Need Ideas

[petitemoose]

Rode last night in the rain about an hour and my little scoot protested the whole time! IF the belt wasn't screaming and raising holy hell, the voltage gauge was showing the alternators struggle to not short out completely as I watched the charging system cut in and out after the first 5 minutes or so. Obviously the screaming belt and the alternator woes are directly related but the surging fan isn't. The fan was turning itself on and off at will and at a regular cycle. I know this because the little red dash light was flashing as if it were a turn signal.
The fan issue could probably be resolved with a little silicone strategically placed around the base of the relay. All I have to do is determine which relay does what. In the end, I will more than likely do all of them. Just need to know if there are other possibilities that i need to explore.
The rain wreaking havoc with the belt and Alternator is my main focus on this thread. I have the lower "scoop" under the rad already and it does nothing for water re-direction. How have you guys resolved the rain issue?
Not riding in the rain is NOT an option ... I live in Florida. Not riding in the rain would reduce my available riding time to about two weeks a year.
Pics of your solutions would be greatly appreciated as I can't visualize things very well.

I have ridden in the rain tons of times on this scoot already. The screaming belt and voltage drops are a given and I have thought about doing something about it many times before but ... out of sight out of mind until the next time. The rapid fan cycling got my attention last night. This is the first time for this and I like to nip electrical shorts in the bud. While I THINK I have the answer, it is always best to get second opinions from those that have already ridden down the road before me.
Thanks in Advance

[V8Bikers]

Do you have the v belt or ribbed? I had the same issues with the v. The problem was exacerbated by an older belt and not running it tight enough. In my experience, these belts need to be tighter than normal, ie; a little past the 1/2" center deflection point. In between belt changes an occasional shot of belt squeak worked good too. Although rare, the alt pulley could be getting worn too. So far, no issues with the ribbed. Never had the fan cutting in and out problem but think you are right about the relay(s) getting wet.

As for the alternator, Zenbiker on the other board had a lower guard made that covered most, if not all of the alternator. He sold the bike and does not post anymore but you may be able to see some of the pics he has posted over the years. Also, I think Hogv8 (Jack) may have done something as well.

[hogv8]

The only protection I have on my alternator it the disc on the front but the rear is open for cooling . I don't ride in the rain unless I have to but so far rain hasn't effected my alternator . I run my belt as tight as I can pull the alternator buy hand and have never had a problem there either .

[Butkicker]

My 2001 had a noisy belt was not tight enough but once they squeal need to replace an make sure tight. Never had a problem again . As to wet relays possible mine had issues an found factory fuze box the problem changed it out to the blue seas. Unit no more issues factory box was so loose fuzes almost fell out

[Swiss V8]

... The fan was turning itself on and off at will and at a regular cycle. I know this because the little red dash light was flashing as if it were a turn signal.
...

Have you checked the fan thermostat? Is it like a bowl which could fill up with water and shorten the contacts?
Cut off the rim if necessary.

[SQ4MN]

I don't ride in the rain if possible. When traveling from out west where I live going east though its unusual if you don't hit any. So far no matter how hard its coming down everything keeps working. I did install the BLUE SEAS fuse box along with sanitizing all the wiring within the first month I owned the bike. The alternator has had to rebuilt a couple of times and I'm on the third alternator bracket which is modified and hasn't broke again. Once the wiring really gets sanitary I think your problems will be over. One reason I keep the BH is because of all the time and effort that went into making it reliable. Maybe the newer ones are good but the old ones were pretty shitty if you rode em much unless you did a lot of little things to keep em reliable. Once done you should be able to ride in the rain with your only concern being about how long it'll be before the rain stops. It should be as reliable as a car with no hood.

[petitemoose]

I Have already ordered a new Belt ( Dayco 5060317 ) and it will be here this week. I will also check to see if the thermostat still has the rim. Thanks for the input guys!

I have the Blue seas sitting on my shelf. Guess I need to get up off my butt and swap it out. The Fuse
Box swap is the easy part ... getting the birds nest to look like wiring again is what I am dreading. I think I will gain some room and cleanliness when I swap out the Carter Fuel Pump for the Napa One.

I'm not into Football so tomorrow afternoon looks like a good day to spend some quality time in the garage.

[CanuckHoss]

Consider the change over to the serpentine belt..that problem would then be solved..no advice on the other as you have had good advice on those.

Up here if we did not ride in the snow we would be down to 2 weeks of riding too...LOL..especially the way this winter has been..worse one in 13 years in Alberta for sure...glad my ride is Daytona bound!!!

[Ric]

Moose:
The pic I'm sending is that of my fan relay, which is also the same one for the starter relay. The fan relay on my bike is zip tied to the wires up under the right side of the frame neck. You can see it easily enough. If you have to find your starter relay, it's under the right side panel, likely zip tied to wires. Of course my bike is an '06 and locations and products might vary if your bike is newer or older.




It seems as though you have a potential grip on the blue seas fuse box and the 'serpentine' or grooved (ribbed?) belt and pulley for your alternator. And if you really want to be certain about the alternator, take it in to a shop that rebuilds them, and have them run yours through the entire gambit of tests.

As for shields and guards etc… the factory has some sort of disc mounted to the front of mine… but not other guards. And like Florida, here in Middle Canada, we are haunted LOTS with rain!.

I wouldn't go and armour plate your alternator… I ride in the crappiest weather in North America, and my Alternator is doing fine as a stock set up. And do not hesitate to tighten the new serpentine belt a little more snug than you are used to.

