[fishhuntr1]

Had the TW out last weekend. I dropped it very softly on a tight corner....virtually zero headway. Bike still running, lifting the bike actuated the throttle a bit (no over rev or anything). As I reached for the kill sitch, the bike died. Stood it back up and wouldn't start. Noticed no headlight and a little investigation revealed a blown fuse (the lower one). Replaced fuse and all seemed fine....until I stopped again. Another blown fuse. Replaced again and all was fine till the next stop. Blown fuse.



So...trailered bike home and now Im trying to find out what's wrong. Put in a new fuse, bike started and stopped per normal 3X. Actuated headlight dimmer with no effect. So I revved it a bit, heard a little backfire....blown fuse. Now it blows as soon as I turn the key. This happens even with kill switch on.



Bike is 2006 with just 1100 miles. No visible chafing on any wires. Everything is and looks factory except the agm battery I put in last year. Changed oil before ride. Oil level is proper.



Ideas???

 

[old mad max]

It's gotta be a bare wire some place ???????????????? Have you had the seat and tank off looking ? Good luck. OMM.

 

[fishhuntr1]

Had seat off while afield. Nothing looked out of place. I'm thinking more some failed component shorting to ground. This bike is near immaculate other than some dirt.

 

[joeband]

if that is you in your avatar pic.... i think your bike is a 2005, though it shouldn't make a difference with your problem. could it be a bare wire on the kickstand switch?

 

[Toyanvil]

Try removing the fuse and with a multi-meter set on ohm place one probe in the fuse socket "the one with-out 12 volts" and the other probe to a good ground, this works great with a multi-meter with sound. once the probes are in place start checking the wires by moving them back and forth and playing with them watching or listening to the multi-meter to change, "it will beep if you have sound when you find the stort". If you don't have a multi-meter HF sells them for under $10.00 and should be in every toolbox, just DO NOT use a HF multi-meter on 120 or more AC volts.

Good luck.

 

[jontow]

I had my main fuse blow when I was riding to/from a work site one day, and I swapped in my spare. It blew again when I was out on the trail a day later, and I just kept riding through it--the bike didn't quit, and I could start it with the kickstarter. The headlight would come on but when I revved, it would dim. Luckily, my brother (operose) was on the ride and said he ran into a very similar problem:



In his case, the loom of wire that comes on the right side of the steering head from behind the headlight got pinched between the steering head itself and the turn-stop on the lower triple. In my case, the exact thing had happened: look very closely here, and possibly you should pull the loom/tape off these wires for a close check. I was luckily able to unwrap mine, cut the wire, splice in the field, zip tie for stress relief and tape it back up. I then zip tied the whip up higher where it wouldn't get pinched again.



I really should give it a permanent fix with the soldering iron, but I'm a bit lazy and carry enough spare crap to fix it again should it happen--I did make a pretty solid trail fix on it. I just warned myself: its bound to happen at a poor time, now

Good luck..

 

[TW_in_BC]

If the fuse blows everytime you STOP, then the short is probably in the brake-circuit.

Chances are you've damaged the wiring to the brake lights.

Another "trick" to locate shorts, is to insert a 12V light bulb instead of a fuse...the bulb will be ON as long as the short exists. Once it goes OUT, you've located the problem!

In your case, the bulb wouldn't be ON until the short occurred.

 

[Dwight]

Thanks Jontow, checked my wires and they showed signs of getting pinched (torn outer sheath). Zip tied them up, future problem avoided.

 

[jontow]

Make sure you cut back the outer sheath and address any damage done to the wires themselves, as they'll just corrode and break eventually, if you don't. Glad to hear it helped!

 

[fishhuntr1]

OK...I feel like an idiot, but I finally had cause to get the bike going again. Took it to the shop. Turns out the only problem was the horn got bent into the bracket and was grounding out. Thought I'd pass it on in case it happens to someone else.

 

[LittleCowTW]

Electricity makes me feel dumb exactly 100 percent of the time. Glad you got her fixed. I was banking on the brake light circuit myself, that was a smooth theory. goes to show.

 

[fishguy]

Glad you got it fixed. I dropped my '95 TW hard on the right side and broke the front brake light switch/cable (and, some other stuff). The guys at ProCycle sell a new front brake light switch/cable. ($14.95). On mine the main fuse blew but a replacement did not, however, the brake light did not work when using just the front brake.

I understand that the switch can break and cause a short or, not. Or, it can cause an intermittent short. The worst kind. I know i will always check this first if I start blowing fuses again. And, I will remember your bent horn syndrome.