2 more gallons in since it was low on gas. Wouldn't start; just a ticking noise. So the battery seemed dead. Walked it a few blocks home and put a charger on it. Battery was fine before, now the charger light didn't go from orange to green, but did charge enough to start the bike again. It ran fine. So, the battery's not getting charged while riding. Am diagnosing that per stuff I've read and watched. More later on this no doubt.

However, I looked at the wiring diagram for a 2000 Jackal I've been using. It shows 7 rather than 6 fuses like I have. It also shows fuses of varying amps rather than all being 15 amps as I have. Have been pulling fuses to test and have found this so far:

1 ?
2 Tail lights, turn indicator
3 Starter, horn, high/low beam light
4 ?
5 ?
6 Fuel pump

Legend from California V1100 service manual:



Legend from 2000 Jackal wiring diagram:


Mine seems to more closely match the Jackal legend. I figured I should know what fuses control what before diagnosing the charging issue further. Can anyone tell me what each fuse controls? The legends are bit cryptic (Electric tap, Battery recharge, Keys switch, Plug socket). Note that I have all new relays from Dan Prunuske.

[StuCorpe]

The wiring diagram for a 2000 Bassa on Greg Benders site only shows 6 fuses.  It's a pdf file and can be downloaded.  thisoldtractor.com

[nwguy]

Thanks. I found a better workshop manual that what I was using. Its fuse layout looks most accurate.

[Kiwi_Roy]

Sounds like a dirty connection

[nwguy]

Sounds like a dirty connection

Maybe. I rode it home maybe 100 miles in April when I bought it. Must be something I did during my restoration. I cleaned every electrical contact I could with fine sandpaper, Deoxit, etc. Will try these tests today.

[nwguy]

I found the charging issue. The red wire coming out of the voltage regulator's left side plug was loose. The wiring diagram shows this as the wire feeding power back to the battery. It has a pin connector up by the coils. The pin has slots at the tip to make it grip the female part of that plug, but they had bent inwards so it didn't fit tightly. The prior owner had wrapped this in vinyl tape, but no doubt in my removal and reinstallation of the voltage regulator I pulled the wire loose. So,  I spread the slots a bit, cleaned everything up and Deoxit'd all contacts including the coils. I wanted to put heat shrink around this connection but didn't have the right size, so put new vinyl tape on it even though the pin fits more tightly. Now charges at a bit over 14 volts with the engine rev'd to a few thousand RPMs (no working tach right now).





Thanks for suggestions. I learned a lot from diagnosing this, going through the workshop manual's alternator testing procedure, checking resistance from plug wires to ground, studying the wiring diagram, etc.

On another electrical note, I thought my brake light wasn't working. After determining that power was getting to the bulb holder, I realized I had the hot wires reversed, so the tail light was using the brighter element and the brakes were using the dimmer one. It was actually working, but I couldn't see the dimmer filament coming on when applying brakes.

[Tom]

Good to hear that you resolved it.   

[Kiwi_Roy]

Good to hear that you resolved it.   

Your Electricians certificate is in the mail, good for you

[kballowe]

Good post, and thanks for the follow-up (and resolution)