look what i found...

[slowpoke]

well off and on ive had some minor issues with the bike running funky over the last couple years. nothing major but it would start acting like it had a dead cylinder every once in a while but only lasted a few minutes, then clear up. ( has only done it a couple times. no more than 3 times over 2 years) well i was running the wires for my hid set up(finally had enough of the dim, yellowing headlight). unhooked the positive battery cable and dropped the bolt on accident. fell down behind the left side cover ( as you sit on the bike its the one behind the left leg) well as im fishing it out, i caught a glimpse of something that freaked me out a bit. what are these wires for, and how major of an issue is this? is it fairly easy to fix? what could have caused it? caught me off guard since my bike is only an 05 with about 25k miles

 

[Fire-medic]

Have you looked at the stickys for the wiring harness? You have battery connections to the regulator/rectifier and the wiring harness, I think that's partially what you see here.

Always a good idea to spend a day before the riding season going over all connections, by at-least a visual inspection, and better a disassembly of connectors to examine their 'purchase' (hold) on the wires, absence (hopefully) of corrosion, and no signs of overheating, You should probably go-ahead and remove the regulator/rectifier, I bet you find some signs of failing insulation due to excess heat and/or an overheated R/R. Remember that a loose connection can cause arcing, overheating, and premature failure due to too-much resistance.

 

[one2dmax]

I see a shit ton of corrosion for sure! Get out the baking soda and water solution to dissolve it (pop works in a pinch). I think that the other connector might be your sidestand switch or another something?

 

[slowpoke]

dont know to be honest, it was late when i saw it last night so i didnt dig into it. i plan to take a closer look tonight after work.

 

[dannymax]

Seems like a lot of corrosion for an '05....I'm betting you're seeing the after-effects of an acid spill, possibly caused by a tip-over. Look for other signs of acid burn, stain. And yes, neutralize with baking soda, clean inside and out and di-electric grease the connectors.

And start poking around other areas of the bike, if you find more connectors like this it's probly environmental and not acid.

 

[98Redlne]

The white residue on the top of the front white connector tells me battery acid.

Tip over, battery vent or possibly boiling off some acid from an overcharging condition.

 

[johnpclynch]

To me it looks like the blue wire was arching to the red + connector, some external burning and oxidising there
The red is the feed from your regulator but no idea what the blue is, side stand or neutral switch are the only other things down that side

Batteries usually spill over on the other side, no?