Electrical question

[DougXS2]

Working through the wiring on my '72 and among the MANY questions I have, one of the first is about the turn signals:

where do they get their grounding? My bike came with signals installed on the rear but none on the front.

I have ones from a newer bike for the front but oddly the fronts and rears both have the same wiring....that is: all of them just have the one wire coming out of the mounting bolt...like the wick on a wire cracker. and with the mounts being isolated by rubber mounts, what provides the ground?

I can get them working by adding a gator clip lead to ground, but???

 

[pamcopete]

DougXS2,

Somewhere in the bowels of the headlight bowl you will find a black wire that is connected to the frame ground. Use large eye type terminals to attach a wire from the mounting bolts for the turn signals to this black wire.

The headlight bowl itself is not grounded, nor is the fender, handle bars, so the ground is brought in from the frame.

 

[DougXS2]

got it. I envisioned having to put those eye types on.

so is that what they had originally? and can I tap into the black wiring anywhere I find a bullet connector or junction? rather than running (the rears) wiring up to the headlight?

 

[Gordon]

Yes, you don't have to run all the way up to the headlite. You can make ground's anywhere on the frame. And yes, they were grounded from the factory with the eye's.

 

[DougXS2]

perfect. and thanks.

the first of many electrical ?'s I'm sure.

 

[Gordon]

On the stock wiring harness, there should be ground wire's already in it. Easy enough to find, they are black. If in doubt, use an OHM meter, one end on a known ground and the other on the wire in question. Reading should be zero (.00) resistance. Or damn close to it, no more than 1-2 ohms.

 

[pamcopete]

DougXS2,

As for the rear signals, the rear fender is not grounded either. There may be an incidental ground on the rear fender from a mounting bolt that has work through the rubber mounts, but there is no usable ground on the fender.