Battery Charger / Ground / Electrical Issues
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Stage IV
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: minneapolis
Battery Charger / Ground / Electrical Issues
Help! I have recently inherited my fathers 91' Sportster 883 Hugger. He was a very technically savy individual and has made some interesting modifications to his bike that I simply do not understand.
He had this (See image: what I assume is a battery charger with a fuse compartment) hooked up to his battery. The Red cord was wired into a large white clip located under the seat of the bike.
The red cord just sort of came loose and pulled easily out of the white clip. I can only assume that he installed this cord himself to suit some sort of additional electrical need.
We replaced the Battery and connected a new charging adaptor cable. The battery is fully charged per the indicator light on my charger but the bike will not turn on. The bike did start and run fine before this cord came out.
No lights, no click sound, no anything. Its a paper-weight, with no power at all . I don't understand why removing this red cord has prevented the motorcycle from receiving power from the battery.
I have the two main positive & negative battery cords attached properly, and the battery is fully charged.
Is it possible that this red cord was a ground and now the bike will not start due to some sort of safety measure? Please help.
I cannot get it to a shop without the bike starting. What do I need to do to get this thing going again? It was his pride and joy.
Thanks,
Shannon
He had this (See image: what I assume is a battery charger with a fuse compartment) hooked up to his battery. The Red cord was wired into a large white clip located under the seat of the bike.
The red cord just sort of came loose and pulled easily out of the white clip. I can only assume that he installed this cord himself to suit some sort of additional electrical need.
We replaced the Battery and connected a new charging adaptor cable. The battery is fully charged per the indicator light on my charger but the bike will not turn on. The bike did start and run fine before this cord came out.
No lights, no click sound, no anything. Its a paper-weight, with no power at all . I don't understand why removing this red cord has prevented the motorcycle from receiving power from the battery.
I have the two main positive & negative battery cords attached properly, and the battery is fully charged.
Is it possible that this red cord was a ground and now the bike will not start due to some sort of safety measure? Please help.
I cannot get it to a shop without the bike starting. What do I need to do to get this thing going again? It was his pride and joy.
Thanks,
Shannon
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,566
Likes: 55
From: Londonderry, NH
Help! I have recently inherited my fathers 91' Sportster 883 Hugger. He was a very technically savy individual and has made some interesting modifications to his bike that I simply do not understand.
He had this (See image: what I assume is a battery charger with a fuse compartment) hooked up to his battery. The Red cord was wired into a large white clip located under the seat of the bike.
The red cord just sort of came loose and pulled easily out of the white clip. I can only assume that he installed this cord himself to suit some sort of additional electrical need.
We replaced the Battery and connected a new charging adaptor cable. The battery is fully charged per the indicator light on my charger but the bike will not turn on. The bike did start and run fine before this cord came out.
No lights, no click sound, no anything. Its a paper-weight, with no power at all . I don't understand why removing this red cord has prevented the motorcycle from receiving power from the battery.
I have the two main positive & negative battery cords attached properly, and the battery is fully charged.
Is it possible that this red cord was a ground and now the bike will not start due to some sort of safety measure? Please help.
I cannot get it to a shop without the bike starting. What do I need to do to get this thing going again? It was his pride and joy.
Thanks,
Shannon
He had this (See image: what I assume is a battery charger with a fuse compartment) hooked up to his battery. The Red cord was wired into a large white clip located under the seat of the bike.
The red cord just sort of came loose and pulled easily out of the white clip. I can only assume that he installed this cord himself to suit some sort of additional electrical need.
We replaced the Battery and connected a new charging adaptor cable. The battery is fully charged per the indicator light on my charger but the bike will not turn on. The bike did start and run fine before this cord came out.
No lights, no click sound, no anything. Its a paper-weight, with no power at all . I don't understand why removing this red cord has prevented the motorcycle from receiving power from the battery.
I have the two main positive & negative battery cords attached properly, and the battery is fully charged.
Is it possible that this red cord was a ground and now the bike will not start due to some sort of safety measure? Please help.
I cannot get it to a shop without the bike starting. What do I need to do to get this thing going again? It was his pride and joy.
Thanks,
Shannon
It was probably used to provide power to another device, as it's wired directly battery Positive terminal.
I'd try reconnecting the red wire. Maybe it's powering security device or alarm that is preventing the bike from starting...or maybe it's wired to the ignition switch. It's impossible to guess without access to the bike.
Thread Starter
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Stage IV
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4
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From: minneapolis
Thank you! That is helpful information. When the cord was still attached we tried to just leave only the red cord attached to the battery because of its connection to the white clip without the negative (with our new charger adapter & standard pos/neg hookups) since we don't need that fuse or the charger but alas, we should have seen it coming.
It melted the post off our battery, hence why we replaced the battery.
If I am going to re-attach it. I have to re-attach the entire thing.
There are 3 or 4 empty slots in the white wiring clip under the seat. I am fairly certain that this is where the red cord came loose from. I can try to reattach it, but does it matter which slot it goes in? I don't want to melt another $200+ battery or worse electricute myself.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Shannon
It melted the post off our battery, hence why we replaced the battery.
If I am going to re-attach it. I have to re-attach the entire thing.
There are 3 or 4 empty slots in the white wiring clip under the seat. I am fairly certain that this is where the red cord came loose from. I can try to reattach it, but does it matter which slot it goes in? I don't want to melt another $200+ battery or worse electricute myself.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Shannon
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,566
Likes: 55
From: Londonderry, NH
Thank you! That is helpful information. When the cord was still attached we tried to just leave only the red cord attached to the battery because of its connection to the white clip without the negative (with our new charger adapter & standard pos/neg hookups) since we don't need that fuse or the charger but alas, we should have seen it coming.
It melted the post off our battery, hence why we replaced the battery.
If I am going to re-attach it. I have to re-attach the entire thing.
There are 3 or 4 empty slots in the white wiring clip under the seat. I am fairly certain that this is where the red cord came loose from. I can try to reattach it, but does it matter which slot it goes in? I don't want to melt another $200+ battery or worse electricute myself.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Shannon
It melted the post off our battery, hence why we replaced the battery.
If I am going to re-attach it. I have to re-attach the entire thing.
There are 3 or 4 empty slots in the white wiring clip under the seat. I am fairly certain that this is where the red cord came loose from. I can try to reattach it, but does it matter which slot it goes in? I don't want to melt another $200+ battery or worse electricute myself.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Shannon
You only need to reattach the red lead. If you have no use for the adaptor cord, just cut it off.
Without seeing the wiring clip, I can't say where to attach it, but it might be wise to follow the wiring out of the exit side to see what it is powering.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,566
Likes: 55
From: Londonderry, NH
Loose connections create a voltage drop. In a high current circuit that results in significant heating that can cause melted posts.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,566
Likes: 55
From: Londonderry, NH
That's a good plan.
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