Topic: What? No frame ground? Can that be good?

[Patrick]

I am a bit perplexed. Well, to be fair, I tend to stay in somewhat varying, but perpetual, states of perplexicity. So that is not a question you can answer.

My latest conundrum is my wiring harness. I am using the harness from an F2 750 in a K5 frame. I am used to CB750 wire harnesses having frame grounds both at the headlight ears and again at a small bolt to the frame just in front of the rear uptube, next to the seat latch. This harness, however, appears to have neither. I may have overlooked an empty green connection at the headlight bucket, but there is no wire running off the harness back by the fuse box that could be used to ground to the frame. Is there supposed to be? How does this harness ground usually? I am reluctant to just tear into the harness. PO wrapped the harness in electrical tape, sheathed it inside plastic conduit and then sealed the conduit with a BUNCH of zip ties. It was built for the long haul, and I'd like to allow it to continue it's journey unmolested.

To be fair, I used to own an F3, but I guess I just never had enough electrical problems with it to make the harness particularly memorable. Of course, at my age, to record a new memory seems to require the surrender of an earlier memory to create space. Perhaps with the F3 I just wasn't willing to forgo something more interesting.

Help, please.

Patrick 

[Bankerdanny]

My 550 has grounds just as you expected to find on your bike.

[KingCustomCycles.com]

Maybe the PO was hiding something in all that security?  I have torn into dozens of harnesses and they all had grounds as you describe.  How is your harness grounded?  Are there indications it is not working as intended? 

[Patrick]

I am actually just putting the wiring together. Last week this was a bare frame. While assembling it, though, I kept looking for grounds. I am going to run a fairing on this bike, so I won't have grounds at the headlight ears. I can always run a wire to a bolt or nut. At this point, the only thing grounding the harness is my hands when I hold it. Hence my confusion about the lack of a seat ground. I can always add frame grounds, but I figured it should have come equipped with one or more. I just do not believe the harness grounds the lighting through the starter, the coils, the plugs or the signals.

Patrick

[Patrick]

Aha! There are five wires coming out of the wire harness at the coils. I'm thinking I only need four. I bet that big ring on the end of this phantom wire is meant for a frame bolt......

Custom wiring. Pain to figure out, but this harness looks bulletproof.

Patrick

[zackblack]

Aha! There are five wires coming out of the wire harness at the coils. I'm thinking I only need four. I bet that big ring on the end of this phantom wire is meant for a frame bolt......
Custom wiring. Pain to figure out, but this harness looks bulletproof.
Patrick

That's not as "custom" as you think.  My CB500 used to ground the same way when the wire harness was still stock.  There is a bolt hole right at the coils that the ring is supposed to bolt to.

[Spanner 1]

THe 2 main grounding points on the frame are the upper rear engine mount, that gets the battery neg. (-) and creates a neg. frame and the front coil mount, gives (-) to the harness on the green wire with the ring terminal.......... really can't stress enough how clean and shiny both of these connections need to be. For instance, at the coil the ring terminal needs to be shiny both sides, the aluminum coil holder ( around the bolt hole ), shiny both sides and the frame bolt hole too............. no paint, just shiny metal.... rant over 

[KingCustomCycles.com]

Spanner, really shiny?  or just sorta shiny? :-)

[Spanner 1]

Yep, pretty dang clean, in fact shiny.......... did I mention shiny, needs to be shiny connection... I mean  nothin' less will do  except shiny, shiny , shiny, oh! and if I were you I'd make it shiny..........

[Patrick]

So Spanner, I was working on the coil mounts just now and I was wondering. There has been some debate I jear about whether the coil mounting points should be shiny, or shiny-shiney, or reflect radio waves from Alpha Centauri shiny.

I polished my mounts until I was able to etch my name on a grain of rice with a needle using only the reflection from the mount for reference, but I am insecure about whether this is shiny enough. Do you, by chance, have an opinion on the degree of shininess I should strive for??

Patrick

[zackblack]

So Spanner, I was working on the coil mounts just now and I was wondering. There has been some debate I jear about whether the coil mounting points should be shiny, or shiny-shiney, or reflect radio waves from Alpha Centauri shiny.

I polished my mounts until I was able to etch my name on a grain of rice with a needle using only the reflection from the mount for reference, but I am insecure about whether this is shiny enough. Do you, by chance, have an opinion on the degree of shininess I should strive for??

Patricwetk

Will sunlight bouncing off the mount cause wet, unseasoned wood to instantly burst into flame? If so then you have it almost shiny enough 

[Patrick]

So THAT'S why my neighbor's bush burst into flames. Silly me. I just thought it was a message from God. Guess I won't be amending my ways any time soon after all....

Thanks for that clarification, Zack.

Patrick

[754]

 Is it just me or do 750 not have a ground wire connection near the seatlock(or near vicinity) on 73s and later

[Patrick]

That's what I thought....

[Spanner 1]

Yes it does  ..... I was getting around to telling y'all that it needs to be shiny ( it's a 'local' ground for the taillights and also the regulator ), I just wasn't done telling about the first two locations and their need to be shiny, so location #3 needs to be , you guessed it, shiny.

[754]

How shiny ??