Wire harness melting...

[Sin City Stan]

The wires look fine. It's almost as if external heat was causing the melting. What was this mess sitting on?

[Bull Durham]

Originally Posted by cnc

OK, I just looked at my wiring diagram. I assumed from your description that it dead ended, it was the diagnostic plug, but the wire colors or number of wires don't match. It must be a a connector or junction for ground wires. Only one I could find that was close was 9 ground wires and it ties some of the lighting together. Maybe Nomads have a bit different wiring over there. Anyway you can find the wiring diagram in the shop manual in the garage section. studying that will help as well as a multimeter.
Sorry if I sent you down the wrong road. I imagine if some of them were making a poor contact with each other, they could have heated up till they started to melt. This would also explain why no fuse blew.
I would first separate them from each other and try to start the bike. see what is not working. If it is a kind of junction box for grounds then one will be heavier gauge and go toward the battery and all will have to be joined together. Take your time and try to trace them.

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Norm,

You are correct, it is not the diag plug, and thanks for telling me to look through the garage. I'm going to try and attach the pdf for the electrical chapter, not sure if it'll make it. But, I found what it is, it is called a "JOINT CONNECTOR 2" and I don't think they mean that whacky you guys smoke up there in Canada land.

Anyway, it is on page 19, right hand side of the page towards the bottom. If you zoom in, you'll see it has 14 wires and they are all Black w/Yellow stripe. I also believe if you look on page 8, you'll see the wiring harness. Look on the wire harness and where it shows the 44 pin connector for the ECU, immediately to it's left, I believe is the plug.

Now, you may be right that they all need to be touching as grounds. Last night when I pulled the melted terminator apart, there was a, for lack of term, like a double row metal comb, that had it's teeth or posts, go down into each wire connector. Now, I don't know if it stretched across all 14 wires or may have been separated into two separate "combs", hard to tell as it was melted and I had to break it apart.

Does anyone have any idea what a "JOINT CONNECTOR 2" is? Or what it's purpose is for?


Ok, after following all the wires on the diagram, page 19, which is for American and Canadian wiring, it looks like the wires run as grounds to pretty much everything, ECU, fuel injectors, rear connections, etc.

I think I am going to wait until you or someone weighs in with a determination of whether they should be all together or not. With my limited knowledge, I would think since they are all grounds, that they should be all connected together.

[Bull Durham]

Originally Posted by Sin City Stan

The wires look fine. It's almost as if external heat was causing the melting. What was this mess sitting on?

Stan,

These wires sit right down in the battery well. The ECU sits right next to the battery, on it's left side. The wires aren't sitting on anything or touching anything, other than the 44 pin wires going into the ECU.

I'm at a loss, going to go back down and study the wires, drink some herbal tea and see if some type of vision appears to me.

[Bull Durham]

If this helps, see the pic I included. It's taken off of Section 16, page 19. Talking with the Kawasaki Dealer, they can't find anything listed for a part on this.

[macmac]

Now I know there is a problem I will start researching too, but 'we' want Yellow Jacket in on this too.

At first i thought this was a high resistance connection, but now with all grounds I am not sure myself, and so there has to be atleast one wire from battery + there to create a dead short.

You are correct the ecu Electronic Controll Unit runs the fuel injection, and has a feed back of info from the ignition. Most of that runs on 0.05 volts... but is very expensive if it get fried.

Be very carefull to document wire insulation colors other than black/yellow.

For now with out looking in a book that is the best i can do... I neverheard of this connetor before, but a guess on my part is it is used in diagnostics as CNC said.

As to USA and CDSn wiring that's all about lights... this is the same world wide for the connector.

[cnc]

I would suspect as I mentioned it just joins all the grounds together. If there is one that is a heavier gauge than the others, then follow it I bet it goes to the neg battery side. OR use a volt meter or a test light if you want to double check.
You will need to gang all those wires together with a solid connection.
twisting them together may not be good enough as there is so many.
Got a electronic supply place near you? They usually sell white plastic terminal blocks with set screw connectors to gang wires together. Usually they are available in a few different sizes for the gauge of wire and the amount of wires you need to join. They are also cheap.

