I replaced the wiring harness on my Z600 including the dash wiring harness because the previous one had partially melted and apparently shorted out somewhere.. I install the replacement harness exactly the way as the previous one and for some reason every time I turn on the headlights both blinker indicator lights light up at the same time?. and another question I have, it looks like the highbeam indicatorwas never hooked up from the factory the plug is blank where the wire should go?.
Any direction would be greatly appreciated thanks Elliot
Z600 Wiring Issues!
Re: Z600 Wiring Issues!
Hi Elliot,
You mention that you replaced the wiring harness because the previous one was compromised by high electrical currents flowing through them. Those high currents through the harness were looking for a path which connected them with the negative terminal of the battery which is tied to the body of the car. When you look at the electrical schematic of the car, you will find many of your switches and lights offer a path to ground. I would suspect that one or more of your ground-side connections are not offering a low resistance path to ground (which is the body of the car). In theory, the problem you have is probably very simple. In practice, you are trying to look for a problem which may be located in a hard to find spot under the dashboard, inside the engine compartment, or inside the bodywork of the car.
Since you notice the problem when the headlights are on, that is when a large current is flowing through the wiring. That means the bad connection may not look very bad if you are using an inexpensive ohmmeter (usually one of the choices on your voltmeter). If you have a meter you obtained for free from Harbor Freight, its ohmmeter setting will not have sufficient resolution. I suspect that most people watching these posts don't have an ohmmeter good enough to solve your problem. So, let's see what you can do.
1. Check that you have 2 ground wires from your battery negative terminal. One should be bolted to the engine and one should be bolted to the body (usually at the bolt which attaches the ignition coil to the body).
2. At the fuse block, with the headlights off, check the voltage at each fuse.
Then turn on the headlights and check the voltage at each fuse. Are they the same as before?
Which ones are different.
Measure the voltage by connecting the negative lead of your voltmeter to the
metal of the car and the positive lead to the fuse. An inexpensive meter (even the Harbor Freight Variety) will be fine.
3. Try removing the connectors from both headlights so they do not light. When you turn on the headlight switch, do the blinker lights show?
Use your voltmeter to measure the voltage directly across the battery (meter set to measure DC voltages greater than 15 volts). Record this number.
Use the voltmeter to measure the battery voltage from the + battery terminal to the metal of the car body. This number should be close to what you read across the battery. If you turn off the headlight switch and everything in the car is off, these voltage reading should be the same.
Try connecting the left headlight only and see which blinker lights show.
Try connecting the right headlight only and see which blinker lights show.
With the headlamps on, can you measure the voltage voltage across the headlamp? This might be tough to do.
I usually use a spare headlight bulb and plug it in enough so I can still access the tabs on the bulb to measure the voltage. This step is to find out how much voltage drop is in the wiring. You measure across each bulb and while the bulbs are on, measure the voltage across the battery and also from the + battery terminal to the chassis. In addition, I will measure the voltage from the battery post to the battery connector. But I don't think your problem is due to dirty battery terminals or the terminal not tightened.
Let me know what voltages you see.
4. If you don't want to be bothered doing the voltage measurements, you could just take an insulated length of wire which has the bare metal exposed at each end and connect one end to the ground of the car (the metal body, metal frame, negative terminal of the battery, metal of the ignition switch) and use the other end as a probe. With the headlights on, you would touch your probe wire to all the items which are supposed to be grounded (I am suspecting one or more has been compromised), you may find the spot where the problem goes away because you just re-established a good ground connection. Just make sure you are connecting your wire to ground connections and not hot connections (at +12 volts) or you will see some sparks.
Sorry for the lengthy message. Let us know what you find.
good luck,
Dale
You mention that you replaced the wiring harness because the previous one was compromised by high electrical currents flowing through them. Those high currents through the harness were looking for a path which connected them with the negative terminal of the battery which is tied to the body of the car. When you look at the electrical schematic of the car, you will find many of your switches and lights offer a path to ground. I would suspect that one or more of your ground-side connections are not offering a low resistance path to ground (which is the body of the car). In theory, the problem you have is probably very simple. In practice, you are trying to look for a problem which may be located in a hard to find spot under the dashboard, inside the engine compartment, or inside the bodywork of the car.
