NOW I am pissed.

[Chris Cochran]

So, my extended adventure into Voyager maintenance continues. Today, I finally got everything put back together. Every wire bundle reattached, every hose is in place, carbs are in completely, even the seats are on. Everything except the fake gas tank cover is back on the bike.
So, I sit on it and try to start it for the first time with the fresh carbs. Result: ................................ NOTHING. Total electrical death. Nothing works.
The battery was on my battery tender, in the green, for the entire, extended time the bike was apart. It shows 12.84 across the terminals as it sits on the bike. So there is enough juice to do "something". But nothing electrical functions.

I am not in a good mood.

[cushman eagle]

Do you, by any chance ,have a service manual that you could follow the wiring schematic?
One of them would help you to know how to use a test light to follow how far from the battery the current goes,then repair where it fails
There is a downloadable copy on this site,but someone else would have to show you how the find it

[Chris Cochran]

I do have a service manual downloaded. But I'm not going to tear this thing down again. I'll check out the three places that affect all power, such as the ignition switch, the handlebar mounted red kill switch, and the kickstand kill switch.

That being said, the kickstand switch is covered by a substantially thick metal box that I don't know, right now, how to get past. But I CAN hear the switch "click" when I move the kickstand from all the way down to about 4 or 5 inches up. There is a definite "click" coming from it in both directions of travel at that particular point of travel.

The red kill switch will be more of a pop-the-casing-open and see what there is to see. I'll clean up any crud in there, for example.

Same with the ignition switch, to whatever degree I can do it.

But pulling this thing apart and tracing wires just isn't going to happen. Not by me, anyway.

[GrandpaDenny]

Nothing at all works? Won't be any of the safety switches, it'll be something like the main fuse blown, the 10-pin connector, the ignition switch connector not all the way in, etc - something along those lines. Or a bad ignition switch.

[Chris Cochran]

So, where is the main fuse located?
Same question for the 10-pin connector.
I think I can find the ignition switch connector.

[Chris Cochran]

I now have the clock. No radio or lights or anything else, but I do have the clock.

[VoyKimmer]

Sounds like the 10 pin connector on left side . Follow fuse block wire harness down left side and you can’t miss it. Of Corse faux tank and left fairing will have to be removed to find it.

[ekap1200]

Sounds like the 10 pin connector on left side . Follow fuse block wire harness down left side and you can’t miss it. Of corse faux tank and left fairing will have to be removed to find it.

Sometime if its not to far gone, Just un-pluging and pluging the connector several times will scrape the corrosion off the terminals. Other than that one must cut it back and splice it. Did you pull the fuse's out to see if those spades are corroded.
There is no main fuse. Power comes from the single wire that comes off the B+ battery cable. Look at that plug, is it corroded and or the white plastic has become brown and appears to have become hot....
Has this machine sat outdoors for most of its life ?

[Chris Cochran]

I don't know if it's been outside for most of its' life, since it is so old. I do know the last roughly 5 1/2 years it's been garaged.

I'll look for this connector tomorrow. Working on it, in my garage, is a morning thing, maybe stretching to about one o'clock. This is due to the path of the sun.

I have some good canned (spray) electrical cleaner that I can shoot in each part of the connector.

Yes, I did look at the fuses in that black box by the battery and they looked ok but didn't spray any cleaner there. I'll do it tomorrow, too, just for giggles. So, more to report tomorrow.

[Chris Cochran]

Ok, I have pulled the fuses in the black box by the battery and cleaned them up (For reference when I say "cleaned up" I mean I sprayed electrical cleaner on it, plus maybe some scrubbing it off, too.). I pulled the left fairing, found the 10-pin connector and cleaned it, then firmly re-connected it. In fact I did this for every connector I could see. I pulled the kickstand off and cleaned the two connectors there. One was very loose so it got tightened up. I popped open the handlebar mounted kill switch. Not much to see there but I did spray in some cleaner, getting the black "start button also. I even cleaned the actual battery cable connectors.

No change in dead status. Only the clock works when it is off and/or in PARK.

So, my next item to play with is the ignition switch. Does it simply screw out?