[Bull Durham]

Mac,

No hot wires in the bunch, all Black with Yellow stripe. All grounds. Found it in the wiring diagram, all grounds. I don't believe it is used as a diag, as there is no connector for a diag hookup. This is but a "termination" point.

The Kaw dealer did a lot of searching, said that it is considered part of the wiring harness. I can't buy or order just that terminator, they said I'd have to buy the whole wiring harness. $350 bucks.

So, not sure what I am going to do at this point. Maybe try and find some type of wiring connector I can take apart for the connected "teeth" inside. I'm posting a pic of what was my Joint Connector. The two metal parts were one part, it's hard to see but they have a double row of posts/teeth that the individual wires went on to.

I guess as a last resort, I could just cut the ends off and twist / solder them all together, but I really don't want to do that.

Any ideas?

[macmac]

Great info CNC, but don't fior get Clean!!!!!!! While this work is on going the (-) cable should be off the battery at all costs... probably it has to be to get access, but I don't know that.

Another place that is common for chaffing is at the wire harness bend down at cly 2 on the frame. To check this the zip tie must be removed. Note the oem ZIP TIE HAS A TAB TO RELEASE IT.....

I have no idea what caused this problem but that should be looked into before a fix is declared.

[cnc]

Mac I thought it was the diagnostic plug, but it is not. Yes he needs to check for any other wires other than yellow black, but I am thinking it is just a way to gang all the grounds together. If there was less than good conductivity in that connector I think it heated up till it melted the connector and the insulation on the wires, no short, no fuse blown.

[Bull Durham]

Originally Posted by cnc

I would suspect as I mentioned it just joins all the grounds together. If there is one that is a heavier gauge than the others, then follow it I bet it goes to the neg battery side. OR use a volt meter or a test light if you want to double check.
You will need to gang all those wires together with a solid connection.
twisting them together may not be good enough as there is so many.
Got a electronic supply place near you? They usually sell white plastic terminal blocks with set screw connectors to gang wires together. Usually they are available in a few different sizes for the gauge of wire and the amount of wires you need to join. They are also cheap.

I was just thinking of some type of terminal block. I think I bought one before from Home Dept, it's black in color if I remember. Or I'll run down to a auto parts store. If I put them all into a terminal block, I could then wrap the piss out of the block in electrical tape if I don't have a big heat shrink.

[macmac]

-Bull the pic is fuzzy... Would you say these parts jump all connectors to one? In other words a brass/copper part fit in the connector and bridged all of them?

If so CNC has that answer, as a clean gang connection.


The BUT is why did all these grounds fry? Some how (+) and not on a fuse went to ground here, and that is what must be found.

[cnc]

Got to go make supper, but I will try and find a pic of the terminal blocks I am talking about and get back to yo later. Easy fix with one of those.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by cnc

Mac I thought it was the diagnostic plug, but it is not. Yes he needs to check for any other wires other than yellow black, but I am thinking it is just a way to gang all the grounds together. If there was less than good conductivity in that connector I think it heated up till it melted the connector and the insulation on the wires, no short, no fuse blown.

I agree mostly up to the point of no hot wire getting into this mess.. I thyink it is a gang ground bar, but ina connector, and there is a metalic jumper that grounds all of these wires as one.

But the damage shows too much AMPs for a high resistance melt down, and I am willing to bet some place else is the problem and 12 dcv will be there as a chaffed thru wire...

By no means should the bling and seat be put on with out a visual testing and feeling by hand for heat at this connector and any others...

This is a near to total loss and perhaps taking the garage and house with it problem..... or maybe a gas station....

[macmac]

Bull, to me in the last pic it seems like the connector held 14 wires and the copper metalic bridged them all. I see what appear as doubled prongs as 4 and another set of the same as 3. is this correct?

And still I highly recommend Yellow Jacket be involved with this fix. He has an uncanny intution about wiring.

[dysign]

I would verify as well the end of the wires that possibly are only crimped to the metal connector, that is if you are able. When the wire is only crimped and not soldered to the connector it becomes loosely connected or can become corroded and it can easily create a resistance and that will cause heat that will melt the wire. I don't know if this is pertinent to your problem or not but worth considering. This information is from one of the best mechanics around and I am not speaking of myself.
Hope it works out for you.