wire plus problem

[REMorris]

About 2 weeks ago, my starter stuck in the on position. I took it apart and cleaned it and reassembled (and put in a new Braille battery). That worked.

I noticed that I lost a few functions since this happened.

The handlebar run/kill functionality has lost the kill part. The bike still starts, but now I stop the engine by turning off the key.

I did a night ride (1st since the starter issue) and have also lost the headlight hi/low switch. It stays in low beam which is better, but this is still not right. Horn works, turn signals work.

So, has anyone had a similar issue? I suspect at this point that the module that has the relay on it has gone bad but I have no way to know for sure. Now I am wondering if the wire plus was involved in my stuck-on starter problem.

Jake, hope you see this and offer me a quick fix. I am committed to ride the next 3 weekends (all long miles and there will be night riding).

Richard

 

[Moespeeds]

It could be a bad hand control module on the WP. Call WP directly and let them know. Had a guy here with similar issues and they replaced it no problem. Be sure your battery terminals are tight and not arcing on anything.

 

[Ray]

I woulsd also take the wire plus plugs apart just for the heck of it and make sure all the pins are making good connections,,,, do the wiggle the wire test too with the key on.. it might be as simple as that ,,, hope so ,,

Ray

 

[REMorris]

I called wire plus this morning and all they can offer is for me to send the module with one light on it back to them.
I told Don I can't have the bike down that long, so they are happily charging me for the module that appears bad.

Frankly, my EHC was working just fine. I switched it out just because it seemed like the thing to do. Now I feel really fucked. I sold my EHC as well as the plugs I cut off. So I can't go back to it.

I really like this board (BigDogBiker.com, not the wire plus board), but sometimes I feel like a lemming going off the cliff. Not all the advice given on here is good for 100% of the owners. I am just not sure how to tell the good from the advertising or from the "do it cause everyone else is doing it".

Recently I put a 585 cam in and followed the help file on here to set the pushrods. Well, you can't set the front pushrods at the same time when you see the mentioned timing marks as mentioned in the "How To" page. I set them 2 times using that method and probably came close to screwing my engine up. I finally set them by finding the heal of the lobe with a dial indicator. It was so easy.... I lost faith in that "How to". Just another example of the "Lemming effect" this board creates.

I know for certain that a LOT of guys put under a 1000 miles on their bike in a year. I did over 4000 miles in January. So I am going to find out how well things hold up under extreme conditions. And so far, the factory stuff had held up damn well versus some of the aftermarket stuff. I had to give up on Jakes HID as it vibrated itself to death (the bulbs fail due to either fatigued wires or the white cement turned to dust, ruining the reflectors. I had bought 2 HID kits from him and at least 5 bulbs before I gave up (and 3 Adjure headlights). Now this problem...

Not the happiest camper on here,
Richard

 

[REMorris]

I woulsd also take the wire plus plugs apart just for the heck of it and make sure all the pins are making good connections,,,, do the wiggle the wire test too with the key on.. it might be as simple as that ,,, hope so ,,

Ray

Did that. All terminals are seated properly in the connectors. I can see the single light flash on the solid module when I press the non functional buttons on the hand controls. I also made sure all the ground wires are still connected.

 

[REMorris]

It could be a bad hand control module on the WP. Call WP directly and let them know. Had a guy here with similar issues and they replaced it no problem. Be sure your battery terminals are tight and not arcing on anything.

Did this as well.

 

[toodie]

Live and learn my friend. You ultimately have the choice to modify/uprade your scoot. We all know once you start straying from stock you introduce more points of failure. I have no doubt those who have provided the how to's and provide "free" advice on this forum have all the best intent. Some very knowlegeable people on here. just say'n

I think BigDogBro1 sums it up best "Keep it stock....keep it reliable!"

I hope you are able to resolve your current issues without too much more agony.

 

[barhopper]

My HID has been perfect and was a great upgrade. I have the wireplus, but still have not changed it out. Don't lose faith my friend. Maybe its the mechanics fault? J/K. My motor is built, been flawless. Stock anything sucks.

 

[Fibersnake]

Sorry to hear of your problems and hope that it is something simple and a quick fix so that you get back out and ride.