Since you notice the problem when the headlights are on, that is when a large current is flowing through the wiring. That means the bad connection may not look very bad if you are using an inexpensive ohmmeter (usually one of the choices on your voltmeter). If you have a meter you obtained for free from Harbor Freight, its ohmmeter setting will not have sufficient resolution. I suspect that most people watching these posts don't have an ohmmeter good enough to solve your problem. So, let's see what you can do.
1. Check that you have 2 ground wires from your battery negative terminal. One should be bolted to the engine and one should be bolted to the body (usually at the bolt which attaches the ignition coil to the body).
2. At the fuse block, with the headlights off, check the voltage at each fuse.
Then turn on the headlights and check the voltage at each fuse. Are they the same as before?
Which ones are different.
Measure the voltage by connecting the negative lead of your voltmeter to the
metal of the car and the positive lead to the fuse. An inexpensive meter (even the Harbor Freight Variety) will be fine.
3. Try removing the connectors from both headlights so they do not light. When you turn on the headlight switch, do the blinker lights show?
Use your voltmeter to measure the voltage directly across the battery (meter set to measure DC voltages greater than 15 volts). Record this number.
Use the voltmeter to measure the battery voltage from the + battery terminal to the metal of the car body. This number should be close to what you read across the battery. If you turn off the headlight switch and everything in the car is off, these voltage reading should be the same.
Try connecting the left headlight only and see which blinker lights show.
Try connecting the right headlight only and see which blinker lights show.
With the headlamps on, can you measure the voltage voltage across the headlamp? This might be tough to do.
I usually use a spare headlight bulb and plug it in enough so I can still access the tabs on the bulb to measure the voltage. This step is to find out how much voltage drop is in the wiring. You measure across each bulb and while the bulbs are on, measure the voltage across the battery and also from the + battery terminal to the chassis. In addition, I will measure the voltage from the battery post to the battery connector. But I don't think your problem is due to dirty battery terminals or the terminal not tightened.
Let me know what voltages you see.
4. If you don't want to be bothered doing the voltage measurements, you could just take an insulated length of wire which has the bare metal exposed at each end and connect one end to the ground of the car (the metal body, metal frame, negative terminal of the battery, metal of the ignition switch) and use the other end as a probe. With the headlights on, you would touch your probe wire to all the items which are supposed to be grounded (I am suspecting one or more has been compromised), you may find the spot where the problem goes away because you just re-established a good ground connection. Just make sure you are connecting your wire to ground connections and not hot connections (at +12 volts) or you will see some sparks.
Sorry for the lengthy message. Let us know what you find.
good luck,
Dale
> I replaced the wiring harness on my Z600 including the dash wiring > harness because the previous one had partially melted and apparently shorted > out somewhere.. I install the replacement harness exactly the way as the > previous one and for some reason every time I turn on the headlights both > blinker indicator lights light up at the same time?. and another > question I have, it looks like the highbeam indicatorwas never hooked up from > the factory the plug is blank where the wire should go?.
> Any direction would be greatly appreciated thanks Elliot
Re: Z600 Wiring Issues!
Thanks Dale, I do have a fluke multi meter and also a harbor freight meter thanks for pointing out the difference on which one to use.. The battery negative cable and it's connections are clean just as you mentioned in both cases for the ignition coil and on the engine.. I'm going to start checking voltage is like you mentioned just to see I have a feeling maybe the ground inside the car is not very good I'm not sure Sent from my iPad
On May 6, 2015, at 6:46 PM,
goinhm@...
[2cylinderhondas] wrote:
Hi Elliot,
You mention that you replaced the wiring harness because
the previous one was compromised by high electrical currents flowing through them. Those high currents through the harness were looking for a path which connected them with the negative terminal of the battery which is tied to the body of the car. When you look at the electrical schematic of the car, you will find many of your switches and lights offer a path to ground. I would suspect that one or more of your ground-side connections are not offering a low resistance path to ground (which is the body of the car). In theory, the problem you have is probably very simple. In practice, you are trying to look for a problem which may be located in a hard to find spot under the dashboard, inside the engine compartment, or inside the bodywork of the car.
