Another electrical lesson learned

[awagnon]

I was riding home on I-80 late this afternoon in the rain when suddenly I hit a small bump and lost my headlight (high and low beam), accessory lights, turn signals, tail light, horn, heated grips. Everything except the windshield adjuster and the brake light. No idiot lights came on and it was dark enough that I could see the dash lights were on. Except for my yellow jacket, I was pretty invisible in the rain. I didn't stop because the bike was loaded and I didn't want to unload everything to get to the fuse box. I did turn the key off and back on hoping to "reset" something, but it didn't.

 

There isn't a fuse in common with everything that went out. I thought probably the load-relief relay had gotten stuck in the open position after hitting the bump. Almost right. When I got home, the relay was out of it's socket. Pushed it back in and everything worked fine. Usually you can barely pull the relays out, so I don't know why it came loose. Anyway, another lesson learned and filed in the cobwebs of my mind.

[hisandhers]

Thanks for the wisdom.....with the roads around here, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I loosen something!

[boatzo]

Thanks for the info Al. Can you give us which relay it was (position in the box)?

[awagnon]

Thanks for the info Al. Can you give us which relay it was (position in the box)?

 

On the front row of relays, it's the first small relay on the left. ( It's just to the right of the large, starter motor relay. )

 

[boatzo]

Thanks Al. I don't seem to have that drawing you posted so will print it and put it in my shop manual.