For technical requests regarding the electrical and systems http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/list.php?29 Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:46:27 -0700 Phorum 5.2.8 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8327,8327#msg-8327 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8327,8327#msg-8327 Been reading that the starter engines from cx models are better, but will they fit the gl 650?
Have a us cross referance manual, where its seems that starter engines from all cx/gl models is the same, exept the cx 650 turbo.

Is this correct?
Sorry for the poor english
Really greatful for any help]]> geiger66 Electrical & Ignition Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:32:46 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8230,8230#msg-8230 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8230,8230#msg-8230
Thanks,

Darren in Seattle]]> djtimpe Electrical & Ignition Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:18:20 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8185,8185#msg-8185 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8185,8185#msg-8185 thanks,
trish
tmski0412@yahoo.com
574-288-1638]]> trish0412 Electrical & Ignition Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:10:11 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8018,8018#msg-8018 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,8018,8018#msg-8018 bluesilverwing Electrical & Ignition Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:13:13 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7992,7992#msg-7992 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7992,7992#msg-7992 thaworth Electrical & Ignition Sat, 17 May 2008 15:43:42 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7910,7910#msg-7910 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7910,7910#msg-7910
The bike seems to run well but I'd like to ask whether the quality of spark really matters and what might be the likely cause of the imbalance?

Ron]]> ramckinnon Electrical & Ignition Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:42:00 -0800 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7836,7836#msg-7836 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7836,7836#msg-7836
During the off season, TRICKLE charge the battery overnight every 6 weeks religiously. This is imperative, as batteries discharge if left to their own devices, and a battery that is at less than 90% or so charge can freeze, causing the housing to crack and leak acid when it thaws or warping the plates and causing possible internal shorts. If it doesn't freeze (eg. the battery in a winter machine stored for the summer) the capacity can be reduced by leaving a battery in a discharged state for an extended period. In other words, if you leave it for 2 or 3 months, even in warm weather, you can reduce the battery's ability to produce current. I mark ahead every 6 weeks on my calendar when I put a machine (bike, lawn mower, anything with a battery) away and when that date comes up I start rotating the charger onto every battery in the shed for one night each.

When I worked at a battery factory we were told that if a battery was allowed to sit without a charge for 6 months in ideal conditions it would be "fully discharged", and that if a battery is left "fully discharged" for even a couple of days, the battery will not be able to be re-charged to it's full capacity again.
For a 12v battery, "fully discharged" means somewhere in the 9-10v range. If it is discharged below this point it will never be able to be fully re-charged again even if charged immediately. This is because the lead oxide in the plates changes to lead sulphate when the battery is discharged, and if the battery is discharged too far or is left discharged the lead sulphate crystals grow bigger and then can't readily turn back into lead oxide when current is passed through the battery by a charger.
Note: "Ideal conditions means absolutely no current drain. Since current drain can be caused by dirt on the battery, moisture in the air, and a number of other conditions, batteries stored in the plant were always re-charged every 2 months. Left in a vehicle, there are even more possibilities - perhaps a few microamps because of some dirt on a switch somewhere?


Here is how a lead/acid battery works:

When a lead acid battery is first put into service, it is filled with a specific amount of a specific type of electrolyte. The electrolyte is usually sulphuric acid dilluted 50/50 with water (H2O+SO2=H2SO4).
When you charge the battery, it creates a chemical reaction inside the battery which causes some of the sulphur atoms from the electrolyte to move to the plates and in so doing liberates some of the hydrogen atoms (because of the molecular bonds, I think), which vent to the atmosphere. Hydrogen is highly combustable (remember the Hindenberg), and you should never smoke or operate anything that could cause a spark near a charging battery.
When current is drawn from the battery, the chemical reaction causes sulphur atoms to move back to the electrolyte, but since there is no longer enough hydrogen to make H2SO4 with all of the sulphur & oxygen, it bonds with what it can and in the process liberates some of the oxygen atoms which don't have hydrogen to bond with them, which vent to the atmosphere.
Since hydrogen and oxygen (the components of water) are constantly being vented during charge/discharge cycles, but the sulphur only moves from the electrolyte to the plates and back, you only need to add water to top up the battery. If you add acid you will increase the ammount of sulphur in the cells, which will shorten the life of the battery.
The only reason for ever adding anything other than water to a battery is if some of the electrolyte has been spilled (eg. the bike falls over and isn't picked up quickly enough), and even then the specific gravity of the remaining electrolyte should be measured and the replacement electrolyte should be diluted with water to match in order to maintain the correct ammount of sulphur in the cells.

