mod-it
Member
I have been searching for an electrical problem in my sled for the last couple of days. It started out when I hit the brake or the high/low beam my gauge pod would shut off and then come back on. I figured it was the notorious harness rub through, so I pulled my pipes and went through my harness that runs under the motor. Didn't find any obvious wear marks, opened up outer jacket and searched through each individual wire. Can't find a rub anywhere. Taped the harness back up and re-installed.
Started sled and now my gauge pod doesn't shut off, but the head light dims way down when I hit the brake. I went ahead and pulled the seat and checked the wires under the gas tank, no rub-throughs there either. With the brake/tail light harness unplugged under the seat, the headlight no longer dims. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next. I checked the bulbs and connections in the tail lights, they looked fine. Also went through the steering column to check for rubs there.
Right now I'm thinking I should go back through the harness under the motor since it changed what it was doing after I messed with it, I hadn't touched anything else yet. I thought I looked it over extremely well, but maybe I missed something. Do you guys think I'm on the right track? Any thoughts or suggestions welcome! TIA (I won't have time to work on it again until Friday)
Started sled and now my gauge pod doesn't shut off, but the head light dims way down when I hit the brake. I went ahead and pulled the seat and checked the wires under the gas tank, no rub-throughs there either. With the brake/tail light harness unplugged under the seat, the headlight no longer dims. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next. I checked the bulbs and connections in the tail lights, they looked fine. Also went through the steering column to check for rubs there.
Right now I'm thinking I should go back through the harness under the motor since it changed what it was doing after I messed with it, I hadn't touched anything else yet. I thought I looked it over extremely well, but maybe I missed something. Do you guys think I'm on the right track? Any thoughts or suggestions welcome! TIA (I won't have time to work on it again until Friday)
sounds like to me you kinda answered your own question, when you unhooked the rear tailight the dimming stopped right? so that tells me you need to remove the harness going to the rear, that requires unbolting the gastank and lifting it up to pull the harness out under it, youll most likely find a chaffed harness under the center of the tank. If its all good there then I would follow it back to the main harness and look for a chaff up on the steering gate support tube.
mod-it
Member
mod-it said:
I wasn't very clear on this part, I did remove the bolts and lift up the tank to check the whole length. Not sure what the steering gate support tube is, could you please explain further? I guess I could just follow the wires from the tank back further into the sled. I did pull the cover off from around the handle bars, unhooked all the connections, removed one of the top handle bar bolts to get that smaller bracket swung out of the way, and then pulled the wires out and went through them. Maybe with all the movement from pulling the harness out at the brake rotor originally I moved the other end some and thus changed how it was grounding/arcing?
Really appreciate your response.
the part I am talking about it what your steering tube is hooked to, youll see the harness is run under it, youll have to take out the screws holding the dash with key,choke,warmer dials to get at it, and then see if its rubbed thru, its got to be related to the tailight or even possibly the brake light switch wiring if you unhook it and its working now. 
I know what its like to find these little electrical gremlins, they can be a real pain in the you know what! good luck!
I know what its like to find these little electrical gremlins, they can be a real pain in the you know what! good luck!
mod-it
Member
No kidding, makes me want to pull my hair out. Thanks for the advice Mrviper. I'll post back when I get a chance to work on it again this Friday.
TJ500
Member
did you try replacing the tail/brake lite bulb?...
if the filaments bounce and weld/ short to each other, there's now a parallel cct and load current goes way up...
trivial yes, but it's worth a shot.. don't ask
tj
if the filaments bounce and weld/ short to each other, there's now a parallel cct and load current goes way up...
trivial yes, but it's worth a shot.. don't ask
tj
mod-it
Member
I looked both of them over, they were still intact and not touching each other.
Grimmy
New member
having same exact problem on my 2003 viper, someone else (blueblood) is having same problem as well, thinking it's something to do with the ground to the block or the load control relay itself, the dealership said they could test the relay for me. I feel like I've torn this wiring out and checked it over best I can and I find nothing.