Wiring harness clean up
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Novice
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Santa Ana
Wiring harness clean up
Hey everyone. Just a simple question. Has anyone gone through their wiring harness and removed the unused plugs and wires? Most wiring harness are pre made all the same but bikes are set up with different. So there is extra plugs that are not used and just taking up space. What I'm trying to do is remove what is not used to clean it up, but also down the road if need to troubleshoot electrical issues I dont have to dig through a large bundle of wires.
14 fxdb
14 fxdb
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
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From: Texas
Your questions suggests you are not familiar with electrical wiring and hardware. With this in mind, my strong advise to you is to leave it alone as it is.
You are not going to gain anything by trying to do what you are wanting to do and may very well end up with a confusing and total fubar mess when the wiring on the bike no longer matches the wiring diagrams when you are trying to track down a problem you created with the modifications.
You are not going to gain anything by trying to do what you are wanting to do and may very well end up with a confusing and total fubar mess when the wiring on the bike no longer matches the wiring diagrams when you are trying to track down a problem you created with the modifications.
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From: Santa Ana
Thank you for the quick response. I can see after looking back at what I asked it could be taken as being unfamiliar with wiring and electrical. I am actually fairly decent with it as I have been a diesel mechanic for almost 10 years. I do 100% agree with you, if someone is not familiar with electrical or do not have the slightest understanding on how to read a wiring diagram they most definitely should not cut, remove, or alter the harness on their bike.
No worries though. Let me re phrase it better. Has anyone gone through their wiring harness and remove the excess plugs and wires that go to items that are not mounted on the bike to clean up the harness? For example the harness has the wiring and plug for the Active Exhaust module, but my bike is not equipped with the actual module. If it's not equipped on the bike, why keep the plug and its wires? 1The plan is and ultimate goal I am trying to accomplish is trim the unnecessary crap in the harness to make things simpler down the road. Since I am on the bike almost daily, if something happens on the road I can do a quick trouble shoot and track down to repair and be back on the road. If the excess unused plugs and wires is removed then I would not have to dig through the wires to track down. I am wondering if anyones done this and what thoughts are.
No worries though. Let me re phrase it better. Has anyone gone through their wiring harness and remove the excess plugs and wires that go to items that are not mounted on the bike to clean up the harness? For example the harness has the wiring and plug for the Active Exhaust module, but my bike is not equipped with the actual module. If it's not equipped on the bike, why keep the plug and its wires? 1The plan is and ultimate goal I am trying to accomplish is trim the unnecessary crap in the harness to make things simpler down the road. Since I am on the bike almost daily, if something happens on the road I can do a quick trouble shoot and track down to repair and be back on the road. If the excess unused plugs and wires is removed then I would not have to dig through the wires to track down. I am wondering if anyones done this and what thoughts are.
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,051
Likes: 399
From: Bournemouth United Kingdom
So to be clear your intent is to strip down and split the looms to extract all the redundant individual cables de-pin the non functional connectors and bin the lot? Having been an electrical engineer for well over 40 years I can only surmise one of two things:
1. You have much too much time on your hands.
2. You need to increase your medication intake.
Just ride it and enjoy it. As you profess to be 'fairly decent with electrics' I am sure with a decent set of diagrams and the ability to wield a multimeter any problem that may or may not manifest itself will be dealt with expediently with your skills anyway.
1. You have much too much time on your hands.
2. You need to increase your medication intake.
Just ride it and enjoy it. As you profess to be 'fairly decent with electrics' I am sure with a decent set of diagrams and the ability to wield a multimeter any problem that may or may not manifest itself will be dealt with expediently with your skills anyway.
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Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Santa Ana
Ha you are very close on the first one. I have lots of time. 100% disability from the VA as of April this year. Since then I've been riding the hell out of the bike. Averaging about 3,000 to 4,000 miles a month. But yes that's the idea, remove the excess redundant wires and plugs. I was just curious if anyones done it on theirs.
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,051
Likes: 399
From: Bournemouth United Kingdom
That is indeed a healthy monthly mileage. Are you experiencing electrical Gremlins or just looking for something to do? It would take quite a lot of time and stripping down for access to carry out a thorough job.
Only ever heard of it on bikes that have either been butchered over the years, ones that are experiencing loads of electrical issues or had a complete change of use where there is lots of redundant wiring where fairings, ancillary equipment and redundant lights etc. have been ripped off. From experience having a few surplus wires running through a loom (we even used to fit them purposely) can be an advantage if you experience issues as you can sometimes use the spares already fitted to replace existing open or short circuit ones without the need for running replacement cables, just by re-pinning the connectors to include the spares.
Only ever heard of it on bikes that have either been butchered over the years, ones that are experiencing loads of electrical issues or had a complete change of use where there is lots of redundant wiring where fairings, ancillary equipment and redundant lights etc. have been ripped off. From experience having a few surplus wires running through a loom (we even used to fit them purposely) can be an advantage if you experience issues as you can sometimes use the spares already fitted to replace existing open or short circuit ones without the need for running replacement cables, just by re-pinning the connectors to include the spares.
Last edited by K9F; Jul 13, 2019 at 02:13 AM.
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