I swapped out my Carter fuel pump because it was incredibly noisy! you could even hear it when the bike was idling. I swapped mine out for a Holley red, and so far haven't had issues with it in the last 50,000 miles. I still pack the Carter as a spare, because I ride long distances in remote areas. I have a spare Serpentine belt, and most relays. But I should stop reporting my spares I pack with me… because it became a goofy point of argument on the Trike site…. (Ooops… hehehe… I meant the 'Other site'). It seems as though every tech question posted over there any more is about trikes.

Oh… and where did you get the Blue Seas fuse box Moose?

[Carl La Fong]

Amazon has them
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... ylba5na7_b

[petitemoose]

Moose:

Oh… and where did you get the Blue Seas fuse box Moose?

Got it off eBay for around $45 a while ago. Looks like a better deal is to be had from Amazon

[Ric]

Amazon has them
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... ylba5na7_b

John, does it make a difference or improvement if they come with a negative buss? How are these units for weather seal?

Thanks!

[Carl La Fong]

I dunno about the negative buss. If you're having grounding issues, it might be a plus. I suspect it is for boats which, unless it's a battleship, don't have a chassis ground. The unit is not sealed, but it is weather resistant. It is a marine unit, so, unless it is in a direct water spray, it should do well.
Here's mine

[SQ4MN]

Moose if you get the birds nest wiring squared away you'll really be ahead of the game. Most of the older bikes came with the worst looking wiring I ever saw on ANYTHING mass produced.

[CanuckHoss]

I dunno about the negative buss. If you're having grounding issues, it might be a plus. I suspect it is for boats which, unless it's a battleship, don't have a chassis ground. The unit is not sealed, but it is weather resistant. It is a marine unit, so, unless it is in a direct water spray, it should do well.
Here's mine

By the pic it looks like you have not welded in the frame support??

[petitemoose]

Moose if you get the birds nest wiring squared away you'll really be ahead of the game. Most of the older bikes came with the worst looking wiring I ever saw on ANYTHING mass produced.

At first glance it looks like I can remove about 12 lbs of excess wire! Gonna take my time and TRY to make it look as nice as Mr. LaFong's. While I am in there, I plan to increase the gauge of wire from the Battery as well.

[Carl La Fong]

I dunno about the negative buss. If you're having grounding issues, it might be a plus. I suspect it is for boats which, unless it's a battleship, don't have a chassis ground. The unit is not sealed, but it is weather resistant. It is a marine unit, so, unless it is in a direct water spray, it should do well.
Here's mine

By the pic it looks like you have not welded in the frame support??

Better have your optometrist check your prescription

[Carl La Fong]

When wiring, you need to avoid this.

[CanuckHoss]

I dunno about the negative buss. If you're having grounding issues, it might be a plus. I suspect it is for boats which, unless it's a battleship, don't have a chassis ground. The unit is not sealed, but it is weather resistant. It is a marine unit, so, unless it is in a direct water spray, it should do well.
Here's mine

By the pic it looks like you have not welded in the frame support??

Better have your optometrist check your prescription

Holy Crap...was such a good support i did not even see it..camouflage to me anyways...thanks

[SQ4MN]

Moose, my bike also came with the extra 12 lbs of wire. In 2003 the dealer you purchased a new bike from did the wiring with a loom I imagine the factory supplied. I guess the looms were universal and fit everything from the 502 bikes down to the barstools. I couldn't believe the way the dealer did mine. He just took the extra length wires and folded them up and put zip ties around them. There were even wires that went nowhere. To make matters worse they installed those little LED lights all over the bike. My wheels glowed along with the motor and wherever there was some chrome there were at least a couple of LED lights to show it off. It actually looked pretty good at night but the 200 feet of LED wiring was so bad it even made the other wiring look sanitary. I just tore it all out. Evidently shrink tubing was not invented till after 2003 and the terminals were squeezed on the ends of each wire before the invention of the special terminal squeezing pliers. Another thing that amazed me were that many terminals were chosen by the distance they were from the technicians hands as the size of the hole in the terminals didn't have much to do with the size of the post it was going on nor the wire size. It was a mess but somehow when the key was turned on the motor burst into life and even the lights came on. I just stayed on it till all was well and the only electrical problem I've ever had is with the factory tach. It quits every so often but when it finally just dies I'll get after it.

[petitemoose]

Well CRAP!

Started the swap over this afternoon since I had 1/2 a day to myself. Got the old box removed ( wasn't hard seeing as how the bolts were only holding the broken plastic pieces and not the actual fuse panel )
ANYWAY, to make a long story short, The Blue Sea PN 5026 ( 12 circuits and Negative Bus ) will NOT fit in the hole on my 2 seater. Pretty disappointing. The silver lining is that i had not cut anything but wire ties!! 5 minute re-install and the bike runs again but I need to go up a few posts and follow John's Link to Amazon. Geesh ... Just when u think u r gonna make a step forward ...

[Elvis]

Find the one that has labels, unless you already have a label maker that size.

[SQ4MN]

Different model years have more or less space I guess. I remember making an aluminum bracket for mine so that all the bolt holes have bolts in them, no more two bolts is good enough. There are other fuse boxes even better than the Blue Sea one, I'm sure you'll find a good one that will fit. If you get to Daytona check out the V8 Chopper display and ask to see the wiring. It takes about 5 SECONDS to get to their wiring and its a work of art. All plug in modules for everything including circuit breakers. All wiring is in the frame other than the plugs, its impressive. For what all these v8 bikes cost I expect all of them to be perfect. Maybe the new Boss Hoss models have sanitary wiring now, I never seen one.