When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
While looking for problems with my radio cutting out I came across this, It looks like a ground wire that is unprotected. It comes from one of the gray sleaves that come from the rear of the bike and is spliced into a couple of black wires that run to the right side plug of the radio.
Normally, a shield wire is grounded at one end and sometimes both ends, to protect the signal within.
Can you ground other wires to it? Yes, but you really shouldn't. For several reasons.
First, running current through the shielding can defeat the protection of the shielding. Shielding should be quiet electrically in order to work. The running current isn't quiet.
Second a shielding wire is not designed or rated to handle current. Oh, you can get away with it. But it's kinda like wrapping a blown fuse with aluminum foil and calling it fixed.
Were it my bike, I would replace all that with a proper ground wire and splice the black ground wires to that ground point. I would also check to see if that grey shield wire needs to be regrounded at the cut end, and do so if called for.
Is it the bare wire coming from the grey wiring loom?
If so it's a shielding wire and they are not covered.
Depending on the function, some shields are grounded at both ends, some are grounded at only one end, and some float or are internal ground loops...if it is not connected to anything then you do not want to ground it, leave it alone, just like it is. The last thing you want to do is troubleshoot a bad ground loop...serious PITA
Last edited by skinman13; May 8, 2019 at 09:21 AM.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
Bare Wire