I only use tap water because I'm cheap & lazy. In my opinion, since I feel it is more work to obtain distilled water and use it than it is to trickle charge my off season batteries every 6 weeks, and I am getting more life out of a battery than many who use distilled water but aren't so fanatical about off season maintenance, I guess it's OK.

Note: I wouldn't use tap water with a high iron content in a battery. Even trace ammounts of iron in a cell can destroy it. Apparently it has to do with the iron oxide and chemical bonds.

In the battery factory they used municipal treated water (tap water) in all the new batteries. The main reason for using the purest water you can get (usually distilled - unless you have an electric vehicle with Ballard fuel cells, then you can collect really pure, newly made water from it's outlet) is that since pure hydrogen and pure oxygen are vented from the battery, any impurities in the water you add will stay in the electrolyte for the life of the battery. I decided long ago that it was better (IMO) to top a battery up a few times during it's life with impure water than to use it with low electrolyte levels. Maybe it's just me, but it seems that batteries don't need to be topped up as often as they used to. I remember doing monthly battery maintenance, but now I only need to add a bit of water 1 or 2 times a year. It's only a matter of time before someone figures out that bikes should have maintenance free batteries, and we won't need to add any.]]> Sidecar Bob Electrical & Ignition Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:52:48 -0800 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7827,7827#msg-7827 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7827,7827#msg-7827
Thanks, Brian]]> Brian FORD Electrical & Ignition Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:20:34 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7786,7786#msg-7786 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7786,7786#msg-7786 olmeda Electrical & Ignition Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:06:23 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7744,7744#msg-7744 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7744,7744#msg-7744 In the Iron Butt, you spend a lot of time at high speeds on deserted roads at night, and good lighting is absolutely imperative.
Most bike charging systems (partly due to weight considerations) don't have a lot of excess capacity. Certainly not enough to allow regular use of a pair of 55W halogen driving lights in addition to the original 55W headlight, but most have enough capacity for one extra driving light.

What Peter does is:
- Connect the right hand driving light to the high beam and aim it directly ahead and level so that it increases the high beam's effectiveness.
- Connect the left hand driving light to the low beam and aim it so that it's light hits the shoulder of the road about twice as far away as the low beam hits the road. This allows you to dim your lights for oncoming traffic while still having some of the benefits of the driving light.

The driving lights can be controlled with a double pole single throw (dpst) switch.

I have tried this and it works.

Note: for maximum effectiveness, the driving lights ahould be mounted as high as possible. The lower they are, the less light will actually project down the road and the more light will merely illuminate the road close to you.
I had the lights on my trike mounted on the front of the fairing, just below the windshield. It made it look kind of like a big frog, but they worked much better than on previous setups where I had lights mounted below the fairing.]]> Sidecar Bob Electrical & Ignition Sun, 01 Jul 2007 05:43:49 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7731,7731#msg-7731 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7731,7731#msg-7731 I mounted some small 50w halogen driving lights to my sons 82 GL500, I wanted them to come on with the high beam, problem is the high beam goes to 1/2 power when the driving lights come on. Has anyone attempted this?

Norseman]]> norseman Electrical & Ignition Sun, 01 Jul 2007 06:02:45 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7725,7725#msg-7725 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7725,7725#msg-7725 Jackson Electrical & Ignition Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:17:47 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7704,7704#msg-7704 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7704,7704#msg-7704
I have a 1982 GL500 that at idle is charging 14.5 volts, when reved up it will jump a little, 14.6 or 14.7. Isnt this high for voltage at idle?

