I have 2005 GL1800A that I bought a couple of years ago. Last year, while on the first leg of a 10-day trip, we got caught in some heavy rain. At one point I had to make a rather abrupt stop and, when starting back out again, noticed that none of my gauges were working. No speedometer, tachometer, temperature, fuel gauge, odometer, trip-ometer, nor cruise control (which makes sense if the speedometer is out of commission). After checking, I also found that my fog lights and rear running lights were also not working. Brake lights were fine as were turn signals but the turn signals would not cancel.
I figured water had somehow shorted something out since this was the first time the bike had been ridden in hard rain. Pulled into a parking lot and checked the fuse #5 and it was blown (this was also when I found out I didn't have running lights - talk about a pucker factor: rain and no running lights!). Anyway, replaced the fuse and didn't make it out of the parking lot before it blew again. Long story short is we finished the ride without gauges or running lights.
Once I get back home again, I decided to replace the fuse again. Everything works as designed! At this point, I'm thinking it was definitely moisture-related. Until... driving to work in January (read, it's dark). It's dry but a little chilly. I'm about halfway to the office when, out of the blue, the gauges stop working again. Replace the fuse when I get there; blows immediately. Okay, maybe not moisture-related.
I then read through a lot of the forum threads here and saw mention of the C5 connector being a potential culprit. I'm not really mechanically inclined and stay away from hot and wet things in the house too, i.e., electrical and plumbing.
So I take it to the dealership and ask them to look into, checking C5 first. Result: connector is supposedly fine but I need to have the main wiring harness replaced to the tune of $2,000. That's a little too steep for my budget right now so the bike is back in my driveway, running perfectly fine except for gauges, running lights, fog lights, cruise control, etc.
I took the seat off but can't find the C5 connector (I'm looking for a blue plug, right?) so here I am... with a bunch of questions...
First, am I on the right track? And, if so, where exactly do I find the C5 connector?
If the problem is with the connector, should I expect the fuse to be blowing or is that related to something else? If it is to be expected, how do I proceed if it's blown? Do I need to have a good one in there to continue?
Do I need the key on at point during the process? Or explicitly make sure it's off?
Is there anything else I need? Is there anything to be on the lookout for? What things should I be sure to do so that I don't compound my problems?
Thanks in advance for any and all help. It will be greatly appreciated.
Mark
I figured water had somehow shorted something out since this was the first time the bike had been ridden in hard rain. Pulled into a parking lot and checked the fuse #5 and it was blown (this was also when I found out I didn't have running lights - talk about a pucker factor: rain and no running lights!). Anyway, replaced the fuse and didn't make it out of the parking lot before it blew again. Long story short is we finished the ride without gauges or running lights.
Once I get back home again, I decided to replace the fuse again. Everything works as designed! At this point, I'm thinking it was definitely moisture-related. Until... driving to work in January (read, it's dark). It's dry but a little chilly. I'm about halfway to the office when, out of the blue, the gauges stop working again. Replace the fuse when I get there; blows immediately. Okay, maybe not moisture-related.
I then read through a lot of the forum threads here and saw mention of the C5 connector being a potential culprit. I'm not really mechanically inclined and stay away from hot and wet things in the house too, i.e., electrical and plumbing.
So I take it to the dealership and ask them to look into, checking C5 first. Result: connector is supposedly fine but I need to have the main wiring harness replaced to the tune of $2,000. That's a little too steep for my budget right now so the bike is back in my driveway, running perfectly fine except for gauges, running lights, fog lights, cruise control, etc.
I took the seat off but can't find the C5 connector (I'm looking for a blue plug, right?) so here I am... with a bunch of questions...
First, am I on the right track? And, if so, where exactly do I find the C5 connector?
If the problem is with the connector, should I expect the fuse to be blowing or is that related to something else? If it is to be expected, how do I proceed if it's blown? Do I need to have a good one in there to continue?
Do I need the key on at point during the process? Or explicitly make sure it's off?
Is there anything else I need? Is there anything to be on the lookout for? What things should I be sure to do so that I don't compound my problems?
Thanks in advance for any and all help. It will be greatly appreciated.
Mark
