Advice on ZR-7 wiring loom

[Gamefreak501]

Hi everyone,

I've been having problems with the electrical system on my ZR7.

The LH indicator wasn't lit but the tell tale and rear LH indicator were flashing really quickly.

After investigating, I identified a lot of rust inside the LH indicator fitting. When cleaning it up failed to resolve the issue, I ordered a new LH indicator assembly which arrived this morning; soldered the connector from the old one and plugged it all in, however, the problem still remains.

Here are the troubleshooting steps I've tried:

1). Wired the LH unit in to the RH loom - same issue.

2). Wired the RH unit in to the LH loom - same issue.

2). Cut the connector off and wired in a 9V battery to the LH indicator assembly it was working fine. Observed that the connector cable was blackened.

With what I've found, is it feasible that there was some sort of short which has smoked the left hand loom? The RH indicators (front and rear) work absolutely perfectly.

It looks like I will have to remove the front headlight unit and the tank to get to some more of the wiring loom, has anyone had experience of these sorts of issues on their motorbikes? I'm concerned that with my bike being 12-13 years old I'll only be able to get a second hand loom, which I might end up having problems with. I haven't found any brand new looms yet :-/

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[Gamefreak501]

Many thanks for all of your replies, as well as the links MowyTone

I'm going to trace the cabling back this weekend, I can see a molex connector just in front of the tank/behind the handlebars which might be a good place to start.

What's effectively happening is that my RH indicator works (front and back) but if I plug the LH indicator in to the RH loom, it doesn't work. If I plug the RH indicator into the LH loom, it doesn't work either.

So it could be the switch, or the cabling. I've taken the molex connector off as the wires on it weren't good anyway. I know the LH indicator works as I tested it on a 9V battery so it's got to be somewhere between the switch and the indicator wiring. I'll find out how bad it is this weekend :/

 

[Gamefreak501]

Thanks for your reply Rilot,

I haven't replaced the turn signal relay yet, because I'd expect it to impact on the all the other indicators which work fine; but, there is no harm in buying one and trying it out. I'm going to phone a few of the local dealerships tomorrow to find out if they have any in stock for the weekend.

First thing I'm going to do this coming weekend is to check that I'm getting 12v from the switch to the LH indicator harness.

I've studied the wiring diagram and it looks like the LH front indicator feeds into the RH front indicator, city light and headlight, before a power block connects it to the gauges, left handle bar and right handlebar switch gear.

I know there is 12v to the RH indicator, guages, switch gear, headlight and the rear lights as these all work - but that doesn't mean to say that the relay is faulty, or any wiring relating to the turn signal switch or the LH unit is faulty. Plus as said earlier, the harness could have been chopped and changed in any way during it's life.

So my plan of action is as follows:

-Test for 12v from the LH turn signal harness right to the switch, relay and fuse box; replacing any bad cabling.
-Try an alternative turn signal relay.

Fingers crossed I'll be up and running by the end of the weekend again!

 

[Gamefreak501]

Thanks very much for your reply Dogbreath;

I had a friend look at the wiring with me today and we found the root of the problem - effectively, the connector that I had soldered in (wasn't a very good job either) had dirty wires on it. After testing the earths and making sure we completed circuits nearer to the front, we started troubleshooting the cabling.

As I hadn't cleaned the wire up properly, the solder join wasn't very tidy, it did a job, but not a good one.

My friend was able to clean the wires up with some solvent and resolder them for me, and lo and behold, the LH indicator then started working.

So I'm a happy chappy now and have a fully working bike

 

[Gamefreak501]

Thanks Dogbreath,

That is some sound advice; with the weather possibly going bad, I think I should get that done over the weekend, don't think much riding will be happening ha ha!