Dumb Electrical Question

[LowRyter]

I'm quite embarrassed to ask and to explain the circumstances for this inquiry but here goes.  I had my Ducati on the rearstand and tried to push it a foot or so to get the stand off the cellar doors built in my garage floor.  Well, the sidestand folded, the bike fell over, chaos ensued.  Luckily (or not) the rear stand protected all the under bits and the only obvious damage was a severely bent clutch lever and functionally, the clutch safety microswitch. 

I was able to pick up a new lever from the dealer but the microswitch is being ordered (too bad there's no Harper's Ducati).  Anyway, here's the rub.  The dang switch doesn't have connect to the microswitch, it's hard wired in one piece with the connector at the end of the pigtail, where it connects buried somewhere into the bike.  On my Ducati board, I was informed that the connection is under the headlight and requires removing the mirrors, windshield brackets and front cowl body work to gain access. 

My idea is just to cut the wires and splice them together from the new microswitch to the existing wiring.  I'd guess these are two 20-22 gauge wires connecting the switch.  Would it be best to splice them with crimps and sleeves or install snap automotive connectors to both sides?  Or don't do either and spend hours taking the front of the bike apart and hope I don't ham-handedly break something else? 

Obviously I need to make sure the connection is durable and weather proof. 

The whole idea that Ducati would make a one piece switch and pigtail is so infuriating to me that my language would likely make Lucky Phil blush and Pete Roper join the clergy! 

I'm glad I got all of this out of my system.  

[MartyNZ]

45 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

... splice them with crimps and sleeves...

Obviously I need to make sure the connection is durable and weather proof. 

Sorry to hear about your tip over. I blamed the dog when it happened to me. 

 I'd crimp and sleeve. Also I would slide some heat shrink tubing over the wire (before you finish crimping).

Even better is the type of sleeving that has glue in it that completely seals the joint when heated.

[LowRyter]

Thanks Marty.  That was my thinking.   

[bbolesaz]

For fine gauge wire, just solder them together with some heat shrink tubing over the joint.  Any kind of crimp or connector will run too much risk of vibration breaking the wires.   When I do this, I queue 2 sections of heat shrink one each to the right and left of the joint.  Twist the wires together and solder.  Move one of the H shrink tubes over the joint an shrink it. Then move the other over and shrink that. 2 layers of H shrink will really protect the solder joint from vibration.

[LowRyter]

well I hate to broadcast even more of my stupidity and embarrassment but I have to confess that I actually fixed the offending microswitch but forgot to take up the sidestand during my testing.  

So the bike freakin' bike works now.

Of course on my Greenie, it wouldn't be a problem since the sidestand switch no longer provides safety and is no longer procurable.   So there's that.

 

[p6x]

As for the root cause of the incident, something similar happened to me; it is a strong reminder that we should always use the "step back 5 x 5" principle.

Not to patronize or anything, but the step back 5 x 5 is something they teach us in the oilfield.

Before you do anything, take 5 steps back, and think about what could happen with what you are planning to do for 5'; then do it after you have mentally confirm that you are doing it the right way.

As for the side stand, my tip is to never assume you have a safety switch on any of them.

You know when we learn to drive cars in Europe, we only had mechanical gear boxes. And one of the first step is to check that your gear shifter is in neutral before you start the engine. During the driving test, forgetting this step means elimination and back to learning.

When I arrived in Houston, I had never driven an automatic. The first car I purchased was a Honda S2000, and to start the engine, neutral or not, I had to depress the clutch. It is the same with my Porsche 911. To start the engine, I need to clutch in.

I do clutch in, but not before I have checked that I am in neutral. Since the "clutch in" serves no real purpose in my mind, releasing after the start would still put the car in motion if I was not in neutral.

Soooo... what's the point of clutching in before starting the engine?

[docc]

"Before you do anything, take 5 steps back, and think about what could happen with what you are planning to do for 5' . . . "

Is this to say "five minutes" or "five feet?"

[LowRyter]

Why clutch it?  I don't know the purpose but it does put less stress on the starter and battery.

[LowRyter]

12 minutes ago, docc said:

"Before you do anything, take 5 steps back, and think about what could happen with what you are planning to do for 5' . . . "

Is this to say "five minutes" or "five feet?"

for sure, I think that's the lesson here.  OTOH, when it's a 100 degrees, tired, frustrated and a little panicked, that's the result.  The next day, after I ordered a new switch, it occurred to me what I had done.  So I went to the garage and the bike started.

Sometimes we get into a loop by committing the same error, over and over again.  I recently took my car to get a tire pressure sensor replaced and the tech couldn't reprogram it.  He blamed my key fob.  And when I brought him the 2nd key fob it, it failed too.  He called one of the local dealership service shops and talked to them but still couldn't get it work, gave up and told me I needed new key fobs.  It was obvious to me the error was his.  I went to the car dealer a couple miles away, I asked the service writer to program it, he agreed.  I went to the showroom but saw no new Corvettes, so I went right back.  My car was ready and fixed, I gave the tech a $5 tip since there was no charge.  Took him two minutes.

 

Same happened to me when my employer gave me a Blackberry phone.  The only drawback was 12 place password with each type of character and case.  But the bugaboo, the p/w had to be changed every three months.  The only way to work it was with muscle memory with your thumbs.  Invariable, every time the password needed to be changed was when I was on a business trip.  No matter how many times, I would successfully change my p/w (usually after several fails), I could never repeat it when I tried to use the phone, fail on three attempts and my phone was locked.  No IT dept on the road to fix it.

[p6x]

11 minutes ago, docc said:

"Before you do anything, take 5 steps back, and think about what could happen with what you are planning to do for 5' . . . "

Is this to say "five minutes" or "five feet?"

Both; it is called step back five by five;

Say you approach your bike to do something: you take five steps back, meaning you don't do anything right away.

Whatever you are supposed to do, you think about what could go wrong no more than 5 minutes, but it should be sufficient for you to foresee...

We do that before we open a well to the processing equipment for example. Are we properly lined up, is the correct choke installed, and so on...

[docc]

That is a great concept! 

[p6x]

32 minutes ago, docc said:

That is a great concept! 

And I apply all these concepts in my everyday life.

When I dropped my Le Mans, I had done the 5 by 5 before, and I had foreseen the possibility of losing control and dropping it...

I went ahead anyway...

Experience helps you recognize a mistake when you make it again!!!!