That damn fuse holder!!

[Bill Seward]

A few of the folks who attended Thunder may remember the minor problem I was having with my '85. Ian rode it in from Buffalo on Friday, and it ran perfectly. Saturday, he went to start it and it was dead. Seems the fuse holder that I recently installed to replace the original (corroded and half melted) main fuse holder was doing the same thing. The fuse didn't blow out, the damn thing melted. I replaced the fuse and all was well, uneventful ride home. I started thinking about this, and discussed it with a few guys. We came to the conclusion that the fuse wasn't making good contact in the admittedly cheap fuse holder, causing heat due to excess resistance, which eventually damaged both the fuse, but also the fuse holder. Today, the same thing happened. I never actually had that fuse blow, and the wiring of the bike has never shorted. I could twist the fuse in the holder, and get contact, but it shut off when I let go of the fuse. Ok, cut the fuse holder out, and ran a jumper across the connection. All works well. Thinking about it some more, I think that even though there isn't a short, the lousy connection to the fuse is heating up partially because all the juice the bike uses goes through it. Sooooo, I went to Eastern Beaver (.com) and ordered a couple Panasonic 20A relays, and assorted parts to relay the headlamp. This will take 99% of the current out of the main fuse, and the headlamps will draw directly from battery. This will also increase the voltage available to the headlight because it doesn't have to run through the whole wiring harness to get there. We did Glenns Rocket 3 a week before we went to Johnstown, and the increase in voltage made the headlight VERY noticeably brighter.
I will update this information more when the mod is done. Wiring relays is pretty simple, and these are very small. Hopefully, they fit in the headlight bucket...

 

[Traumahawk]

Damn....that sounds like an issue. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[PATMAX]

Sounds like a new harness is in order Bill.

 

[one2dmax]

You have bad connections somewhere. Corrosion causes heat if it's not got the correctly sized wiring. You can also find a ceramic holder as well if needed. I finally sourced a ceramic plug that fits in the stock bucket (identical to the stock connector) for the headlight. Tried a different one in Eureka Springs last month and wasn't getting it to work correctly (got the fix now Eric).

 

[Redbone]

Bill, I have Eastern Beaver headlight relays (hi/lo) and I believe they offer longer cables so you don't have to stuff the relay into the headlight bucket. Like you said it is easy to do which helps to get all the power the bulb needs to run at it's full potential.
I hope this solves your issues.

 

[Traumahawk]

You have bad connections somewhere. Corrosion causes heat if it's not got the correctly sized wiring. You can also find a ceramic holder as well if needed. I finally sourced a ceramic plug that fits in the stock bucket (identical to the stock connector) for the headlight. Tried a different one in Eureka Springs last month and wasn't getting it to work correctly (got the fix now Eric).

I will have to get with you....I liked the headlight.

 

[PATMAX]

Bill your Main fuse holder is melted? That does not sound like changing your headlight plug or just a bad ground is the fix to me. Sounds more like some insulation has failed in a hidden area maybe. I'm probably wrong but I am curious to hear what the fix is. I'm running an 80/100 watt Max Light headlight setup with factory plug for years now with no meltdowns. I must be special.

 

[Bill Seward]

The original fuse holders wiring was actually falling apart, copper strands were breaking, and the socket was quite corroded. I replaced it with a $2.00 cheap Chinese fuse holder, and one of those REALLY cheap 30A Chinese fuses.. You know them, the kind you get a box of 100 for like $5.00 online... The fuse slid easily into the new holder, so I'm certain it made lousy contact, as I noticed pitting on the blades of the fuse and signs of heating after the ride home from Thunder.

I bought the EB relays, and a really good sealed Delphi fuse holder from Eastern Beaver ($25.00 for everything including shipping!) and wired up the relays, using the good fuse holder as the bikes new main fuse block, replacing the Chinese crappy one. Also, I bought some good fuses from EB, and used them in the holders for the light and the main fuse. You really had to PUSH them in, so I feel there is no problem with the connections now.

And all is good. Got a ride in, no signs of heating on any of the fuses, and the light is godawful BRIGHT!!

Liked the results so much, I just ordered a set of parts to do the Roadstar.