Blown fuse | GTAMotorcycle.com

Blown fuse

Joe Bass

*probably eating right now*
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So took the bike out for a boot today. On the way back, all my lights went out...N, headlights, brakes, signals....now the 15a fuse that did all the lights was blown. The 10a that covers the headlights was ok, but they were not working.
Now the po may have effed up some wiring, and I will one day deal with that, but since I resolved the headlight issue a few years ago, all was good until I parked the bike. In the few times I got the bike out since, no issues.
Now my understanding is that this is usually caused by a bad ground. If so, my best course of action is.....?
And, the battery that was in the bike was a YTX14-BS. When I bought the new one at Interstate, they told me to now use a FAYTX14-BS (iirc) and that is what I bought. Could that be an issue

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So took the bike out for a boot today. On the way back, all my lights went out...N, headlights, brakes, signals....now the 15a fuse that did all the lights was blown. The 10a that covers the headlights was ok, but they were not working.
Now the po may have effed up some wiring, and I will one day deal with that, but since I resolved the headlight issue a few years ago, all was good until I parked the bike. In the few times I got the bike out since, no issues.
Now my understanding is that this is usually caused by a bad ground. If so, my best course of action is.....?
And, the battery that was in the bike was a YTX14-BS. When I bought the new one at Interstate, they told me to now use a FX14-BS (iirc) and that is what I bought. Could that be an issue

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Joe are you near the bike? Can you double-check the battery code and the make just to be sure?

Could just be a bad fuse.

Install a new one and see if the issue disappears.

Could also be corrosion in the fuse box or at any other connection and/or ground.

If the bike has been sitting for a while or has seldom been used, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check each connection...spray it with some electrical contact cleaner (Cdn Tire), coat the connection with dilectric grease and reconnect the wires.

After you have cleaned up all the connections...

If you have a multimeter, with the bike in neutral, check voltage across the battery terminals at idle and watch what happens when you increase the throttle. It should level out at some point (guessing 14.5 to 14.75 volts? You would have to check what is spec for your particular bike). If it doesn’t level out where it is supposed to and keeps on climbing, stop the bike and post back here the results.

Fingers crossed it’s just something simple.


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"And, the battery that was in the bike was a YTX14-BS. When I bought the new one at Interstate, they told me to now use a FX14-BS (iirc) and that is what I bought. Could that be an issue ?"

No - its just Interstate's code for the same battery.
 
That code doesn’t come up on interstate’s website.

I can find CYTX14-BS


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That code doesn’t come up on interstate’s website.

I can find CYTX14-BS


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@TK4 I corrected the battery model # in the op. It is FAYTX-14.
FYI the old battery (7 years old) was also an interstate.

I will pick up those items when I get some more fuses.

Also, I washed the bike yesterday. Hosed it down to rinse. I hope I didn't get too much overspray near the electrical bits.

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slightly different battery size/shape cannot be an issue
all they do is push 12V to whatever they are connected to

bad fuse is a possibility, but unlikley
after ruling that out, you have a short circuit to goround
washing can def cause this

changing the fuse may solve it if things have dried out
if not you're gonna have to chase down the circuit/device that is going to ground

can start by opening connections, dry them, clean with contact cleaner

and a bad ground will not cause a fuse to blow
 
I have a hard time imagining you ever blowing a fuse Joe.

Oh your bike. Right, carry on.
 
My money is on the wash getting water where the bike didn't like it. Stick it outside to dry out and pop in a new fuse.
 
Now my understanding is that this is usually caused by a bad ground.

This is not true. Fuses blow because the load downstream of the fuse exceeds the current rating of the fuse. This can be caused by overloading the circuit or by short circuits.

Excessive/over-loading:
This can occur if, say, auxiliary lights were added to the stock wiring and were powered through the OE fuse.

Short circuit:
Somewhere in the wiring, after the fuse, there is a break in the insulation and it's contacting the chassis. Could also be that multiple wires are damaged, one is a ground wire, the connection is occurring between the two. Shorts are often intermittent faults because they happen as the wire harness flexes and vibrates and moves and contact is made/broken seemingly at random. Shorts can occur when someone futzes with the wiring, uses poor means of connection and securement and/or fails to properly insulate their handi-work.
 
@Blackfin there is aux lights added. iirc they are tied into oem. However, they haven't caused this issue in the last 7 years....why now?

I'm thinking if the changing if the fuse and drying out doesn't solve it, I will need to re-inspect the rear signal wiring. The po changed location of the signals and where the wiring runs now, it may have made contact with the wheel. The good news is that I was planning to swap out those lights this year anyway. I may have to move up my timeline.

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All I can say is, the lights won't go dim when you hit the starter button unless there is power going somewhere!

Winter mouse damage maybe?
 
All I can say is, the lights won't go dim when you hit the starter button unless there is power going somewhere!

Winter mouse damage maybe?
Not dim, no lights at all. Still starts up np.
I have traps and ultrasonic traps set up so I don't think mice are the issue.

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First thing is put in a new fuse. Does it blow also. No -- maybe an intermittant issue Yes -- You have a wiring issue somewhere.

Question is have you tried the simplest solution first and replaced the fuse???
 
Not yet, as I haven't had a chance to buy some more 15a. I've got a ton of 10a kicking around.

I did reach under the rear fender to check the wiring of the left rear signal, as this is where I thought that the problem would be. And sure enough, there is a part of the wiring that has the copper exposed.
Hopefully this is the culprit.
I will tape and heat shrink this up, add a new fuse and report back.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to secure the wiring to the inside of the rear fender?
First thing is put in a new fuse. Does it blow also. No -- maybe an intermittant issue Yes -- You have a wiring issue somewhere.

Question is have you tried the simplest solution first and replaced the fuse???

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Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to secure the wiring to the inside of the rear fender?

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Pics? I have used tape, zipties, stick on clips or tiewire before. A lot depends on what you have to attach to.
 
Pics? I have used tape, zipties, stick on clips or tiewire before. A lot depends on what you have to attach to.
Will get some this weekend. There is pretty much nothing in there. Was thinking of those peel and stick cable clips that use a zip tie.

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Not yet, as I haven't had a chance to buy some more 15a. I've got a ton of 10a kicking around.

I did reach under the rear fender to check the wiring of the left rear signal, as this is where I thought that the problem would be. And sure enough, there is a part of the wiring that has the copper exposed.
Hopefully this is the culprit.
I will tape and heat shrink this up, add a new fuse and report back.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to secure the wiring to the inside of the rear fender?

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Same thing happened to my dad's victory. When my mom rode two up the rear fender was contacting the tire over bumps and it wore through the wire insulation. I fixed the wiring and then wrapped it with a wire loom to protect it.
Let me know if you need help with the bike, I'll shoot down from Barrie.

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Not yet, as I haven't had a chance to buy some more 15a. I've got a ton of 10a kicking around.

I did reach under the rear fender to check the wiring of the left rear signal, as this is where I thought that the problem would be. And sure enough, there is a part of the wiring that has the copper exposed.
Hopefully this is the culprit.
I will tape and heat shrink this up, add a new fuse and report back.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to secure the wiring to the inside of the rear fender?

Sent from my purple G4 using Tapatalk

Maybe consider re-routing the wiring so it doesn’t run under the rear fender. Might be the best long-term (and safest) option Joe.


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Maybe consider re-routing the wiring so it doesn’t run under the rear fender. Might be the best long-term (and safest) option Joe.


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This is probably gonna be the end result.

@Iceman -- thanks, I just may have to take you up on that.

@JavaFan, the drilling is what I am trying to avoid. Was considering some sort of adhesive.



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