Just purchased a used '86 Connie and drove it for about 100 miles. The horn was shorting out a little, but seemed no big deal. I went to start it today and the headlight, brakelight, tach/fuel/temp gauges and horn were all dead. Fuses all looked ok. The engine started ok and the turn signals worked. Could this be the ignition switch? Any ideas?
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'86 electrical problem
- Thread starter toddmo
- Start date
My first guess is the Jbox. It is known to fail in strange ways like this. I would wack the box where the fuses are while turning the key on and off and see if that makes the lights come on. Our leader Guy has a nice how to repair page for the Jbox but the link is broken. I have email him. Basiclly you take the box apart and look for burned or broken traces or cold solder joints on the PC board. Next test the relays or just replace them. ---------------------------------- I will answer any question. It is up to you to figure out if I should have.
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Yep, sounds like the j-box. In my limited experience, these are usually nothing more than a need to re-solder the joints on the relays inside. Open the box and re-melt the solder joints and it will probably be OK. I have soldered 8 j-boxes and have yet to actually NEED to replace a relay. I'm sure they go bad, what doesn't? But my experience is that they usually just need to be patched up a little bit. I have seen some corrosion on the PCBs that required a little solder trace to patch too. That was in addition to the cracked solder joints on the relays and connectors.
Yeah these damn 22 year old machines just weren't made to last! HA! Like the others said you probably have a J-box issue. Hunt up Guy Young for more advice on the issue. AKA "2linby" That's 2-lin-by folks! Northwest Area Director COG #5539 AMA #927779 IBA #15034 TEAM OREGON MC Instructor http://community.webshots.com/user/2linby http://tinyurl.com/njas8 (IBA BunBurner Gold Trip) http://tinyurl.com/lwelx (Alaska trip)
Thanks for the replies to all. The problem definitely seems to be the jbox. I disconnected everything from it, cleaned and reconnected everything and it seems to have solved the problem. Not sure how to open the box should that be required in the future (it looks sealed). I guess I can replace it if the problem recurs.
That is the funny thing about cold soldered, or cracked joints in a circuit board, assuming that is what it is. If you bang , flex, vibrate the connection sometimes it cleans itself and works again for a while. Then oxidation reforms and you loose connection again. There is a way to open the box but I have never had to do it. Sounds like Chuck has. ? ---------------------------------- I will answer any question. It is up to you to figure out if I should have.
<p align="left"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20211686@N05/">My Photos<br
Right you are Bob! hehe There will come a time when slapping the box won't get her to go again. Then you will HAVE to fix her. If you do it now, then maybe that won't be after that quick photo-op stop in the middle of a Colorado blizzard at 10,000 feet. The box is plastic welded at several points. You can easily see where there has been a stem melted down (kinda like a spot weld or rivet size weld). You can remove those with a cordless drill and appropriately sized drill bit. Once the spots are drilled free, you can pull the screws snap apart the halves to free the circuit boards inside. Don;t worry about getting it all back together, it's easy and you can fasten it shut anyway you like. I've siliconed some, plastic welded a couple and even done one inthe field that I just electric taped back together. Anyway, once you have the PCB (printed circuit board) in your hand, you will likely be able to see cracks in the solder joints of some or all of the relays. I have seen some that made me wonder how long they had been cracked and still functioning reasonably well. Just fire up ye old trusty soldering iron (or gun if you;re into that) and touch the soldered joints to reflow the solder. It really s about that simple. Don;t spend too much time on things with the heat, move on as soon as things flow decently. You don't want to fry a relay (but they really are pretty tough). You can test the relays with a multi-meter, and if you are even a little PCB-wise you can trace the circuits and check for continuity all over the board. When you think she;s lookin good, snap her together and give her a go on the bike. If it still doesn;t work, then you may have some faulty relays to replace or you can opt for an ebay j-box or a new one (pricey I think). But if you go the used route, I would check that box out too as it will likely need a touch-up before really being ready for prime time.