Headlight Wiring Help

[Ladioviro]

Sorry if this is too off-topic, let me know. 

 

I have a CB650 stablemate that had an aftermarket headlight switch wired in (not sure why yet), it was a crass job with extra wires soldered into the bulb-housing and all sorts of melting going on. The headlight itself is apparently wired to california law and cannot be turned off, it's bypassed when the ignition is pressed. 

 

Aaaaanyway, I'm wondering about things

 

1. Is there a certain kind of solder used on the back of the control switches? I found a wire disconnected buy my iron found it hard to clean it off and the new solder didn't really hold to the connections. Industrial stuff? 

 

2. On the wiring diagrams, there's sometimes a little black circle to symbolise a junction, what kind of junctions are they usually? I don't see them corresponding in real life. Can they be anything from a bullet connector to the fuse board?  

 

2.5...is there something better to be using that these blue/red/yellow spade/bullet connections? I've heard maybe just take off the plastic and shrink-wrap them is best? 

 

Thanks for the help, sorry if I broke the rules bringing in a honda...

[eddd]

I'll take a run at explaining what you might be dealing with, but keep in mind we are dealing with limited information.

 

1. Is there a certain kind of solder used on the back of the control switches? I found a wire disconnected buy my iron found it hard to clean it off and the new solder didn't really hold to the connections. Industrial stuff?   

A: All solder is not the same.  Different metal and varying percentages have different melting points and flow characteristics.  The wire itself can vary significantly, and this can affect how the solder adheres.   Your iron needs to be hot enough and clean.  There are solder iron tip cleaners for keeping it clean.  Initially, you can use a file to clean the tip.  You will need to do this periodically if you don't have a tip cleaner.

 

2. On the wiring diagrams, there's sometimes a little black circle to symbolize a junction, what kind of junctions are they usually? I don't see them corresponding in real life. Can they be anything from a bullet connector to the fuse board?  

 

A: The symbol could be a simple junction on a circuit board.  We really need a wider view of the schematic. 

 

2.5...is there something better to be using that these blue/red/yellow spade/bullet connections? I've heard maybe just take off the plastic and shrink-wrap them is best? 

 

A: Hard to beat a soldered joint.  The crimp style connectors are made for speed and simplifying assembly.  The spade connectors can be soldered.  Like you mentioned, remove the plastic, slip on some shrink tubing back over the wire,  solder after using tinning flux.  You might add two layers of shrink tubing, one larger than the other to ensure proper insulation.  Sharp little solder peaks can easily poke through shrink tubing.

 

Fill us in if you need additional information.  More details are always helpful.

[dirtrider]

10 hours ago, Ladioviro said:

Sorry if this is too off-topic, let me know. 

 

I have a CB650 stablemate that had an aftermarket headlight switch wired in (not sure why yet), it was a crass job with extra wires soldered into the bulb-housing and all sorts of melting going on. The headlight itself is apparently wired to california law and cannot be turned off, it's bypassed when the ignition is pressed. 

 

Aaaaanyway, I'm wondering about things

 

1. Is there a certain kind of solder used on the back of the control switches? I found a wire disconnected buy my iron found it hard to clean it off and the new solder didn't really hold to the connections. Industrial stuff? 

 

2. On the wiring diagrams, there's sometimes a little black circle to symbolise a junction, what kind of junctions are they usually? I don't see them corresponding in real life. Can they be anything from a bullet connector to the fuse board?  

 

2.5...is there something better to be using that these blue/red/yellow spade/bullet connections? I've heard maybe just take off the plastic and shrink-wrap them is best? 

 

Thanks for the help, sorry if I broke the rules bringing in a honda...

 

 

 

Afternoon Ladioviro

 

Eddd pretty well covered it so I will only address your #2.

 

That diagram is just a simple stick schematic. It is just to show circuit wire runs & circuit connections, it doesn't show actual real world conenction types or even where in the circuit the connection is made.    

 

In most cases the connection points are drawn to allow the wire runs to stay separated & run evenly  (not all over or across each other)-- Makes it much easier to read & understand.

 

In your case that circle only tells you that two wires are connected together (somewhere) along the wire run, those wires could even be connected together at a common connector terminal (2 wires crimped into the same terminal), or at a separate splice, or even at a solder joint, or? . 

 

What you DO know from that schematic is: those wires are connected together.

 

What you don't know from that schematic is: where or how those wires are connected together. 

[Ladioviro]

Thanks for the replies, 

 

here's the full schematic. In real life, my last owner had two wires coming out of the headlight housing, one going the the dash and one going to the dimmer switch, but they had overheated and fused together in places. I'm not sure what the little rectangle is given that all the other dash lights don't have one, maybe I should open it up and see. The dot/junction might be long gone in that case. 

 

Would it be safe to add a double bullet connector or something similar so as not to have two coming out of the headlight?

[dirtrider]

Evening 

 

1 hour ago, Ladioviro said:

Thanks for the replies, 

 

here's the full schematic. In real life, my last owner had two wires coming out of the headlight housing, one going the the dash and one going to the dimmer switch, but they had overheated and fused together in places. I'm not sure what the little rectangle is given that all the other dash lights don't have one, maybe I should open it up and see. The dot/junction might be long gone in that case. 

 

Would it be safe to add a double bullet connector or something similar so as not to have two coming out of the headlight?

 

 

Evening  Ladioviro

 

That rectangle usually signifies a connector, why it only shows one there & not on others is a mystery. It could have some use or it could just be a mistake in the wiring diagram. I wouldn't worry about as it is a non issue as far as diagnostics go. If you have it then you have it & if you don't have it then no problem there either. 

 

As for combining those 2 wires?-- We would need to know what each wire is hooked to on each end, how much load that they carry, if they are on a common circuit or independent circuits. Safe way is to just keep them separate. 

[Ladioviro]

Still investigating this. I was getting some bogus continuity results (still am) so I inevitably had to open up the loom. Seems like it was split and lengthened and covered in tape, wires changing colour and back...That's my day-off booked up now...

 

[Pappy35]

Holy crap. It's scary what some people do with wiring that they think is OK.