Main fuse blowing

[gmac]

My son was riding a few days ago, called me and said everything was dead. Went over there (late for work again) and found the main fuse was blown. Put in the spare from the cover and off he went.  Today I get another call, he told me the fuse blew again, he put in a new one, and it blew that one too (about the time he was telling me this, I see him, not too far from home luckely).

I haven't had a chance to take the ohm meter to her, but can anyone give me and ideas on where to go, had to put a water pump in the wife's car tonight, need to put struts in the son's car tommorow, don't have a lot of time. It blows as soon as the ignition is turned on.

Anyone that has a wiring diagram that they could send me would be greatly appreciated.

Gary

[The Prophet of Doom]

RK Diagram on Lucky's site here
http://www.xz550.com/wiring_files/WiringDiagram.gif

RJ Diagram here
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BwZA_rCCJfHxZWJmMWQxYmQtYzBlNy00ZTc2LWI4MmQtM2RlYmQ4ODQ0ZjQ2&hl=en

[Rikugun]

I get an error message (Sorry, the page (or document) you have requested is not available.) when I try to view the Google doc RJ diagram. Anyone else?

[Rikugun]

gmac, as a first step maybe do a visual inspection (if you haven't allready) of the visible wires - right handlebar switch, coils, TCI, sidestand and starter cut off relay, etc. Is there any signs of heat in or around the fuse case? Was anything changed or added to the bike prior to the fuse blowing?

[Re-Vision]

Gary, the only things on the main fuse circuit of the eighty-three that are brought in when the ignition switch is turned on are the license lights and the tail/brake lights and of course the wiring between the ignition switch and the license,tail/brake lights.    BDC

[Tiger]

...Put in the spare from the cover and off he went.

:) Do you still have the oem fuse box installed...?? If so, you may not be getting a good contact any more. I would change it out...I use in-line modern blade fuse holders and fuses in "The Mistress" and all my rebuilds.

            8).......TIGER....... 8)

[The Prophet of Doom]

I get an error message (Sorry, the page (or document) you have requested is not available.) when I try to view the Google doc RJ diagram. Anyone else?

Should be ok now.  Sorry

[QBS]

gmac, if you are running the OEM fuse holder, what do the blown fuses physically look like?  Are they discolored or internally coated with a brown residue, with the fuse eleiment appearing to be intact?

[gmac]

Roro,

Thanks for the link!

Looked it over pretty well, short of removing the tank yet. Everything looks good, don't see any worn insulation and such.  Yes, I do have the stock fuse box yet, really really clean as the bike has been stored inside all of it's like, but the fuse box mod is probably not a bad idea.

No signs of any heat damage around the box, bike is completely stock like it came off the showroom floor.

QBS, fuse blows right in the middle, glass is clear, no discoloration. I bought a box of fuses from NAPA that are the same guage all the way through (as opposed to the originals that were thinner in the middle, when you turn the switch on they get red hot and blow within a second.

Thanks for all the suggestions, will start following wires tonight.

Gary

[Tiger]

 :) What amp are you using?? 30 amp is main...but some of the early fuse boxes had 20 amp printed on them  :o

          8).......TIGER....... 8)

[gmac]

30 Amp

[Tiger]

 :-\ Hmmmmmmm, the plot thickens :-\

If you can't find a short somewhere, here is a quick, easy and cheap, inexpensive check.

Pick up an in-line, blade style fuse holder and some 30amp fuses...remove the oem fuse and attach the in-line fuse holder to the two wires. Switch on and....Let us know.

          8).......TIGER....... 8)
ps I would still change out the oem fuse box, regardless ;)

[QBS]

If the oem fuse box is in good shape it can continue to used by applying preventive maintenace.  Use a nail with light grit sand paper wrapped around it to render the inside of each fuse holder prong to bright and shiney condition.  The, lightly coat the inside of each fuse holder prong with grease.  Install fuses as per usual and go on down the road.  After, of course, you locate your short.

[Re-Vision]

You might try removing all the fuses but the main and if it quits blowing main fuses try reinserting the other fuses alternately one at a time. Should be able to locate overload pretty quick this way.   BDC

[Re-Vision]

My bike is garage kept and has seven thousand miles on it. It hasn't been started in a month while I was on vacation, put the charger on it and got the engine running smooth. Next day I rolled it outside and it wouldn't even attempt to start. Fuse box clip wasn't making good contact with a fuse, springiness was gone. I still had an unused new fuse box and guess where it went.    BDC

[Night Vision]

I blew a main fuse coming back from Tiger's this spring..... when I turned the ignition on after a stop....

my problem was the connector in the headlight bucket from the ignition switch into the wiring harness had apparently taken some water on.... and shorted

my point being is that these 27 year old connectors need to be gone through and cleaned.... I did that, but the driving rain did me in.  I have since weather sealed the area between the glass and the headlight rim.... I seem to catch rain west of where I live

[gmac]

Bad news I think, if I unplug the R/R everything lights up fine, plug it back in and the fuse blows instantly.

Question is has anyone had their R/R short completely rather than fail, or could it be going through to a stator short?

Anyone got a spare R/R they want to get rid of cheap??

Thanks.

Gary

[QBS]

What is the condition of the regulator connector  It can be hard wired if nessessary.

[fret not]

This could be a good time to replace the original R/R with a more modern one with MOSFET  internals.  Also check that your battery is healthy, as a weak battery puts a huge load on the R/R and the stator.  One from a FJR '06 and newer, R1 '07 and newer, and CBR600RR '08 and newer will all work.  The CBR has leads very similar to the Vision, the others need some fitting of plugs and harness.  They are all good.  There are several others, I just don't have a list of them here.

[gmac]

Connector is perfect, battery is new.

I woldn't mind replacing it with a newer version, but after being unemployed for 6 months and underemployed for the 18 months since then things are a little tight.

Back to my original question, has anyone seen these with a dead short?