I know allot of people have switch to the WP from the stock and many did do so before their original EHC went out. With BD out of the loop now, when one looses the EHC (if they do) they may be few choice other than a complete re-wire.

That said, I have had to replace my EHC once due to my own fault when I broke a pin. Actually it was still good just no oil pressure light. Replaced it then fried the new one a few years later but not due to EHC fault, due to chafed wire that shorted it out. Luckily I still had the old EHC with the broken pin and put it back on and it has been good until I left.

It could go out as soon as I ride it once I am back home or could go another 10 years. Until it gives me problems I will stick with it.

On the valve train, not sure which How To Your Read, but I am sure that who ever posted it up was trying to help and maybe the translation did not come out the best. Still the way you went about it with a dial indicator is how I normall do it and doing so helps insure that I am not in a valve opening postion before adjusting.

All said, any changes to anything can be a risk and for the most part all need to be weigh. If it goes south, hopefully one learns from it and shares with others much as you did so other people can have a more complete picture before they may do the same thing.

Good luck on the fix and get out there and ride once you have it running.

To be honest, I cannot ride right now and hell I would be thrilled to even wrench on one verse not being able to do anything with them except keep paying the insurance and tags fees.

 

[Splitlog]

I went through 5 EHC's before I went to a Wire Plus...I have about 6000 mile on it since the install with no problems..

 

[Moespeeds]

If you want a really reliable electrical system, rewire the whole bike and get rid of the 500 wires Big Dog jams in there. I could go on for an hour about that. Most of what I know about fixing bikes came from this forum, so I'll say firsthand that there is plenty of good info here. Send the WP module back and get a new one, that's life.

 

[RRRUFF]

Ok, REMorris
At the risk of being one of "those guys" I will offer my opinion. Just a thought but you may have two problems. A faulty headlight bulb & and a bad switch/connection/wire. When you cleaned up the starter, how did the solieniod contacts look? Just wondering if they may have arced and welded shut. Anyway just some food for thought. I hope you get you problems fixed without too much difficulty.

 

[REMorris]

Ok, REMorris
At the risk of being one of "those guys" I will offer my opinion. Just a thought but you may have two problems. A faulty headlight bulb & and a bad switch/connection/wire. When you cleaned up the starter, how did the solieniod contacts look? Just wondering if they may have arced and welded shut. Anyway just some food for thought. I hope you get you problems fixed without too much difficulty.

It's a good thought, but I am hoping the solenoid getting stuck was isolated. I feel like I am partially to blame here, I knew the battery was weak and I had a brand new Braille that was sitting next to the bike for 2 weeks or so. The general thought on my experts is that I had a weak battery that in turn caused the solenoid to get stuck in the "starting mode". As soon as I took the 3 nuts off the end of the solenoid, I saw that it was arced onto the 12v circuit. I used pliers to pull the solenoid out. And then on my lathe, I cleaned it up, and then polished the cylinder. (see my other recent thread for pictures of it.)The inside of the solenoid feels like it has a plastic sleeve in it, so I left it alone. I reassembled it and was on my merry way (with the new Braille in it). It was later after this that I NOTICED THAT THE KILL SWITCH AND HI/LO BEAMS DIDN'T WORK. I think they were still working after the solenoid was fixed, but I can't swear to it.

I have looked closely at all wires to see if I see any melted insulation, but there is none. As I mentioned, on the wire plus module, when I push one of these switches that don't work, the indicator light on the module flashes. That to me is a good sign that the wiring is still ok, just whatever the output on the module has stopped working.

I know the bulb was good as I had used it very recently. Also, I suspect the wire plus isn't like the EHC. I bet it will let you switch to a burned out filament. The EHC would try to switch but always goes back to the working one.

I don't want anyone to think I am bashing anything on this board. The guys on here are really sharp. I do think that innocent mistakes are and have been made.

I was planning on putting Jakes HID back on once I get the wire plus going again. It makes night riding do-able

 

[BigDogBro1]

As voltage drops (12v) on a poor battery....the current draw goes higher for that load.

Your assumptions are most likely correct regarding the Wire+ not having the BDM EHC ability to switch to high beam when the low beam burns out.

