electrics/wiring noob

[fiveohindc]

anyone have any links/resources to teach myself some motorcycle (or general, i guess) wiring basics? i have spliced wires using the "strip and twist" method on this bike six ways to sunday, and i want to get it right in time for riding season this year. And before I blow up.
that means-- no more electric tape holding shit together, actually put in a fuse box (since the PO seems to have disposed of it entirely?)... maybe be able to run my headlight for more than 5 minutes at a time before strange things occur.

i have a soldering iron from sears. i have wire (what gauge is used on these xs's? 18?). i have multiple degrees that are completely useless. i almost bought a heat gun from harbor freight to heatwrap some of those connections, but then i realized i have no f-cking clue how to use it.

advice?

 

[XSLeo]

Too use the heat shrink tubing. Cut a piece about twice as long as your splice. Slide this onto one of the wires. Make the splice, wrap the wires together, solder just enough to get good electrical connection, don't over do it. It makes the joint to striff and can lead to the wire breaking. Slide the tubing over the splice. turn on the heat gun, hold the gun a few inches away from the tubing and watch it shrink from the heat. Turning the joint so all the sides get the heat. Once the tubing has shrunk all the way around and along the joint your done. Turn off the heat gun.
Once you do one or two you will wonder why you waited so long to get the tubing and heat gun.
Harbor Freight has tubing in packs of different colors and sizes about a foot long, as well in rolls in different sizes and colors. I use the rolls to cover the harness as well as brake lines.
I use 14 ga from the battery to main fuse, fuse to main switch to other fuse. After the other fuses 16 to heavy draw items like headlight, 18 to everything else.
Matching the colors of a stock harness makes trouble shooting easier. Mike's has a good selection of terminals, connectors and plug bodies.
Leo

 

[peanut]

have a look on youtube there are plenty of tutorials to help.

looks like leo beat me too it .
if you haven't got a heat gun you can use the side of the solder iron but it might not look as pretty as using a heat gun

 

[retiredgentleman]

I simply use a match to heat the heat shrink insulation.

 

[fiveohindc]

Thanks, this is helpful.

You guys have anywhere you like to get your wire and stuff from? I see z1 enterprises has some good color selections to match stock.

 

[mookybird]

I recently built a wiring harness for an 80 street tracker that I put together, I ordered a small mountain of bullet connectors.

Deciding what goes where and running the wires cleanly is a fun project that can all be sorted out ahead of time or can be done like I did it on the figure out what your doing as you go plan.

After working at it for awhile I figured out that I could strip/twist/solder and heat shrink about ten connections in less time than I could solder on half of a bullet connector, I realize this is my inexperience but I ended up just soldering and heat shrinking everything and it went very well and works great.

Due to vibrations/clearance etc I've had to change the headlights around a few times and while it isn't as easy as a bullet connector it only takes a couple of minutes to heat up the gun, throw some heat shrink over and resolder.

Wire and solder are pretty cheap and you can practice on scraps and if your iron is hot enough it is pretty easy, if your iron isn't hot enough it's pretty frustrating.

Enjoy the project, it's fun once you get going.

 

[fiveohindc]

I tried some last night. I have a 30w iron, wish I would've picked up the 40w all those years ago, but hey, it worked alright.

I was practicing on some 16 gauge wire and some pretty thin solder I had from a computer repair kit. Do you have a prefered thickness of solder that works well?

How much of the wiring do I strip off before I twist? I was doing about 1/2 in. on each end and then twisting. Not sure if that's good, bad, or makes no difference, strength-wise.

It was fun, I am excited to get some connectors and try them out too.

 

[grepper]

This is a really good thread on wiring.
Wiring harness musings

 

[5twins]

Google "western union splice". This is an in-line splice that you'll want to use but it must be soldered to hold.

 

[weekendrider]

The type/mix of solder I use makes a huge difference for me.
The high tin low lead (96/4) solders just don't flow for me.
Spending alittle more for a 70/30 solder makes it doable.

 

[5twins]

I've been using the Radio Shack brand for years. I recently needed more and did some on-line research and shopping. Seems the Radio Shack solder is very good stuff and so I just went to the local store and bought some more.

 

[fiveohindc]

grepper that link is good stuff. i'm going to print it out-- it's THAT good. (i find it's easier to fully comprehend things on paper. go figure)

Another stupid question-- i have a voltmeter which i have only used to check my battery. it has so many settings, and i read the manual but i am still learning the correct terminology. After I soldered my first thing or two on the bike, how might I go about checking the strength of these new connections I've made? As in, where do I put the leads, for example, after I patch this delightfully fried headlight wire?

If that question makes no sense, ignore it. hahaha

 

[CoastsideXS650]

You won't really measure anything with your meter except the voltage from your battery. Use common sense. A flimsy, frayed connection looks and performs like garbage. If it has a solid crimp and a nice dab of solder it will probably be just fine. The biggest issue you will run into is making a proper soldered connection and trying not to solder in places where the wire bends