How To: Replace 30amp Fuse Wires

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There was a writeup before, and a couple different people saying how they did things, but no pics. So we were replacing Teague's last night ( and mind even though mine wasn't shorted out, just for prevention ), and I decided to take a few pics of the process. Any questions let me know.

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Here's a shot of the scene in my messy garage as it seems to be every weekend while we are continuously finding more things to blow $ on :P

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tinymindsHere's a shot of the scene in my messy garage as it seems to be every weekend while we are continuously finding more things to blow $ on :P

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So cute....

I couldn't believe how bad a shape my 30A aux harness was in. Heck even the actual fuse started to melt on one side; how it never popped due to heat is beyond me (or maybe it was waiting for this weekends ride... heh).

For the record my VFR is a 2003 and when I got it w/ 6700 miles used and the harness was starting to show signs of overheating then...

Great post as this will leave you stranded out in the middle of no where if you don't check it. Just needs to be in the back of your mind of another thing to keep on top of for preventative maintenance.

Nice job Jason! :thumbsup:

baileyrockNice job Jason! :thumbsup:

Can we add a copy of this to the "VTEC Electrics" post? Or just pin it?

Will copy / paste now.

Excellent write up....... :thumbsup: . After 24,0000 miles the fuseholder and wires on my '03 look fine, but I may replace them as a preventative measure using your example.

For the record my VFR is a 2003 and when I got it w/ 6700 miles used and the harness was starting to show signs of overheating then...

___________

Did you ever do any maintenance on the connnections, I've got like 17,000 mile on my o6 connections, have no sign of heat build up as of yet. Without perfect continuity through those connections , they are going to generate heat and melt.

thats a nice job on the repair

Teaque bought the bike that way. My bike w/ 13k and massively loaded with gadgets ( all of which are running through a relay direct off the battery w/ the remote wire running to the taillight so not putting any loads on the bikes wiring ) and I've had no signs what-so-ever of heat damage or overload damage. Stator tested every oil change, tests good as new each time. I have looped a ground wire around the ECU blue connector from one side of the green wire, around the connector to the other side of the green wire behind the left side fairing, for prevention purposes. I would rather prevent problems and catch them before they happen than to let them go and get stranded. I ride a lot but for every hour a ride, I probably do 15 mins of maintenance to my bike.

I'm no electrician but what's the deal about the 30amp fuse that blows seemingly often? What causes this?

BTW, Jason, a man's garage is his castle. If it's too neat, it's like being in a church, you feel like you need to dress up.... :goofy:

Also, nice job on the pics and "how to". :thumbsup:

BentI'm no electrician but what's the deal about the 30amp fuse that blows seemingly often? What causes this?

BTW, Jason, a man's garage is his castle. If it's too neat, it's like being in a church, you feel like you need to dress up.... :goofy:

Also, nice job on the pics and "how to". :thumbsup:

Honda put 18 or 20 gauge wire on a 30 amp fuse connector, and the wire can't handle the load, so the heat just fries the wire. replacing the wire replaces currently fried wires, or prevents the problem from possibly happening in the future.

I bought a product called Deoxit and sprayed a little on all the suspect conncetions. It keeps them clean and promotes electrial continuity so there will be less heat build up in the wiring. I think this helps a good bit, but I still check the fuse holder occasionally.

Boyz,

did'nt see any mention of solder or dielectric grease, .. . .. . ..

I'm just saying,

T.minds , I think your writeup is Slammer class !!

cheers, . .. . . .. ..

Great write up, outstanding pictures. I second the Deoxit recommendation. I follow that with a squirt of something called PreservIt (also by CAIG). The stuff is incredibly pricey, but seems like a miracle juice. I treat every connector in the harness I can get hold of twice a year (this replaces dielectic grease). We'll see how long things last.

Thanks for the how-to. I'll be doing mine shortly.

Cheers

Excellent "How To" Jason. I've already purchased the wire and a new fuse holder ( I broke mine awhile back) but haven't done the fix yet. This leaves me no excuse to let it go any longer.

just a quick addition:

I could not get the main battery terminal off of the wire using a soldering iron and pliers, nor could I get the small red wire out either.

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On top of this, I destroyed the blade fuse holder terminals trying to get THEM off of the wire. So, I tossed the old fuse holder, cut the red wire from the positive batter terminal and simply created an entirely new unit. This might be a good 'work around' for someone who has the same issues. Here is a picture of the final product:

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Just in case the connectors are toasted when a wire burns up like that, you can get OEM style Hitachi connectors from the Electrical Conncetions web site at

http://electricalconnection.com/electrical...nts/hitachi.htm

I have built many a set up using these.

I replaced mine last night. When i got the bike 1 year ago the suspect wires looked ok, but not great. At the start of this year they were close to being totally fried! I did ride to Minnesota from Indiana and back last year so i think that must of sent it over the edge.

Great write up! :thumbsup:

tinyminds----snip----- I have looped a ground wire around the ECU blue connector from one side of the green wire, around the connector to the other side of the green wire behind the left side fairing, for prevention purposes. I would rather prevent problems and catch them before they happen than to let them go and get stranded.

Great how-to, but it needs concluding with this further little bit and some more large clearly marked photos. :D

Since you did such a good job with the 30A fix up, why stop there ... I am eager but need some guidance.

Although, it is a little disconcerting to have to fix something that Honda didn't get right.

cool, thankyou

:goofy:

tinyminds[image: 30amp_04.jpg]

Where did all those little pointy arrows come from.. +1.gif they scare me :blink:

I hope they're not roaming around your garage on their own now. Who knows what mischief that could cause...

johnmark101I bought a product called Deoxit and sprayed a little on all the suspect connections.