Since you notice the problem when the headlights are
on, that is when a large current is flowing through the
wiring. That means the bad connection may not look very bad if you are using an inexpensive ohmmeter (usually one of the choices on your voltmeter). If you have a meter you obtained for free from Harbor Freight, its ohmmeter setting will not have sufficient resolution. I suspect that most people watching these posts don't have an ohmmeter good enough to solve your problem. So, let's see what you can do.
1. Check that you have 2 ground wires from your battery negative terminal. One should be bolted to the engine and one should be bolted to the body (usually at the bolt which attaches the ignition coil to the body).
2. At the fuse block, with the headlights off,
check the voltage at each fuse.
Then turn on the headlights and check the
voltage at each fuse. Are they the same as before?
Which ones are different.
Measure the voltage by connecting the negative lead of your voltmeter to the
metal of the car and the positive lead
to the fuse. An inexpensive meter (even the Harbor Freight Variety) will be fine.
3. Try removing the connectors from both headlights so
they do not light. When you turn on the headlight switch, do the blinker lights show?
Use your voltmeter to measure the voltage
directly across the battery (meter set to measure DC voltages greater than 15 volts). Record this number.
Use the voltmeter to measure the battery
voltage from the + battery terminal to the metal of the car body. This number should be close to what you read across the battery. If you turn off the headlight switch and everything in the car is off, these voltage reading should be the same.
Try connecting the left headlight only and
see which blinker lights show.
Try connecting the right headlight only and
see which blinker lights show.
With the headlamps on, can you measure
the voltage voltage across the headlamp? This might be tough to do.
I usually use a spare headlight bulb and plug it in enough so I can still access the tabs on the bulb to measure the voltage. This step is to find out how much voltage drop is in the wiring. You measure across each bulb and while the bulbs are on, measure the voltage across the battery and also from the + battery terminal to the chassis. In addition, I will measure the voltage from the battery post to the battery connector. But I don't think your problem is due to dirty battery terminals or the terminal not tightened.
Let me know what voltages you see.
4. If you don't want to be bothered doing the voltage
measurements, you could just take an insulated length of wire which has the bare metal exposed at each end and connect one end to the ground of the car (the metal body, metal frame, negative terminal of the battery, metal of the ignition switch) and use the other end as a probe. With the headlights on, you would touch your probe wire to all the items which are supposed to be grounded (I am suspecting one or more has been compromised), you may find the spot where the problem goes away because you just re-established a good ground connection. Just make sure you are connecting your wire to ground connections and not hot connections (at +12 volts) or you will see some sparks.
Sorry for the lengthy message. Let us know what you find.
good luck,
Dale
> I replaced the wiring harness on my Z600 including the dash wiring > harness because the previous one had partially melted and apparently shorted > out somewhere.. I install the replacement harness exactly the way as the > previous one and for some reason every time I turn on the headlights both > blinker indicator lights light up at the same time?. and another > question I have, it looks like the highbeam indicatorwas never hooked up from > the factory the plug is blank where the wire should go?.
> Any direction would be greatly appreciated thanks Elliot
Re: Z600 Wiring Issues!
Thanks for your help they'll you got me being curious about everything I found the problem the ground wires for the two front lights were never connected!
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
On 06 May 2015, at 8:15 pm, Elliot
elliot62@...
[2cylinderhondas] wrote:
Thanks Dale, I do have a fluke multi meter and also a harbor freight meter thanks for pointing out the difference on which one to use.. The battery negative cable and it's connections are clean just as you mentioned in both cases for the ignition coil and on the engine.. I'm going to start checking voltage is like you mentioned just to see I have a feeling maybe the ground inside the car is not very good I'm not sure Sent from my iPad On May 6, 2015, at 6:46 PM, goinhm@...
[2cylinderhondas] wrote:
> Hi Elliot,
> You mention that you replaced the wiring harness because > the previous one was compromised by high electrical currents flowing > through them. Those high currents through the harness were looking for a > path which connected them with the negative terminal of the battery which is > tied to the body of the car. When you look at the electrical schematic of > the car, you will find many of your switches and lights offer a path to > ground. I would suspect that one or more of your ground-side > connections are not offering a low resistance path to ground (which is the > body of the car). In theory, the problem you have is > probably very simple. In practice, you are trying to look for a > problem which may be located in a hard to find spot under the dashboard, inside > the engine compartment, or inside the bodywork of the car.