Thanks

Norseman]]> norseman Electrical & Ignition Tue, 21 Aug 2007 04:24:09 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7701,7701#msg-7701 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7701,7701#msg-7701 dasulava Electrical & Ignition Thu, 31 May 2007 21:39:56 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7663,7663#msg-7663 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7663,7663#msg-7663
Last year I bought a type I radio system for my GL500I. Had no problems installing it as all the necessary wiring was already in the fairing. Everything worked just fine for some time, then the radio tuner box went haywire. So, a couple weeks ago I bid on and won a complete type II system from an '83 GL1100 Aspencade (ebay). It supposedly included the complete fairing wiring harness, but lo and behold the adapter wire (or intercom wire) harness is missing!! And of course the seller hasn't responded to repeated emails about this issue...

Anyhow, this adapter is what connects the incoming wiring harness to the voltmeter, controller (radio head unit), and either the power amp or the component terminal, according to the wiring diagram I found. Reference: [home.comcast.net]

Most likely I'm not going to find this adapter harness anywhere, so I'm hoping to get the necessary info from someone or somewhere in order to make it myself. I can buy the connector ends locally, I just need to know how the wiring in the harness is branched to the various components.

Thanks in advance for all replies!]]> drknobs Electrical & Ignition Sun, 15 Apr 2007 21:47:33 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7658,7658#msg-7658 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7658,7658#msg-7658 dstevens58 Electrical & Ignition Sun, 25 Mar 2007 16:02:13 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7652,7652#msg-7652 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7652,7652#msg-7652 Andre43 Electrical & Ignition Sun, 25 Mar 2007 15:22:54 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7590,7590#msg-7590 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7590,7590#msg-7590 for CX/GL500/650

(1981)
Standard heat range
U.S. ND X24ES-U or NGK D8EA
Canadian ND X24ESR-U or NGK DR8ES-L
Cold weather (below 41f/5c)
U.S. ND X22ES-U or NGK D7EA
Canadian ND X22ESR-U or NGK DR7ES
Extended high-speed riding
U.S. ND X27ES-U or NGK D9EA
Canadian NO X27ESR-U or NGK DR9ES

(1982)
Standard heat range
U.S. and Canadian ND X24ESR-U or NGK DR8ES-L
Cold weather (below 41f/5c)
U.S. and Canadian ND X22ESR-U or NGK DR7ES
Extended high-speed riding
U.S. and Canadian ND X27ESR-U or NGK DR8EA

(1983)
Standard heat range
U.S. and Canadian ND X24EPR-U9 or NGK DPR8EA-9
Extended high-speed riding
U.S. and Canadian ND X27EPR-U9 or NGK DPR9EA-9

Spark plug gap
1980-1982 0.6-0.7- mm (0.024-0.028 in.)
1983 0.8-0.9 mm (0.031-0.035 in.)]]> Sidecar Bob Electrical & Ignition Fri, 16 Feb 2007 20:09:52 -0800 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7587,7587#msg-7587 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7587,7587#msg-7587 AZrider Electrical & Ignition Sat, 06 Jan 2007 21:45:20 -0800 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7565,7565#msg-7565 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7565,7565#msg-7565
[www.pollyheaters.com] recommends kit #PH400 (list price $31 us) for motorcycles. Their website says "This kit contains heaters which have a dual heat setting; however, they are different from the snowmobile kit because they are manufactured to run slightly cooler. In addition this kit contains a metal bound switch, and various additional items to facilitate installation."

Since I already have the centre off DPDT switch in my fairing & wired up so that they are in series for high & in parallel in low, (and I need all the heat I can get when it's -20c or colder), I bought a Polly Heaters #PH300 kit (the standard single heat snowmobile kit) for $25 cdn from a local bike dealer.
The website says they list for $18 us.

When I removed my old cartridges, I discovered that the old ones are Polly heaters too. As far as I can tell, they are the same as the new ones.

My original heaters cost $60 cdn in 1989. They came with a SPDT centre off switch and a resistor, and the instructions said to wire them in parallel & connect the switch so that the resistor was in series with the heaters for low and the heaters were connected directly to power for high.

The new dual heat sets have 3 wires to each cartridge & no resistor, so they must have 2 heating coils in each one.

