Wiring question???
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Outstanding HDF Member
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From: Brunswick, MD
Wiring question???
This is the deal.... When I got my detach sissy bar it came with rear signal relocate kit.... the stem that holds the signal has a very small hole in which you are to run the wires through and after you mount them the wires have to make a 90 on the inside of the fender and back to the brake/tail light which is where they plug in. the problem is where they make that 90 they get wore out after a while the shielding get wore off and they ground out and quit working or make crazy things happen to the light system. my question is could I drill a small hole in the signal housing and put a small bolt through it and run the ground to it then tighten a nut down on it then just run the hot wire through the stem which would make a much nicer 90 and there would be some room for movement? Then in the tail light wire the 2 grounds from the clips together? ( See pic below )
What do you think? Would this cause a problem?
Thanks a lot, Donnie
What do you think? Would this cause a problem?
Thanks a lot, Donnie
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 992
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From: Mechanicsburg, PA
I have to admit I don't understand your problem as I have never had mine apart but just thought I'd mention heat shrink tubing makes great anti-chafing material, and you can layer it as many times over as you like.......and I could be way off base from what you are asking......
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Outstanding HDF Member
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From: Brunswick, MD
I have to admit I don't understand your problem as I have never had mine apart but just thought I'd mention heat shrink tubing makes great anti-chafing material, and you can layer it as many times over as you like.......and I could be way off base from what you are asking......
Shrink rap lol.... there's not enough room for the wires more less some added shrink rap.
Thanks tho for your input, Donnie
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Outstanding HDF Member
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From: Brunswick, MD
Donnie
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Mechanicsburg, PA
ok, after seeing that and reading your first post over again I think I understand. I also think you are on to the right idea with the ground. If you have an ohm meter or a DVOM just set it to ohms (little omega symbol) and put one lead on a known good ground and the other on your intended new ground and see if you have continuity. If you do then you are set. Running one wire through there would be the easiest answer in my opinion and should not cause any problem whatsoever so long as the ground is good.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Northern VA
I'm not an expert, but I don't know why it wouldn't work. Look at most aftermarket headlights - no ground wire at all. It's grounded through the mounting bolt. You are basically doing the same thing. My directional turn signal bar only had 2 wires on it - left and right. So that ground wife from the harness is capped off and out of sight, out of mind...
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Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Southeast New York
Grounding can be tricky....... Take it from an automotive / marine electrician. You can surely ground anything to metal, but you need to ensure that whatever you ground to has a good ground path to the battery. What I mean is that if you ground to the stems, then make sure you use a good star washer to ground that stem to the what the stem is mounted to. Then you need to ensure that part is grounded, so on and so on. Best idea is to run a ground wire from the closest part that is convenient to the load (the light in this case) to the battery ground point. Then, when the light is on, take a volt meter, not ohm meter, and see is you have any voltage from the ground point of the load (light) and the battery negetive. This will measure any "voltage drop", indicating a bad ground circuit. If you have ANY voltage on the meter, you can then start moving the positive meter probe, leaving the battery negetive one in place, to each ground point, getting closer to the load. When the voltage drops to "0" you have gone PAST the bad spot, indicating where you need to focus attention on getting a good ground.
Hope this helps and didn't confuse you. If further explanation is needed, drop me a PM.
Hope this helps and didn't confuse you. If further explanation is needed, drop me a PM.
Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,042
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From: Brunswick, MD
Grounding can be tricky....... Take it from an automotive / marine electrician. You can surely ground anything to metal, but you need to ensure that whatever you ground to has a good ground path to the battery. What I mean is that if you ground to the stems, then make sure you use a good star washer to ground that stem to the what the stem is mounted to. Then you need to ensure that part is grounded, so on and so on. Best idea is to run a ground wire from the closest part that is convenient to the load (the light in this case) to the battery ground point. Then, when the light is on, take a volt meter, not ohm meter, and see is you have any voltage from the ground point of the load (light) and the battery negetive. This will measure any "voltage drop", indicating a bad ground circuit. If you have ANY voltage on the meter, you can then start moving the positive meter probe, leaving the battery negetive one in place, to each ground point, getting closer to the load. When the voltage drops to "0" you have gone PAST the bad spot, indicating where you need to focus attention on getting a good ground.
Hope this helps and didn't confuse you. If further explanation is needed, drop me a PM.
Hope this helps and didn't confuse you. If further explanation is needed, drop me a PM.
Thanks for the input guys, Donnie
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