Dodgy electrics?
 

Hello all,

I'm currently on a rtw trip on a Tenere (09) and having problems with the electrics. The regulator first failed 1000km into the trip in Germany - common problem, replaced by a dealer, no drama.

But 4 months / 15,000 km later the second regulator failed completely without warning (in a remote part of Azerbaijan). This was replaced, but the bike has now developed a problem with the headlight circuit, which will now blow the 20A fuse in minutes.

Err, any ideas? A short on the headlight circuit? Could this have caused the problem with the second regulator? Has anyone else had multiple regulator failures? The bike is running OK without the lights at the moment.

I'm currently in Iran so expertise and parts are thin on the ground!

Cheers, JD

Might be worth having a look under the fuel tank where the wiring loom runs, I and a believe several others have found there was some chafing of the loom where it was badly routed from the factory.

Good luck.

I would bet on some issue on the wiring loom... I started experiencing blown up fuses but in my case was the ignition fuse or the main fuse... I'd replace, they'd blow instantly... solution was to move a bit the wires then put another fuse... so the wiring is pretty dodgy.

hi, i experienced a problem a while ago, like you my headlmp fuse was blowing it turned out to be a bulb failure. it had shorted internally, at least an easy fix.
i think it was gulg, he had a problem under the seat, the loom passes a post/ allen bolt and it had rubbed through the insulation. as per usual the fix is easier than the diagnostic

as for the regulator, i dont believe the short out, other than blowing fuses and draining batteries would cause a failure, as the stator/ generator is not a big capacity unit. my money would be on the connector particularly the earth terminal.

personally i would change it out for a beefier unit, most five wire bike regulators can be made work check out http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?...ight=regulator

hope all gets sorted bernard

Hi i had 2 rec/reg go and had to replace my wireing loom,i was just out the warrenty i done only 6000 miles.It look like the earth wire and melted in main wire loom, so i would check this and i have now put a cover to shop all the road crap ect get at the Rec/reg.
I try to get a answer of Yamaha but know one seems to why this keeps happening? my is 09 xt660z and i had spayed all the main connect ect .
hope your trip gos well .

I'll definitely try changing the bulb before I start removing the tank etc.

stoic bloke - was the bulb still working when your fuses were blowing?

The regulator connector was protected by a piece of inner tube and the bike hasn't seen rain in 3 months. Incidentally, I'm not sure the new regulator I have on there is the original spec - it's from a Yamaha jetski! It was all I could get in Azerbaijan, but looks identical and seems to be working ok.

I really hope the loom is not on the way out...

Cheers, JD

hi jamie, the short was in the main bulb,
initially i replaced the dip bulb as i thought it looked blown, fitted a fuse and after a while noticed the lights had failed again, so i fitted another fuse it blew again once i flicked the main, then i realised the problem was with main circuit so fitted the suspect dip bulb in it's place and all worked fine again.

as me and the missus were travelling to the lake district in the peeing rain i guess my detective skills were a bit lacking

my advice is disconnect the bulbs and fit a fuse, if it blows the fault's else where, the loom, where it seems to fail should be accesible with the seat off look to the right of the air intake the loom rubs against a allen headed bolt

bernard

Jamie, for what it's worth: I was fiddling around doing my aircleaner when I noticed the Allen bolt in the top of the airbox (it's been mentioned before) exerting a heap pressure on the loom. There was a heavy indent in the wiring, which will lead to woes later on, I think. To make matters worse the loom is very tight - absolute minimum length to get the job done. I wrapped gaffer tape around the loom, and then slipped some fuel hose over the Allen bolt. All it's really done is make the loom even tighter, so I think the Allen bolt will have to go. I can't see why it's there, really.

Thanks to all for the advice. The bike is currently being shipped from Iran to India, but I should have it back in a couple of days - I'll investigate and update then.

I'm definitely going to need the headlight - it's monsoon season here (I'm sure my regulator is going to love that!)

Got the bike from Indian customs and the cause of the headlight problem was obvious when I went to swap the bulb. The plug connecting to the dip bulb was half melted and the plastic sheath covering the wires to the plug had receded by an inch. The wires were frayed and causing the short.

I swapped the bulb and taped up the wires, and so far so good. No idea what could have caused the plastics to melt in the first place though. The bulb was still working but one of the pins was blackened.

Not really sure what's cause and what's effect here. Any thoughts?