Simple jobs aren't always

last weekend I thought I would check a few things on "sister of GRiSO" as Pat aptly puts it. It had been a while since I had a good cleanup and I needed to do something about the OEM heated hand grip switch. After all I am heading off the Ruptured Budgie next week and I nor Mal nor mark need for a "failed to proceed" incident.

The oem part is a PITA to get to work properly as it's a slide fitting with an internal spring and sometimes actually makes contact with the switch - oftentimes not. I had acquired a momentary on miniature switch which I mounted on the spare blank on the dash. All good, mounted and tested OK.

Thought to myself, OK I should clean a few things in behind the fairing while it's off. The Sport fairing, while neat and effective is a right royal front-bottom to get back on after removal, as is the headlight shell. Cleaned stuff up and re-assembled (I had several shots at the patience thing which eventually used up all my patience). Finally assembled and all looked nice and clean and everything worked.

While I was in there I noticed a broken wire (red/White) where it transfers from the frame to behind the headlight assy. Both ends were green with envy! Made a sheet rubber cover and just left it there. Everything worked before, so I left it for another day.

Rode to work yesterday which was a hoot. Pulled up at the lights on the way home and hit the kill switch while in 1st gear while waiting for the lights to go not red, which eventually they did. Pulled clutch, no startee, not good. Flicked into neutral and start. OK sort it out later. Noticed that headlight was not working.

later that night I was sure I had broken something pretty bad around the headlight shell and all the cables within. So, pulled it all apart again, nothing found, and re-assembled. Found the clutch switch unplugged - no wonder it wouldn't start.Still no workee on the lights - and the brake light she no work either. Getting a bit desperate now so decided to check the fuse. Surprise is was blown - so why did I not check this first. Anyway replaced with a spare and all is good.

The only thing wrong in the head-stock area was pulling the clutch switch through too much tension on the cable.

I should have practiced first principles for diagnostics and not assumed I had done something wrong. The fuses are 11 years old and may have just failed through old age. I now have shitloads of spares ready for my trip next week. If you have spares you will not need them - so goes the old saying.

And the red/white wire is for .................... ?

farged if I know. Everything works - might be a spare?

Red/white wire is probs +12V. Did you check to see if it was juicified?

No Mark. I know I should, but I ran out of patience remember. I need to find some benevolence and get back in there. Maybe Saturday.

This is not the power feed wire - else things would not be working at all. I can't find this wire on the wiring diagram for the Sport. The funny thing is, everything is working as it should. This wire has been broken for a long time, so it's function is either magical or non-critical.

Fear not, I will get to it, but it will require a strip out of the harness for everything forward of the alternator - just impossible to repair where it is.

Apparently the dash has a parallel positive feed. Orange/white, as it happens. Perhaps one falling off and becoming verdigrisious is common?

There is colour (s)witchery going on here. The Red/White wire that feeds the various fuses and the ignition switch and the dash morphs into a Red/Blue wire at some point - where this join is I have no idea.

Recently I tried to trace the Red wire from the alternator to where it morphs into a Red/Green wire - ended giving up, throwing my hands in the air (in typical Italian style) and mumbling something in pigeon Italian that roughly translates to "fuken iti electrics/wiring". The hand gestures say most of it but that does not translate very well if you can't see it!

Funziona, quindi non importa!

That might be it, but I did work at the Steelworks at Port Kembla for 10 years or so, so I might have picked up a hand gesture, that has other, succinct meanings - not to be uttered or gesticulated in front of "proper" ladies.

Well as Nick Cave once lamented, "I thought of my friends that died from exposure, and for those that died from a lack of it" - Darker with the day

I'd blame the ants.

mmmm I think I have a bottle of patience around somewhere.... I'll make sure I pack it on Wednesday...