[triton28]

There are 2 6mm allen head socket cap screws which go up into the bottom of the switch. They are hard to get to but once undone you can turn the switch upside down and check the solder connections. Pay attention to the connection schematic of the switch to see which wires connect to which when the switch is positioned to the different settings.
The White wire is the primary 12V to the switch and then it gets sorted out to the other circuits by the switch settings.
Dave

[Chris Cochran]

So you're saying that in order to remove the ignition switch I need to remove the front fairing, again.

[ekap1200]

So you're saying that in order to remove the ignition switch I need to remove the front fairing, again.

No he is saying get a 3/8 drive allen head, an extension and a ratchet , place a towel on your PLASTIC FRONT fender and don't lean on it.....go up too the 2 fasteners on the BOTTOM of the ignition switch. . electrically check continuity from point to point. also be aware it may be INTERMITTENT. A break in the wire , which sometimes opens ..when you bug out a wire and it shows continuity WIGGLE the wire and see if it OPENS.

[cushman eagle]

I do not know if you checked the ignition switch harness,you can research that on this forum.
That had been patched on my '99 when I bought it with 22,000 miles in 2009
and gave me trouble shortly after.
From the factory the harness was tied too tight to the steering head and would break on some of the bikes.
I removed mine and rewired it,leaving it loose,and it has not caused any trouble since, over almost 13 years and 82,000 miles.
That harness is the one between the ignition switch and a connecter to the left under the false tank.

[Nails]

Removing the ignition switch as described is surely the best way. But ...

You can also remove the ignition switch along with the upper triple clamp ... something I found out when my bike refused to come off the steering lock in a parking garage in DC. I put the bike on the centerstand, removed the handlebar mounts and set the handlebar aside, removed that big dam nut on the steering shaft, loosened the top fork tube clamps, and unplugged the ignition switch. Then the triple clamp, ignition switch and all, slipped right off. I did all of this with the forks locked (until the triple clamp slipped up a little) -- and with minimal weight on the front wheel (on the centerstand).

I had a bike cover while I took the triple clamp and all to a locksmith, who fabricated a key that would unlock the dam fork lock. Else I'd still be in DC. (Special thanks to Triton28 who checked the size of that big dam nut so I could buy a big dam wrench, which I returned an couple hours later because I already had one at home and sure didn't want to carry it. But I bought some other stuff there because I felt bad about it.)

[Chris Cochran]

The next opportunity I'll have to mess with it won't be until the 5th of September.

[Chris Cochran]

This morning is the first time I am free to deal with this. I removed the entire front fairing to see what is behind it. If it was an electrical connector and I could reach it, I cleaned it.

Also lubed the speedometer cable since I was in the neighborhood.

I do not have the means to get at the two bolts under the ignition switch. For that matter, I'm not sure if I could determine anything even if I had it in my hand. I am about as electrically inclined as Fred Flintstone.

I have worked electrical issues before on my Vn750 but it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay simpler to work on than this thing. Essentially, I am at my wit's end and at the limit of my electrician skills. Things are looking dim sports fans.

The only thing I could really do is go get another battery. This one reads 12.24 volts across the posts.

[Van Voyager]

Voltage measurement won't tell you if the battery is good or not. You need to load test it. Simple test is to measure the voltage while cranking.. (or not cranking in your case). If the voltage drops more than a few volts when the starter button is pressed, your battery is hooped.

[Chris Cochran]

Electrical problems are fixed!!!

I did this in the FaceBook group so I may as well do it here, too. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to submit myself to the Voyager tribe-at-large for punishment. The crime? Stupidity. The electrical problems were because at some point I had removed the battery and the negative post, ground wire had dropped down and forward, out of sight (and mind), to rest underneath the fuse box.

Duh! Had I not removed the fuse box to see what was under it, I would not have seen it.

I amaze myself at times.

I'd like to thank all of the people that had great suggestions for helping me. I DID get rid of the 10-pin connector this morning and soldered all the wires together. And while I had the fairing off (still is actually) I took the opportunity to lube the speedometer cable. So, this electrical detour of efforts were not a total loss. I may actually get to synchronizing the carbs tomorrow!!

[cushman eagle]

Chris,I am glad you finally got the electrical issue fixed
I think we all have made mistakes doing many things
In the almost 13 years I have had my voyager,and 82,000 miles,I have removed my driveshaft 3 times to lube the front splines.And I have lost the retaining pin the first 2 times,after making sure I had a fool proof plan not to lose them