Wiring mod to starter relay

[Fudd]

Last August and about 25,000 miles ago, I had a starter relay meltdown.  Well, not the actual inner workings of the relay, but the back corner of the thing where the red wire attaches.  To me, that is a horrible design.  Too much current through that blade connection!  The red plug that holds the individual female blades was completely destroyed.  Not to worry, I removed the wires from what was left of the plug and after crimping a fresh connector on the red wire, I reattached the wires in their respective places.  Everything works, Life is good!

Last night: Deju' vu.

The back corner of the relay is once again toast.  Operating with limited resources in a convience store parking lot, I rigged up some power to the red wire from the load side of the 55 amp main fuse.  It got me home.  I got to looking at it, and I can't see any reason that I shouldn't re-route that power connection away from the relay and that pesky blade conection, permanently.  I'll pick up my power source from a screw holding the main fuse and go via an inline fuse holder power up the red wire to the ignition switch.  I can even use my 30 amp fuse from out of my burnt relay in the new holder.

By the way: The starting function of the relay still works.  I know the insides had to have taken some thermal damage, so I've ordered a replacement, anyway.

Can anybody see a down-side issue with powering my ignition switch in this manor?

[R J]

Before I'd worry about your possible new wiring, I'd find out what is causing the meltdown.

Ya got running lights, Cobra's and or etc on the bike.    Do they run through the starting wiring loom?    If so, get them off of there and run a seperate line with a relay to these lights.    That should solve your problem if you rewire it correctly.

[Fudd]

Before I'd worry about your possible new wiring, I'd find out what is causing the meltdown.

Ya got running lights, Cobra's and or etc on the bike.    Do they run through the starting wiring loom?    If so, get them off of there and run a seperate line with a relay to these lights.    That should solve your problem if you rewire it correctly.

Thank you for responding RJ.
Yeah, I have auxillary lights.  I have them powered from another circuit independant of the starter button circuit, for redundancy reasons.  I won't even use the starter circuit to power a supplemental relay for fear of loosing all foward lighting from a starter button failure.  With my aux lights being a direct switched load, the current for them is supplied via that red wire on the back of the starter relay and more specifically, that overworked blade connection.  I could power the aux lights with a separate relay from an unswitched source, but ? 

[tank_post142]

Chet is the man:

http://www.rattlebars.com/mtz/starter.html

[RP#62]

I don't see any downside electrically.  I don't know why Honda integrated that circuit/circuit breaker in with the start relay in the first place other than to  take advantage of existing real estate.  Usually it isn't load that fries that connector though, its corrosion.  The relay socket pointing straight up tends to let it pool water when you ride in the rain.  Corrosion forms on the connections, the resistance goes up and the connector turns in to a heating element and melts.  Once a year, I'll pull mine apart, clean the connections and schmooie some dielectric grease on it and plug it back in and I'm still on the original connector after 15 years.
-RP

[Fudd]

Thanks Tank

That's the same procedure I followed last year getting back in service, all the way down to the connection grease.


Thanks RP

Both last year's and the current failure followed prolonged rides in the rain.  I'm going to eliminate that back connection.  I will have the same current overload protection, and no pesky overworked blade connector to worry about.  I still may add a relay for the aux lights, so the ignition switch won't have to carry them.

[junior]

if you goto the goldwing tec board they have a mod for the starter reley i have preformed this on my valk and havent had a problem sence