Electrical System Update

[Richard & Lisa White <RedRiders@xxxxxxx>]

>  David J. Hughes wrote:
>
> >I had a serious electrical fault about a week ago.  Rode her to work and
> >after parking I noticed that the dash lights were on - but I had the key
> >in my hand.  Further investigation showed that if I turned the bars, the
> >park light would come on and dim at various points in the turn.  Turning
> >the light's off on the dash made no impact on the little light on the
> >nose.

Rich Weyand wrote:

> Lisa, inspect the wiring harness around the steering head.  Anywhere you
> find insulation worn away, tape it up.  The metal wire takes a long time
> to wear through: it'll still be OK.  Then reroute the wire, look for sharp
> metal edges, etcetcetc. to avoid recurrence.

Update:

I went out and looked at the ST a little more after work tonight, before reading
the e-mails, and found the problem. - at least part of it (I'll explain).  I
looked around many of the wiring harnesses up front and could not find any
obvious "hot spots".  So, I put the key in and turned it to the on position.
Immediately there was a plume of smoke and a glowing wire near the ignition
switch.  I immediately turned the key off, only to find the dash lights stayed
on (funny they weren't working last night) and the glowing hot spot stay that
way briefly before going away (with the lights still on).  I quickly removed the
seat and disconnected the battery fearing a possible fire if left too long.

Looking at the wiring harness a little more, it was obvious there is a problem
that I suggest everyone look into on their ride.  On our ST (and I suspect David
Hughes' and everyone else's), the harness that exits the bottom of the ignition
switch is routed back upwards and "tied off" to the mounting bracket before
turning to go back downwards.  Right there near the twisty-tie, the clutch cable
pinches the wiring harness against the bracket, especially when the bike is
turned hard left (as in the steering wheel lock position).  I suspect many other
bikes will suffer the same consequences unless the harness is repositioned.  I'm
just glad it didn't happen once underway on one of our planned trips.

I believe this could only be part of the problem, because I can not explain yet
why the 5 amp fuse (side and rear lights) blew.  I checked all lights last night
before turning the key to the off position and checking the fuses.  Only the
dash lights, rear running light, and the crescent shaped front light were off
(and they were on tonight, even when they shouldn't be).  If I understand the
fuse diagram, the blown fuse should have affected the brake lights and turn
signals off.  The best explanation that I can come up with is that  the fuse
blew AFTER I looked at the lights.  Perhaps this resulted from a crossed
connection at the "hot spot" near the ignition switch.

In any case, I suspect this is a problem that can be easily rectified, but if
left unattended, may strand a bike on the road and possibly even cause a fire
(sorry - don't mean to sound TOO alarmist) if unnoticed when the bike is put
away over night with the culprit connection still HOT!  I suggest Triumph look
into the problem and consider a recall on these bikes if this is the standard
wire routing as it could happen at the worst of times.  I will see if my dealer
agrees when I deliver the bike at their door tomorrow and keep the list posted

Rich Weyand wrote:

> Anywhere you find insulation worn away, tape it up.  The metal wire takes a
> long time
> to wear through: it'll still be OK.  Then reroute the wire, look for sharp
> metal edges, etcetcetc. to avoid recurrence.

Rich, I hope you would agree that I should not have to worry about worn
insulation after only 1300 miles.   I especially do not believe I should have to
worry about inspecting all wiring routing to ensure there is not a similar
problem elsewhere on the bike.  I paid Triumph to take care of this since it is
a new bike.

Happy Trails,

Richard White
Soon to have ST #2 in the family.  YEE-HAW!!  (it's a southern thang).




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