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Electrical issue on my 1986 flhtc help!

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Old Feb 24, 2013 | 05:37 PM
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Default Electrical issue on my 1986 flhtc help!

Hello all,

Getting ready for spring, bike runs great but I have no brake lights, turn signals, or dash lights. All warning lights and electric gauges are inop to. Only things working are my running lights and speedometer that is mechanically driven. I have the fairing off and don't see anything unusual. I don't have a diagram so I am working blind. I need to know how the power is delivered up to the cluster and front wiring . I looked at the breaker under the seat and one of the connections was so rusted it fused to the nut. I have removed the breaker and of course nothing works now
Please help i want to ride!!!!

Jesse
 
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Old Feb 24, 2013 | 07:06 PM
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the main breaker under the seat is 30 amp and can be had at ant auto parts store. there are 3 breakers under the speedo- tach, those are 15 amp, one of them is for the lights, one is for the ignition circuit and one is for accessories. just replace them all, do one at a time so the wires don't get mixed up.
 
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Old Feb 24, 2013 | 07:11 PM
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Check the breaker connections first. They're self resetting. So if the power's not flowing though, It's probably bad.
 
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Old Feb 25, 2013 | 08:22 AM
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Seems like some great advise so far
 
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Old Feb 25, 2013 | 08:42 AM
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watindes, sent you a PM
 
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Old Feb 25, 2013 | 05:05 PM
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Your bike is 27 years old Dude.
You state you dont have a diagram which means you dont have a manual .?
Get a manual and follow the step by step procedures to find the problem .
You can also find info. here by clicking on similar wiring problems that others have had.
Age does bad things to wiring , suggest you go through the entire system and fix what needs fixing.
 
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Old Feb 25, 2013 | 05:39 PM
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could be a bad ground.like machinehed said get a manual there are worth thier wieght in gold.
 
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Old Feb 25, 2013 | 08:29 PM
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First off thank you to EVERYONE! And especially schex3x, the diagrams are perfect and saved! Ok, I think I have discovered the issue but I need advice on how to attack it. There is a tan wire leading to a relay marked ACC. If I power probe I restore all function and everything works perfect all turn signals are good and dash lights/gauges/everything working great.
It APPEARS the TAN wire going to this breaker supplies the power to this breaker. I will ohm test this tan wire tomorrow but does you folks think it would be ok if I ran a power wire from a KEY ON source to the terminal that the tan is on or could that be dangerous?
At least I have narrowed it down!

Jesse
 
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Old Feb 25, 2013 | 09:08 PM
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The tan wire supplies power to the acc breaker from the center connector of the start relay.
When you hit the start switch, it energizes the starter relay which cuts power to the acc (tan wire) circuit while cranking.
So voltage goes from battery to main breaker, then another breaker in the fairing, to the ign switch, back to the start relay, then back to the acc breaker in the fairing,- lots of voltage drop.

You may need a start relay, chech for power to the 87a terminal ( center tan)

On my bike, I ran a new wire with a inline fuse from the battery positive to a relay installed near the acc breaker, used the tan wire to energize the new relay which supplies direct power to the acc breaker where the tan wire was connected before.
You'll now get full battery voltage to the fairing, volt gauge will now read correct voltage too.
 
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Old Feb 26, 2013 | 05:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Schex3x
The tan wire supplies power to the acc breaker from the center connector of the start relay.
When you hit the start switch, it energizes the starter relay which cuts power to the acc (tan wire) circuit while cranking.
So voltage goes from battery to main breaker, then another breaker in the fairing, to the ign switch, back to the start relay, then back to the acc breaker in the fairing,- lots of voltage drop.

You may need a start relay, chech for power to the 87a terminal ( center tan)

On my bike, I ran a new wire with a inline fuse from the battery positive to a relay installed near the acc breaker, used the tan wire to energize the new relay which supplies direct power to the acc breaker where the tan wire was connected before.
You'll now get full battery voltage to the fairing, volt gauge will now read correct voltage too.
Great idea but I need to know the details a bit better, so I am going to run a wire from my battery directly to a relay, what kind of relay do I use?

What is the purpose of the relay, is it just for Key ON/key OFF purpose?

The whole system wont work unless I have the tan wire working correct?

What if I completely eliminate the tan wire and just run a wire from the battery to a fused link to the post on the breaker?

Last but not least if my starter relay is working, why would I not have power at the tan wire?

Again I will do some more invasive testing this afternoon, but I would love to know about the above questions

Thanks a lot!

Jesse
 
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