> Since you notice the problem when the headlights are
> on, that is when a large current is flowing through the
> wiring. That means the bad connection may not look very bad if you > are using an inexpensive ohmmeter (usually one of the choices on your > voltmeter). If you have a meter you obtained for free from Harbor > Freight, its ohmmeter setting will not have sufficient resolution. I > suspect that most people watching these posts don't have an ohmmeter good enough > to solve your problem. So, let's see what you can do.
> 1. Check that you have 2 ground wires from your battery negative > terminal. One should be bolted to the engine and one should be bolted to the > body (usually at the bolt which attaches the ignition coil to the > body).
> 2. At the fuse block, with the headlights off,
> check the voltage at each fuse.
> Then turn on the headlights and check the
> voltage at each fuse. Are they the same as before?
> Which ones are different.
> Measure the voltage by connecting the negative lead of your voltmeter to the
> metal of the car and the positive lead
> to the fuse. An inexpensive meter (even the Harbor Freight Variety) > will be fine.
> 3. Try removing the connectors from both headlights so
> they do not light. When you turn on the headlight switch, do the > blinker lights show?
> Use your voltmeter to measure the voltage
> directly across the battery (meter set to measure DC voltages greater than > 15 volts). Record this number.
> Use the voltmeter to measure the battery
> voltage from the + battery terminal to the metal of the car body. This > number should be close to what you read across the battery. If you turn > off the headlight switch and everything in the car is off, these voltage > reading should be the same.
> Try connecting the left headlight only and
> see which blinker lights show.
> Try connecting the right headlight only and
> see which blinker lights show.
> With the headlamps on, can you measure
> the voltage voltage across the headlamp? This might be tough to do.
> I usually use a spare headlight bulb and plug it in enough so I can still access > the tabs on the bulb to measure the voltage. This step is to find > out how much voltage drop is in the wiring. You measure across each bulb > and while the bulbs are on, measure the voltage across the battery and > also from the + battery terminal to the chassis. In > addition, I will measure the voltage from the battery post to the battery > connector. But I don't think your problem is due to dirty battery > terminals or the terminal not tightened.
> Let me know what voltages you see.
> 4. If you don't want to be bothered doing the voltage
> measurements, you could just take an insulated length of wire which has > the bare metal exposed at each end and connect one end to the ground > of the car (the metal body, metal frame, negative terminal of the battery, > metal of the ignition switch) and use the other end as a probe. With > the headlights on, you would touch your probe wire to all the items > which are supposed to be grounded (I am suspecting one or more has been > compromised), you may find the spot where the problem goes away because > you just re-established a good ground connection. Just > make sure you are connecting your wire to ground connections and not hot > connections (at +12 volts) or you will see some sparks.
> Sorry for the lengthy message. Let us know what you find.
> good luck,
> Dale
> > I replaced the wiring harness on my Z600 including the dash wiring > > harness because the previous one had partially melted and apparently shorted > > out somewhere.. I install the replacement harness exactly the way as the > > previous one and for some reason every time I turn on the headlights both > > blinker indicator lights light up at the same time?. and another > > question I have, it looks like the highbeam indicatorwas never hooked up from > > the factory the plug is blank where the wire should go?.
> > Any direction would be greatly appreciated thanks Elliot
Re: Z600 Wiring Issues!
I just want to say this yahoo group ROCKS!! within just a few hours after contacting the group, my wiring problem was Solved thanks to Nobutoshi, Dale and parts from Miles! I spent over 30 hours replacing wire harness (3times) and chasing crossed wires!
Elliot Oshana Sent from my iPad
Elliot Oshana Sent from my iPad
On May 6, 2015, at 9:27 PM, Personel
elliot62@...
[2cylinderhondas] wrote:
Thanks for your help they'll you got me being curious about everything I found the problem the ground wires for the two front lights were never connected!
Sent from my iPhone
On 06 May 2015, at 8:15 pm, Elliot
elliot62@...
[2cylinderhondas] wrote:
> Thanks Dale, I do have a fluke multi meter and also a harbor freight meter thanks for pointing out the difference on which one to use.. The battery negative cable and it's connections are clean just as you mentioned in both cases for the ignition coil and on the engine.. I'm going to start checking voltage is like you mentioned just to see I have a feeling maybe the ground inside the car is not very good I'm not sure > Sent from my iPad > On May 6, 2015, at 6:46 PM, > goinhm@...