The handlebar RUN and STOP buttons are both wired to the RUN switch input of the Wire+ DT12 pin 5.

Because you get a LED blink when pressing the buttons but no Wire+ function, may be a Wire+ switch module fault.

The handlebar High/Low beam switch both go to the Wire+ DT12 pin 9 Hi/Lo switch input. Pushing this button should toggle your Hi...Low beams.

You could test your headlight HI/low beams.

If this is a Wire+ WP374 kit then disconnect the 12 pin Wire+ socket from the BDM harness. Use an 18ga or 16ga jumper wire and CAREFULLY feed battery 12 volts to pin (#8 low beam) & (#7 high beam) ON THE BIGDOG HARNESS SIDE CONNECTOR......and NOT the Wire+ module side. You should see each of your headlight beams work when jumpered.

Swapping out the module to test may be the only solution if beams work.

I'm sure WP will take care of getting you going.

 

[REMorris]

I do have low beam and the bike does start. I guess the wire plus has a solid state switch that when fails at least lets you have the critical functionality. Of that I am glad. My take on the actual Big Dog EHC was that you were going to have it fail and nothing works.

So, see, I can have a positive view on this problem.

Bigdog Bro1, that was an excellent post.
Thanks
Richard

 

[BigDogBro1]

Always good to keep a cool head with these problems and work through them bit by bit.

Well if you do have a low beam but can't switch to a high beam then maybe you could just test the HIGH beam.

Sounds like it could be a WP control module.

 

[REMorris]

My HID has been perfect and was a great upgrade. I have the wireplus, but still have not changed it out. Don't lose faith my friend. Maybe its the mechanics fault? J/K. My motor is built, been flawless. Stock anything sucks.

I am my own mechanic. I am fully able to cause all sorts of mayhem. However, on the wireplus, I strongly advise you to use Jakes 50 or 60 pages of instructions rather than the very short sheet you get from wire plus. I took the files Jake sent me (email, ask him for the files) on a CD to the UPS store and had them print them out in color. And the schematic pdf file was very helpful as well.

I wish that WirePlus divulged the schematics on the 2 modules.

Somehow, I thought that the headlight circuit in wireplus was using a relay. Anyone know if this is true? And since we can get a high power H4 bulb (like a 120 watt or 100 watt) will Wireplus handle it? On this, I can see using the headlight output of wireplus to trigger a relay that has heavy gauge wire to it for the big bulb.

OR (this is good): I recently purchased a 55 watt Bi-Xenon HID with a power supply the same size as Jakes low beam HID. The downside is the rear of the bulb. It's longer than a standard H4. This means that the power supply has to be outside the bucket. I think it can be hidden in the area between the 2 tank halves. I just need to make a longer high voltage cable for it. For anyone interested, the 55 watt dual (HI/LOW HID motorcycle kit ran me about $65 (yes, that's right, no misprint)

DDM Tuning : Motorcycle HID Kits & Lighting

I guess I will start a thread on the hi/low HID rather than bury it here.

Let me know if anyone else is liking a hi/low HID kit as well.

Richard

 

[scooterfxr]

help just recently joined forum trying at put wiresplus on 06 dog everything was going good until lost all controls on left bars and smoke comming from under set (NOT GOOD) SMOKE COMMING FROM WP MODULE calling WP tomarrow were can i get copy of 60 page install willing to pay I am so stuck thanks Scooterxr

 

[francoblay1]

help just recently joined forum trying at put wiresplus on 06 dog everything was going good until lost all controls on left bars and smoke comming from under set (NOT GOOD) SMOKE COMMING FROM WP MODULE calling WP tomarrow were can i get copy of 60 page install willing to pay I am so stuck thanks Scooterxr

Somebody asked the same question and Kaptin answered this: Big Dog EHC Retrofit kit

 

[HMAN]

Richard, FWIW.... I had my Pit die and not start after BOTH the hi and low beams went out. Bike died and it popped the 30amp fuse. I pulled the blown bulb and replaced the fuse and she fired right up. Put in a new bulb with the WSW ceramic holder and no issues. Just food for thought. This is with a WP.