I recently bought a 98 FXD, it had a short somewhere. Upon inspecting the handlebar switches I found several pinched and exposed wires on each side. I bought and soldered new switches and shrink wrapped them with the good shrink tubes with the glue from harbor freight. After reinstalling the problem was not resolved.😐 I went to take off the rear fender trying to find the connector for the handlebar switches. There i found my gremlin. The wires to the tail light/rear directionals were shredded🤔. They had been running on the tire and all were exposed at numerous locations. It took a week (it's my first bike and I'm no wrench, and wiring was all the way new to me) but I figured it out and jb welded some sturdy conduit under there to keep the wires in tact . Problem solved 🫡! Except the first time I turned the bars past 3/4 to lock to the right the breaker for the lights began tripping again and the lights all flashing 🫤. So I took the housings off the handlebar switches again. I found a couple wires pinched and exposed again.. cool. So I cut them and soldered them back together and shrink wrapped them again. Problem solved 🫡! Except the first time back out, coming to a stop the lights cut out, and back on😠, The breaker was tripping again. Cool so I adjusted them until the short was broken, got home and again took the housing off and fixed the newly pinched and exposed wires. Nice, problem solved 🫡! Until I moved the brake lever up higher, and then the process repeated😤. And repeated😡. And repeated at least a dozen times🤬🤬🤬. I went through all the shrink tubes I had, twice (to be fair I also had a trike conversion with a lot of wiring to do so a lot of the tubes went on it, or the ground). Every time I'd fix the wire I'd inevitably pinch them putting the housings back on🙄😮‍💨. I began slopping liquid tape on the exposed wires given the lack of shrink tube😬. I could tell each time the damage was new so I've been reasonably sure it's been working more or less😶, but no matter cause apparently the last step every time seems to be ensure wires are good and pinched upon reinstallation🤬😒😑. I ended up rethreading a couple Phillips head screws to replace the torx i rounded taking them off and on more than a dozen times😶. I push the wires into the holes carefully, making sure they aren't stuck between the housings, and they have enough room to make it into the hole 🙄, I tried taping them down in place before affixing the housings😔 I tried making the wires shorter so there was less to stuff😮‍💨, I lengthened them again because there wasn't enough room to make sure they were clear🧐🤔. One wire broke off right flush with the right turn signal switch🤬. I soldered it the best I could and gooped it😶‍🌫️, It worked, until it didn't🤬. Then the blinker wouldn't turn off😤. I pushed a sewing needle through into the wires deep in the switch🧐. It seemed to work, but every time a new pinch😮‍💨. Then it didn't work anymore😤. I pulled some slick **** and took the horn switch off the old set and swapped it with the turn signal🧐, removed the blinker button and glued it over the horn button🤫.. it drags a little but that problem is handled🤨🫥🙄.. still pinching tho🤬, Every f""ng time🤬😡🥵🤬 Until today😶.. I don't know why I didn't think of it weeks ago😥, I used a step bit and drilled a hole through the bar just above the original slot 😳 so they joined making a spot for the wires attached to the top half to also pass through 🥺without running through the bottom half of the switch 🥹. Finally, the blow that fell the troll living in my handlebars 😅! It doesn't seem like it should have taken so long, so much solder, so much shrink tube, or so much frustration but I put it all in there anyway, And so far that monster seems to be put to rest 🫡...👏😎. now I can watch for and attend to the next gremlin to find his way onto my steed 🫣🤨🧐...

Sorry I couldn't get a better picture of the drilled hole but you get the idea if you just look past all the liquid tape slobbered all over...

The turn signal switch looks like nothing ever happened 😀

Thank you for your attention 😁 I know it's a novel, I just wanted to impress the frustration and perpetual loop of ridiculousness, how easy it is to get stuck in, and how much effort it can sometimes take to be able to see how simple a solution was sitting there the entire time! Sometimes you just have to beat the **** out of that wall, repeatedly, with your face! Just Beat the sense back into your head 🫨😵‍💫! The nagging relentlessness and frustration of it again NOT being finished add a whole lot of satisfaction to the reward when you do win the battle🤠🫡.

 

The inside of that switch housing looks like a crime scene.

 

Holy.
****.

 

 

Not going to attempt to read that wall of text.

 

Congrats on getting laid ?

 

Me either, but I did count the emojis, 60 in total, lol.

OP, I got the gist of your post. Congrats on getting it sorted out.

 

Wow!!

 

The repair or the story !

 

When I read "I went to take off the rear fender trying to find the connector for the handlebar switches" I just shook my head in disbelief.