If I was doing it from scratch, I would still get the single heat cartridges & wire them as I have described. The DPDT switch would certainly cost less than $13 us, and I'm pretty sure mine use less power on low set up this way.

BTW: [www.pollyheaters.com] says that all of their heaters are 18 watts per cartridge.]]> Sidecar Bob Electrical & Ignition Wed, 06 Dec 2006 18:37:14 -0800 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7551,7551#msg-7551 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7551,7551#msg-7551 Z-man Electrical & Ignition Tue, 28 Nov 2006 22:37:44 -0800 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7548,7548#msg-7548 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7548,7548#msg-7548 Got a '83 gl650i (silverwing). Does anyone see a problem with using a universal 3 wire ignition switch (besides fork lock) instead of paying $125 for the OEM switch?


Thanx, Zman]]> Z-man Electrical & Ignition Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:57:05 -0800 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7505,7505#msg-7505 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7505,7505#msg-7505 Based on your location and history riding in the cold, sounds like you've been there and done that.
Thanks again.]]> rob c Electrical & Ignition Sat, 21 Oct 2006 18:36:06 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7503,7503#msg-7503 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7503,7503#msg-7503 Looking to add either heated gloves or heated grips to my 81 gl500.
Run no other accessories (other than gps which takes almost no amps).
Will my alternator provide enough amperage to add the heated option? (my guess is they draw quite a bit).
Any advise appreciated - also which is better way to go; heated gloves or heated grips?

Thanks muchly.]]> rob c Electrical & Ignition Sun, 15 Oct 2006 19:38:34 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7478,7478#msg-7478 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7478,7478#msg-7478
I've just acquired a 1983 GL500D Silverwing that's been laid up and garaged for the past 7 years. The bike did start and i'm on top of all the main service items. I put a new battery in tonight to test the electrical components (except ignition/sparking etc as carbs still off bike!). Everything appeared to work fine (horn, indicators, lights) until I turned the lights off. At this point the instrument panel lights (neutral and oil indicator) and the indicators then failed to work.

I'm no expert on electrics but on all my bikes in the past this did not happen. I've had a look through the wiring diagram in the Haynes manual and can't figure out what the problem is.

Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks in advance, Tony]]> Tony_b40 Electrical & Ignition Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:58:06 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7419,7419#msg-7419 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7419,7419#msg-7419 I'm trying to install an ChatterBox alarm system on my bike and can't locate
the necessary wiring. Do I have to remove all the body shell to see wires?.
I would also like to install a third light (LED's) to the brake light.
***I got the system to work finally, how does one delete this post now?***]]> jhcbac Electrical & Ignition Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:45:02 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7350,7350#msg-7350 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7350,7350#msg-7350
I am looking for a Spark Plug Spanner but have so far been unsuccesful finding anything locally (Northern Thailand).

Can any one advise whether they know the nearest equivalent (someone suggested the Honda Phantom (150cc or 200cc) uses a similar narrow long reach spanner).

Apart from that, the only information I can find is a posting on another forum saying that I need an 18mm for the D8EA...thin walled spanner with long reach for the CX500. Is this correct?

Many thanks for your help

Daniel]]> daniel Electrical & Ignition Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:31:04 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7284,7284#msg-7284 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7284,7284#msg-7284 I would like to install a headlight flasher and a taillight wig-wag on my ride. Has anyone installed one on their ride and is the stock wireing system capable of supporting this? I dont want to overload the charging system and/or wireing.
There are some nice units out there but they are expensive. Does anyone know if it is possible to construct them yourself? If so are there any schematics avilable?:S]]> mrkevt Electrical & Ignition Fri, 25 Aug 2006 07:38:44 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7205,7205#msg-7205 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7205,7205#msg-7205

Update: Tried the cheapest fix I could think of, a set of new spark plugs and it started right up.]]> Rod-66 Electrical & Ignition Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:34:43 -0700 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7041,7041#msg-7041 http://www.aegeansoft.com/silverwing/phorum/read.php?29,7041,7041#msg-7041 All fuses are good. wires look good. I've got the faring off, tank off, all looks good.
I'M GOING CRAZY PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Bret]]> Bret Electrical & Ignition Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:19:27 -0700