Electrical issue after unplugging sidecar • Electrical issue after unplugging sidecar • USCA Sidecar Forum • United Sidecar Association %

#1 · August 11, 2022, 7:20 pm

Hello,

It is certainly possible this post may be more appropriate in a GoldWing forum, but in the off chance someone else experienced with their sidecar setup, I'll start here.

The other night I detached my sidecar from my GoldWing GL1500. Brake line has a nice quick connect and it's a single plug for the blinkers/running lights/tail light. Took the bike for a short ride that evening. Took it to work the next day. At the end of work it was dead. Wife came and jumped me and I rode it home and put it on a battery tender. Never charged back up, battery is toasted. (I jumped it again with the battery connected, as soon as I took the jumper cables off, it died -- battery is sucking the life out of it. I disconnected the battery, started it again, runs fine -- so it's not the alternator.)

My question is whether folks think the male end of the wiring harness that stays with the bike could have had some short across the plugs (with the female side gone) and/or a male end touched some metal in the frame and created a circuit that ran the battery bone dry?

In other words, might this all have been prevented by wrapping the male end up in electrical tape after I disconnected the sidecar? (This is the first time I've ever taken the sidecar off.)

This is the female end (easier to get a pic of than the male end):

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#2 · August 11, 2022, 11:44 pm

If you are not going to be reconnecting the sidecar to the Wing, I would trace each of those wires back to where they connect to the bike's wiring, disconnect them, seal with tape. In removing the sidecar you might have pulled on a wire causing it to now short. Wrapping the male end in tape doesn't really tell you anything as the short might be within the wiring in the plug itself.

Do you have a replacement battery on hand yet?

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#3 · August 12, 2022, 7:34 am

being a long time Wing owner and having the same car as you I think you may have a simple matter of coincidence going on here. not saying one of the prongs didn't hit something but if it had you would have seen it somewhere IE dash lights coming on or OD light stop working or blown fuse

I would say replace the battery, wrap the plug on the bike good with electrical tape so no pins can touch anything. I would also suggest hooking a meter if you don't have a volt gauge and monitor your alternator output just to confirm the alternator is doing it's job. I have had 2 alternator fail over the years both started out charging great at idle but at higher RPM's they would fall off, then they just died

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USCA # 8913

#4 · August 12, 2022, 8:28 am

Whoever wired the bike / sidecar did it incorrectly. The female connector should be on the bike not the sidecar, so when it is disconnected the source (12v battery) is not exposed.

Later, Bud...

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#5 · August 12, 2022, 9:52 am

Quote from LowriderBud on August 12, 2022, 8:28 am

Whoever wired the bike / sidecar did it incorrectly. The female connector should be on the bike not the sidecar, so when it is disconnected the source (12v battery) is not exposed.

Later, Bud...

That makes tons more sense!

That said, given it hasn't been disconnected for three decades I can see how it hasn't been an issue. (Can't break the installer's stones either -- he passed away a while ago!)

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#6 · August 12, 2022, 9:53 am

Quote from AceinSav on August 12, 2022, 7:34 am

being a long time Wing owner and having the same car as you I think you may have a simple matter of coincidence going on here. not saying one of the prongs didn't hit something but if it had you would have seen it somewhere IE dash lights coming on or OD light stop working or blown fuse

I would say replace the battery, wrap the plug on the bike good with electrical tape so no pins can touch anything. I would also suggest hooking a meter if you don't have a volt gauge and monitor your alternator output just to confirm the alternator is doing it's job. I have had 2 alternator fail over the years both started out charging great at idle but at higher RPM's they would fall off, then they just died

Great points, Ace! Thank you for the advice!!!!

#7 · August 12, 2022, 9:56 am

Quote from CCjon on August 11, 2022, 11:44 pm

If you are not going to be reconnecting the sidecar to the Wing, I would trace each of those wires back to where they connect to the bike's wiring, disconnect them, seal with tape. In removing the sidecar you might have pulled on a wire causing it to now short. Wrapping the male end in tape doesn't really tell you anything as the short might be within the wiring in the plug itself.

Do you have a replacement battery on hand yet?

Thank you, sir -- I do hope that someone decides to by the bike and car as a unit, as they work great together. So I don't want to rip out the wiring just yet.

But if someone makes a reasonable offer on the car itself then I will do as you suggest so I can mark the functions for the new owner (if they need it).

Appreciate the input!

#8 · August 12, 2022, 2:33 pm

Quote from phlaug on August 11, 2022, 7:20 pm

My question is whether folks think the male end of the wiring harness that stays with the bike could have had some short across the plugs (with the female side gone) and/or a male end touched some metal in the frame and created a circuit that ran the battery bone dry?

In other words, might this all have been prevented by wrapping the male end up in electrical tape after I disconnected the sidecar? (This is the first time I've ever taken the sidecar off.)

A short circuit is a short circuit. It will either blow a fuse or, if not properly fused, it will burn your wires somewhere in the wiring harness (the place with the most resistance.) So, no, I don't think you had a short.

The other problem you might be thinking about is a parasitic drain where some circuit on the bike consumes power even when the ignition is off. Your symptoms sound kinda parasitic, but unplugging the bike from the car would not cause a parasitic drain. In fact, if you were having a parasitic drain problem you might try unplugging the bike from the car to see if the drain was originating in the car or on the bike. So, no, I don't think you have a parasitic drain.

What does it sound like? A bad battery. Just like Ace said. LOL. Sometimes batteries die slowly and give you lots of early warning signs that it's near the end. But, in my experience, that's the exception. Most of the time for me, a battery is fine until the day it is not. Kaboom.

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#9 · August 17, 2022, 7:33 am

Phillip

did you get your issue sorted out

USCA # 8913