> [2cylinderhondas] 2cylinderhondas@yahoogroups.com
> > wrote:
> > Hi Elliot,
> > You mention that you replaced the wiring harness because > > the previous one was compromised by high electrical currents flowing > > through them. Those high currents through the harness were looking for a > > path which connected them with the negative terminal of the battery which is > > tied to the body of the car. When you look at the electrical schematic of > > the car, you will find many of your switches and lights offer a path to > > ground. I would suspect that one or more of your ground-side > > connections are not offering a low resistance path to ground (which is the > > body of the car). In theory, the problem you have is > > probably very simple. In practice, you are trying to look for a > > problem which may be located in a hard to find spot under the dashboard, inside > > the engine compartment, or inside the bodywork of the car.
> > Since you notice the problem when the headlights are > > on, that is when a large current is flowing through the > > wiring. That means the bad connection may not look very bad if you > > are using an inexpensive ohmmeter (usually one of the choices on your > > voltmeter). If you have a meter you obtained for free from Harbor > > Freight, its ohmmeter setting will not have sufficient resolution. I > > suspect that most people watching these posts don't have an ohmmeter good enough > > to solve your problem. So, let's see what you can do.
> > 1. Check that you have 2 ground wires from your battery negative > > terminal. One should be bolted to the engine and one should be bolted to the > > body (usually at the bolt which attaches the ignition coil to the > > body).
> > 2. At the fuse block, with the headlights off,
> > check the voltage at each fuse.
> > Then turn on the headlights and check the
> > voltage at each fuse. Are they the same as before?
> > Which ones are different.
> > Measure the voltage by connecting the negative lead of your voltmeter to the
> > metal of the car and the positive lead
> > to the fuse. An inexpensive meter (even the Harbor Freight Variety) > > will be fine.
> > 3. Try removing the connectors from both headlights so > > they do not light. When you turn on the headlight switch, do the > > blinker lights show?
> > Use your voltmeter to measure the voltage
> > directly across the battery (meter set to measure DC voltages greater than > > 15 volts). Record this number.
> > Use the voltmeter to measure the battery
> > voltage from the + battery terminal to the metal of the car body. This > > number should be close to what you read across the battery. If you turn > > off the headlight switch and everything in the car is off, these voltage > > reading should be the same.
> > Try connecting the left headlight only and
> > see which blinker lights show.
> > Try connecting the right headlight only and
> > see which blinker lights show.
> > With the headlamps on, can you measure
> > the voltage voltage across the headlamp? This might be tough to do.
> > I usually use a spare headlight bulb and plug it in enough so I can still access > > the tabs on the bulb to measure the voltage. This step is to find > > out how much voltage drop is in the wiring. You measure across each bulb > > and while the bulbs are on, measure the voltage across the battery and > > also from the + battery terminal to the chassis. In > > addition, I will measure the voltage from the battery post to the battery > > connector. But I don't think your problem is due to dirty battery > > terminals or the terminal not tightened.
> > Let me know what voltages you see.
> > 4. If you don't want to be bothered doing the voltage
> > measurements, you could just take an insulated length of wire which has > > the bare metal exposed at each end and connect one end to the ground > > of the car (the metal body, metal frame, negative terminal of the battery, > > metal of the ignition switch) and use the other end as a probe. With > > the headlights on, you would touch your probe wire to all the items > > which are supposed to be grounded (I am suspecting one or more has been > > compromised), you may find the spot where the problem goes away because > > you just re-established a good ground connection. Just > > make sure you are connecting your wire to ground connections and not hot > > connections (at +12 volts) or you will see some sparks.
> > Sorry for the lengthy message. Let us know what you find.
> > good luck,
> > Dale
> > > I replaced the wiring harness on my Z600 including the dash wiring > > > harness because the previous one had partially melted and apparently shorted > > > out somewhere.. I install the replacement harness exactly the way as the > > > previous one and for some reason every time I turn on the headlights both > > > blinker indicator lights light up at the same time?. and another > > > question I have, it looks like the highbeam indicatorwas never hooked up from > > > the factory the plug is blank where the wire should go?.
> > > Any direction would be greatly appreciated thanks Elliot