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Thread: Broken wire at the steering head.

  1. #1
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    Broken wire at the steering head.

    Well it has been over 9 years and over 50K miles of reliability. Got caught in the rain and turn signals stopped working and now the tac and speedo needles are sweeping. Replaced the flasher relay and had no impact. I imagine there is a broken/shorting wire(s) at the steering head. Have not started and trying to get motivated to look at it. Has anyone tried to split the wiring bundle into 2 bundles? My opinion it is too big a bundle to be flexing all the time. Now have a winter project.

  2. #2
    The very first thing to do is check the ground leads at Chassis Ground #4. It is on the front of the frame.

    There are four ground wires in two pairs (IIRC) there. While the terminals don't seem to come loose, the wires can break inside the connection.

    The time-honored 'wiggle test' is very useful here.

  3. #3
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pushr0d View Post
    The very first thing to do is check the ground leads at Chassis Ground #4. It is on the front of the frame.
    I'm with this guy. But I would check AND CLEAN all of them. As well as the where the subframe mounts to the frame/tank.

    You can also use a car battery jumper cable to diagnose a bad ground by clamping one end directly to the negative battery terminal and then try clamping to the tree, engine or fuel tank/frame. If one of those has a flaky ground connection, this will call it out.

    One broken wire in the loom is likely not the issue to various problems arising at once, unless its a ground wire.

  4. #4
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    Thanks to you both. Will probably start on it tonight. I can barely see the cable so will first remove the fork legs, cock pit, gauges, etc... Might even put it on a lift to save from getting a pain the neck. Man I am getting old....

  5. #5
    Tbone- the ground 'lug' (#4, that is) is easy to reach - just remove the flyscreen. Access it from the front and either side. No need for removal of other pieces/parts.

  6. #6
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pushr0d View Post
    Tbone- the ground 'lug' (#4, that is) is easy to reach - just remove the flyscreen. Access it from the front and either side. No need for removal of other pieces/parts.

    Do you have a pic of that ground location? It must be specific to Ulysses models, as I've never seen it on a Lightning.

    Is it this?

    2.JPG 1.JPG
    Last edited by 34nineteen; 10-28-2020 at 09:52 PM.

  7. #7
    Unfortunately, no. I'll see about getting one today - we're getting a lot of Zeta spinoff rain.

  8. #8
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    Ok, I got it on the lift, fork legs off, headlight off, fly screen off, got the tons of electrical tape off the broken wires. Ground wires actually look and feel good. There is a brown wire and a black wire that is broken and they run the turn signals and gauges.
    I think somebody posted on here before how they re-organized all the wiring behind the fly screen?
    Brainstorming below:
    The bundle has got to go, maybe 3 smaller ones? The gray plastic anchor cover with 2 bolts looks cool from the side, but creates a disaster underneath and prolly have to go? This cover I guess anchors the cable there, which is a bad Idea? Think some kind of hoop should be there and allow the cable to move? The bundle comes out under gas tank, anyone know if it is anchored sufficiently there? Think I need some split sheathing that is rigid, that mesh stuff seems like it does not hold the cable enough, especially if I get rid of the cover?
    Anybody else done this? Seems like with the number of wire breaks and repairs I see, this is common.

  9. #9
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tbone View Post
    Seems like with the number of wire breaks and repairs I see, this is common.

    Remember, there are many more people riding their bikes without this problem, than there are with this problem. The stock setup was good for 15+ years and only a small percentage had issues. If you want to reinvent the wheel over that, go ahead... but I would just fix what is broken and ride on for another 10+ years.

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