I bought a can of the stuff and did every connector on the left and right side of the bike + the ECU.

For what it's worth, when I took the connectors off the ECU there was what looked like some moisture

in there - even though the connectors looked sealed there are places where no wire comes into the connector

which can allow water to get in....don't be blasting your garden hose up in there!

turtlecreekjust a quick addition:

I tossed the old fuse holder, cut the red wire from the positive batter terminal and simply created an entirely new unit. Here is a picture of the final product:

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While I was not having any problems with charred or melted wires, my peak charging voltage was only 13.7v after installing the new, improved R/R and checking/cleaning/tightening all the necessary connections.

So I got to looking at the 30A subharness and how skinny the wires are and decided to try an experiment.

I made a temporary jumper from the bike side of the natural connector for the 30A subharness and routed it directly to the battery positive with a ring terminal.

Lo and behold, I gained 0.5V!!!!

So I did basically what Turtlecreek did and that was to buy an accesory fuseholder, a heavy-duty one with 12ga wiring and solder it to the bike side harness, shrink-wrap the connection and crimp/solder a ring terminal to the other side.

Generic photo swiped off the web:

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Voila! 14.2v peak charging voltage.

It varies between 13 and 14.2, depending upon RPM, but I'm up about 1/2 volt across the board. :thumbsup:

Five hours before this picture was taken, the charred connector was perfect. Perfect. I had pulled it apart and greased it and "worked" it to ensure a good electrical connection for our New England trip. Suddenly, dead bike. Cranks and headlights work, but no start. Notice the fuse is fine.....

So here Rob and I are, fixing the friggin' thing on the side of the road for one of the helpless guys in our group. Friggin' connector....

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I had this same failure this spring at 32k. I had accidentally left my key on and drained the battery for about an hour. I was able to jump it, but 10 minutes later it died. Later inspection showed the 30a fuse blown and the connector fried. I replaced it with an auxilliary fuse block with much heavier gauge wire. I doesn't take an engineer to figure out that that little pigtail just ain't gonna cut it! I suspect that my connector was corroded and that the extra current charging the dead battery was enough to overheat it at that point. A subsequent measurement showed about 10a travelling through the fuse block.

I just checked this on my Australian 06 model today, and the wire running to this connector is the same size going in and out, so it seems I don't have the small wire that everyone replaces.

Anyone else notice this?

I am unclear as to why the whole assembly was taken apart to change the 4" section of wire???

I have the same looking wire...it could have been my harness in the picture. Amazes me they used about 12 guage wire on both sides, but that short piece is 16 guage or so....and very stiff once it has melted a bit.

due to the melting fuse wire, and some other running issues that came up, honda replaced the entire main harness two summers ago under extended warranty on my 2002. Alas, when installing my CCT's last night, i noticed the 30amp wire becoming brittle once again, and the fuse cracked slightly. And, i'm supposed to leave for Ohio tonight for the Honda Homecoming in Marysville. So, ive just ordered a 12ga inline fuse kit which i will install later today, hopefully with success. It really does bother me that Honda hasnt recognized this issue to the point where they couldve updated the design of the replacement harness. I'm confident that this thing wouldve left me stranded this weekend at some point if i hadent thought to take a peek at it while i had everything apart. Just not acceptable to me.

Ok, here is a pic of the main wire from the harness running to the connector. Side by side with it is the short wire that goes to the fuse holder. Even though this short wire on my 06 is much heavier than the early models, you can still see it is smaller than the main harness wire. So perhaps the wire is still not as big as it should be. I have replaced it as a precaution after another member noticed the fuse getting hot on his 05 model.

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I finally joined the crowd with this 30 amp wire deal. Monday my 98 with 25K died on me on the road. I got a ride by this nice fellow biker Bill (thanks, Bill) went to Checker and put a new fuse in, it started right up. I pulled the harness when I got home and sure enough the crimp and part of the wire was burned. I was puzzled about the wire guage because it was metric size 2. I looked up to see what it converted to awg. It is basically 14 awg which should be good for about 30 amp, but I think the problem really was the crimp itself which caused the load. I did replace both wires with 12 awg which is good for about 40 amps and soldered all crimps. We will see how long this will hold.

All connections should be soldered, it is much of the problem with the wiring.

Nice mod but did you consider a 30 amp aircraft circuit breaker??? get them at Aircraft Spruce and

Speciality for $19.85...

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpa...circuitbrkr.php

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I'll be telling my dealer about this today and hopefully this will sort out my 2nd electrical issue on my VFR in just over a month.

Many thanks

vfr_steveI'll be telling my dealer about this today and hopefully this will sort out my 2nd electrical issue on my VFR in just over a month.

Many thanks

The recall harmess uses a slightly bigger wire. Mine started getting cooked anyway.

also noticed the rectifier white plug has a bad burn on the right connector... still at garage.. wires changed and new fuse holder

Wow I did this back in the day... its still around look at there! :P

OK so I am trying to get the main positive battery terminal off using a soldering iron and pliers and this thing is not cooperating - there has got to be a better way.  Can I just buy a new terminal plug?  How are people getting this thing out?

Unbolt it?

WalkThisWhey, 4/23/2017 at 7:56 PM

OK so I am trying to get the main positive battery terminal off using a soldering iron and pliers and this thing is not cooperating - there has got to be a better way.  Can I just buy a new terminal plug?  How are people getting this thing out?

The big end of the positive battery wire is crimped on...I doubt you can just pull it out.  It would be easier to just cut the wire out of the main harness and run a second loop to the battery terminal instead.

I have zero memory of originally posting in this thread but its one of the things that lead to the invention of the VFRness.  Crazy how fast 10 years goes by when you are busy Adulting