Well, I embarked on changing the air filter on my 2016 Goldwing….that journey is complete, panels back on…bike starts up and runs fine…but now my unlock button and camber adjust button aren’t working for the sidecar! There are 3 inline fuses near the battery and those are not blown.
If the circuit works from inside the car, then it's most probable that part of the wiring for the bike side switch has gotten loose. As with all electrical issues, always start with the ground for the circuit before digging elsewhere. That's all I got.
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
"I" would start with the easiest, and most common things first.
Left side sidecover off.....staring at the rats nest of wiring connected to, and forward of the battery.
Find THEE ground wire that is no longer connected, and should be.
That ECC switch is fully independent of almost everything else on the bike, so trace the wires from the actual ECC switch back to where they are routed to the left side of the bike, and battery area, then confirm 100% that all connections are right, and all grounds are solid.
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@miles-ladue would the ground wire or wires be connected directly to the frame somewhere? I plan to go out and take a look at all this in a few hours...unfortunately, I am working at the moment.
@thane-lewis Miles said you should have the manual for our sidecar. Is there any way you can provide me with a copy? I tried to private message you, but every time I click on "private message," it just doesn't do anything—it doesn't open a new window or new page to initiate the private message...and to be honest, I would happily accept any other documents that you think I may find useful or need during my time with this Goldwing and sidecar. I certainly do not plan to get rid of it anytime soon...or ever!
Thanks for the advice on checking ground first...you folks certainly have more experience than I do when it comes to tracking down electrical bugs. I know this can't be overly complicated because everything worked perfectly fine before and it really has to be something in that left panel...Last night, I did a quick check of the wiring on the switch side of the ECC and unlock switch, and nothing seems disconnected or loose. I need to figure out where this ground wire is that you and Miles are referring to.
Oh, I am about 98.64% certain that the relay up front is for the air horns, so I am taking that dadgum thing out.
hmm, I am going to throw in another question while I have the two experts in here 🙂
Is there some way I can connect some sort of junction box/fuse box (I'm not really sure what the proper term is) to this accessory terminal? I know a lot of ADV riders have a separate box to which they connect all their lights and other accessories instead of just directly connecting accessories to the battery. Is that something I can do with the goldwing? I'd love to take off these connections on the battery and clean things up a bit.
@cms062407 the most frequent reason for a sub block is usually because of CANBUS electrical systems. CANBUS does not permit piggybacking accessories onto a wire as changes in the voltage cause the "smart" system to fault. Wiring a sub block to the battery directly allows one to add accessories without causing the system to lose it's mind and bypasses the CANBUS monitoring system. For this reason, I never wanted a BMW 1200, and fortunately, my 06 does not have CANBUS.
That said, sub blocks do make for cleaner wiring and minimize faults caused by poorly connected wires and reduce the opportunity for overloading a circuit.
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
hmm, I am going to throw in another question while I have the two experts in here 🙂
Is there some way I can connect some sort of junction box/fuse box
I wouldn't connect a fuse panel to that accessory port. According to the picture you included you shouldn't connect more than 60 watts or 5 amps to that port.
I have 45 amps of fuses circuits available in the fuse block vs the 5 amps you can use on that port.
If you decide you want to go with an auxiliary fuse box such as Fuzeblock or the one I use a Centech, you should connect the fuse panel directly to the battery and then take all the extra stuff that's on the battery and wire it into the fuse block.
What you can do is connect the relay trigger wire to the accessory port and then all juice would shut off to the fuse box and whatever is plugged into it when you turn the bike off.
You need to order the wiring harness that includes the relay for the Centech to get that on/off with the key functionality.
Not to over explain but you get a power wire, a ground wire, and a relay trigger wire. You plug/tap the trigger wire into anything that is powered when the key is on like a tail light, running light or in your case that auxiliary port.
Well, I have peeled back some of the electrical tape that was covering the ECC and everything is in line and fitted tight...I suppose the next step is to just take the left shelter off and see what is going on. I'm also apt to find out where the main harness connector is and make that didn't somehow come disconnected.
@andrew-baker, that seems like an elegant solution to my problem...but I'd be lying if I said I understood how to set all that up and what amp fuses to buy and what not.
Chris -
May I suggest separating the two problems out. It may be one solution but going back and forth is tough for us in the studio audience.
Starting with the ECC. You now have done a physical inspection and haven't seen anything obvious. The right first step.
Get your multimeter and check to see if there is power going to the switch. If not continue checking junctions until you find where that power line starts or where the power stops.
If you do have power to the switch, turn it on and see if power is coming out of the switch. If not, switch died. If so, your break is between the switch and the ECC unit. Continue to check junctions until you see the point where there is no power.
And again I apologize if I over simplify but does the bike need to be on to run the ECC? and do you have it on when you're testing it?
After re-reading your original post, I think the first thing I would do is remove the accessories you added.
I agree with you they are an unlikely culprit but when figuring this stuff out you gotta change one thing at a time.
Reset it to the last known working configuration and then start poking wires with your multimeter.
And anytime you pull a connector off to check it - clean it. Then hit it with some dialectric/ silicone grease if you have some before reconnecting.
Ounce of prevention and all that.
@andrew-baker You have overestimated my skills in checking electrical connections...I do have a multimeter, but I have no damned idea how to check the power on that 6-prong switch...I would imagine you would check two certain prongs at a time.
The bike doesn't need to be fully turned on and the engine running, just the key in the On position. I am testing it with the key in the On position.
