footgoose Posted June 14, 2015 Posted June 14, 2015 During a fast ride yesterday, the Tenni (at speed) popped a 15a fuse labled with the switch icon. 4th back, I think. I assume this is the ignition switch circuit. Replaced fuse, popped again in 3 min, popped again in 3 seconds. Something's amiss, trailer home, thanks to good friends. I've done my forum searches and can't pull up anything specific to that fuse, but have made a list to check the usual related stuff, ie grounds, relay block connections, loose wires etc. Before I begin, I wanted to check here to see if it's a scenario anyone else has experienced. She has 11k miles and it's the first electrical problem. The only mods are BMC, FBF cross, PCIII. & dyno'd 2k mi. ago. I did recently go through the guages and replaced some bulbs, the idiot bulb carrier, and the rubber dash mounts. I don't see alot going wrong there, but.....? I also had the coil mounts loose to re-do the breather tube. thanks
stewgnu Posted June 14, 2015 Posted June 14, 2015 Yes, ignition switch- isn't it normally fitted with a 10a fuse??A couple of the the Clever Electrickery Eggs'll be along to enlighten you soon enough. Sounds like you disturbed a lot of the wiring etc, might be worth going through it and checking nothing's pinched or come loose? Stew
footgoose Posted June 14, 2015 Author Posted June 14, 2015 I've seen posts where it requires a 10a, but my fuse block shows it s/b 15a. must be a 'year' change.
Kiwi_Roy Posted June 15, 2015 Posted June 15, 2015 You replaced some idiot lights, the problem might be in there, those lampholders are horrible. Not all lamps have the contact the same I had mine short out when I plugged LEDs in, some lamps have a double sided contact but the rubber holders are set up for a single sided one. Heres a write up I did back when I first bought my V11 Sport, I tried replacing the lamps with LEDs and started blowing fuses. The first thing I do now is throw away the lampholders and glue in the 194 LEDs, they will last forever so they don't need sockets and are much brighter than original. Take note about the low fuel light. When I'm trying to find an intermittent short I replace the fuse with a high wattage lamp (unplug the ECU for safety). The lamp will be off or at partial brightness. Wiggle the wires and when you create a short the lamp will flash to full brightness. You can split the ignition circuit up quite a bit, if you unplug fuse 6, 7 & 8 they are fed in series with fuse 4 (they are supposed to be 5A so should normally blow without taking out fuse 4 Stand Switch Tail area The ignition switch itself, often the wires snap off where soldered
docc Posted June 15, 2015 Posted June 15, 2015 The ignition switch itself, often the wires snap off where soldered +1 Kiwi_Roy is the champion of this discovery. Certainly, one of the Top Three Achilles' Heels of the V11.
footgoose Posted June 16, 2015 Author Posted June 16, 2015 thanks gents. work has got me too busy. It will take me a week or two to do the list you've given me. I will complete that and check back in with whatever I find. when I think back to the incident, vibration seems to be a factor.
footgoose Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 So I've finally had some time to start looking. I pulled the dash apart, and the ign switch, and all "looks" solid. I then got a 15a breaker for the fuse slot (probably should have done this first) and turned on the key. Dash lights are on for 1 second with a flicker, and pop. I did this several times while pulling the other fuses. Then I realize the fuel pump had never tried to start. I could be imagining, but the wires at the pump seemed warm. I elected to stop while I was behind and search the forum. Came up with this thread for testing fuel pump, etc. I am very shaky electric-wise, (obvious) but think this be the direction of my pursuit. Any thoughts? Can I pull the pump and just bench test directly? http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18763&hl=%20test%20%20fuel%20%20pump&page=1 I'm kinda glad it seems such a dead short. Makes me feel more confident of actually finding it. My greatest fear is the problem stealth correcting, and not knowing what it was.
footgoose Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 lol. thankfully I can laugh at this. My "at speed" ride put me at the ton+, at which time the kickstand switch wire, which had become loose, blew back to the head pipe, melted the insulation, and shorted the circuit. My rest stop and hot pipe let the wire drop away allowing a restart, only to blow back and touch the now bare wire to pipe. Since the pipe had cooled, the melted insulation now stuck the wire to the pipe. Routed in such a way to be mostly out of sight. I saw it looking under from the other side. Lucky me. Funnier yet, I wasn't even working on it. Just walking past, I thought... what the hell can it be??, dropped to my knees and ... holy crap! So, thanks all. I have learned much. I will (hopefully) save all recommended maintenance/improvements till winter. First job.... eliminate kick "safety" switch. What's the best shop manual for my impending purchase?
Kiwi_Roy Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 Glad you figured it out, see elect rickety is not so scary after all, serves you right for going so fast, I would never do that LOL. It's the main reason I ride my older Guzzis the most.The VII Sport will get me into serious trouble.
docc Posted November 3, 2015 Posted November 3, 2015 How many Achilles' Heels can one bike have? Good find!
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