Critical electrical problem

[05Ninjette89]

Sometime today my brake light stopped working, my tag light, and gauge cluster lights. Blinkers and dummy lights all still work. What wires should I check? Also all the connections are secure. Checked and double checked. Yesterday I noticed a light stream of smoke coming from the gap between the handlebars and gas tank. I smelled it and it had a plastic smell to it.

[05Ninjette89]

Turned out to be the fuse in the junction box, now trying to track down why it blew guessing it did from when it smoked

[Motofool]

If you store metal things under your seat, check that nothing is putting pressure against any wire that is enough to cut or perforate the insulation of the wire.

One hot wire is contacting ground between the fuse box and any of those bulbs that don't light up.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by 05Ninjette89

... I noticed a light stream of smoke coming from the gap between the handlebars and gas tank. I smelled it and it had a plastic smell to it.

Originally Posted by 05Ninjette89

Turned out to be the fuse in the junction box, now trying to track down why it blew guessing it did from when it smoked

I have no doubt that the fuse blew, but you still need to figure out why. The most probably cause is a pinched or rubbed wire somewhere. The close proximity to the gas tank makes this especially dangerous.

Check the wiring starting with anything you might have changed or worked on that might be pinching a wire. The circuit you describe goes all over the bike, but the likely bad spot is going to be somewhere near where you saw the smoke.

[05Ninjette89]

The smoke looks to be actually coming from the radiator though it's not leaking. I took all the fairings off, and the tank along with the seat and find several spots on the harnesses that have the loom worn away. I moved the harness to a different spot and wrapped it with electrical tape. None of the wires outside covering were worn or cut.

[j98sprint]

Check the 1157 tail light/brake light bulb.

[n4mwd]

Any chance the radiator fan motor is burned out?

[05Ninjette89]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Any chance the radiator fan motor is burned out?

Checked that yesterday and it's fine. Kicks on when the temperature needle reaches half. And I fixed the problem. It was the fuse not the bulb. I was stupid and checked everything else but the fuse.

[n4mwd]

That still doesn't explain smoke from the radiator or why the fuse blew in the first place.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by 05Ninjette89

.........And I fixed the problem. It was the fuse not the bulb...........

Do you remember what number fuse was burned up?

[n4mwd]

Another thing to check is to make sure someone didn't put one of those superbright extra mega 4X halogen headlight bulbs in there. The correct bulb is the plain jane el-cheapo standard bulb. Any other bulb will cause problems.

[05Ninjette89]

It had the 4x bulb in it. That recently blew so I replaced it with the same one only be silvania or something like that. It was the taillight fuse. Also controlled the speedo lights but not the idiot lights.

[n4mwd]

This is what you want for the headlight on a pregen....

APC H4 Model 60/55w Pair $12.99
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...apc_22650190-p

You have to buy a pair, but I have also seen them in single packs for about $8. The superbrights also have a tendency to burn out quicker. I have 27K on my bike and I've only replaced it once. The superbrights can also use as much as double the power and generate twice the heat. On cars I have seen them actually melt the headlamp fixture.

Anyhow, just cause the fuse is 10A doesn't mean the wiring harness is rated for a continuous load of 10A.

I would replace the headlight with the proper bulb as soon as possible.

[05Ninjette89]

I will definitely do that tomorrow after my regular weekly chain clean/lube and ride. That bulb in the pic only has two prongs where my bike has 3?

[n4mwd]

Look at it again.