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Posted by rob f
- May 12, 2019, 09:00:45 AMRight on Mitt!! Good for you for sticking with it!
It seems like our minds work about the same. Before I retired I would take my work related problems home to bed with me and usually at about 4 or 5 in the morning my subconscious would come up with an answer. Funny how the brain works.
The brake light should be an easy fix for you now, especially now that you are an electrical expert. 
Just follow the wiring diagram and use your volt meter at every junction. Doesn't matter at what end of the system you start at. I prefer to start at the power source and work my way down. It's like betting red or black at the Roulette Wheel....... got a 50/50 chance 
Rob
Posted by Tfrank59
- May 11, 2019, 12:05:43 PMWell congrats on finally getting the thing to fire up! now chase down the tail light problem--start with the fuse --and then get out there and put some miles on the clock!
Posted by mittico68
- May 11, 2019, 09:52:47 AMGood news.
Last night I was mumblin' about the issue, while tryin' to sleep, and suddenly the light came on: why not try to put the OEM resistor on the grey wire of the damn thing? 
So the day after I did it and... the engine fired up! YES, it did! 
Now I can finally end the job.
And these are my conclusions, about the issue:
- the new resistor I had put in the grey wire was not a 100 ohm: and indeed, comparing its bands with the ohm scale, I can see it is a 100000 ohm (look at pic, please)! 
- the OEM resistor is a 100 ohm, and this allows the 12v flow to fall to 5v: this lets the igniter to work properly.
- WHY DIDN'T I THINK BEFORE ABOUT THAT SIMPLE SOLUTION? 
That said, now I must try to solve the other issue that I faced, while attemptin' at the main problem: the brake light is not workin'.
I bet it depends on the taillight fuse: I haven't checked it out, yet, but I think that it could have blown up when I tried to start the engine without the resistor on the grey wire...
THe soap opera still goes on!
Any thought would be much appreciated.
Posted by rob f
- May 10, 2019, 07:55:46 AMJust checked my bike again and had 5.8v just with key on and climbed to 7 v while running (Grey wire at key to main harness connector).
Looked again in my tech manual and can't find anything about testing that grey wire.
I found this in a Vulcan Forum:
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 126
I am with Sfair on this one. You say you no longer have the original ignition switch, which makes me assume you have used the Harley clone switch in the tank console. At this point I would condemn that switch( cause I had one fail, poor contact internally). I would at this point short the white wire to the brown and grey( keeping in mind that you NEED the 100 ohm resistor on the grey upstream of the ecu). I had to do this this past summer to bypass an ignition switch failure and lo and behold it ran
Maybe if you hunt around you can find more info. Looks like the main issue is to somehow get that lower voltage on the grey wire.
Posted by rob f
- May 09, 2019, 10:57:16 AMWhat the heck is right my friend.
At least you are in the right area. Not sure why the chip is reading 11.3. Looks like the 100 ohms is to much resistance and that is why you have 0V?
I suppose the resistor that was in the old key switch can't be installed in the wire? Can you get an ohm reading from it?
I will go out to my bike today and double-check that grey wire for a reading.
Posted by mittico68
- May 08, 2019, 08:54:45 AMQuote from: rob f on May 08, 2019, 07:48:14 AMSo as I try to understand.... You have 12v on one end of the resistor ( that comes from the key switch) but 0v on the other end (that goes into the bike harness)?
Exactly.
And you know what?
Yesterday I bought a car charger, as said in the discussions site of your link, then I extracted the chip and added it to the grey wire, together with the 100 ohm resistor and... NOTHING! NO voltage!
Then, I took off the resistor, leaving in place the chip: so, actually I read 11.30v on one end (that goes into the bike harness), and 12v on the other end (i.e.: coming from the key switch)... What the heck?!? 
Posted by rob f
- May 08, 2019, 07:48:14 AMWell at least you have found something Mitt.
So as I try to understand.... You have 12v on one end of the resistor ( that comes from the key switch) but 0v on the other end (that goes into the bike harness)?
Posted by mittico68
- May 07, 2019, 13:05:00 PMQuote from: Tfrank59 on May 07, 2019, 12:00:55 PMSorry Mitt as usual I got nothing but hoping you get this thing solved.
Thanx, bud.
I really hope to get it, because I wouldn't like to pay $170 for a new key switch harness...
Quote from: Tfrank59 on May 07, 2019, 12:00:55 PMIf your weather is anything like ours locally it really sucks I have your bike down
The weird weather we're facing in this days here in Italy is the only (lean) consolation... 
Posted by Tfrank59
- May 07, 2019, 12:00:55 PMSorry Mitt as usual I got nothing but hoping you get this thing solved. If your weather is anything like ours locally it really sucks I have your bike down
Posted by mittico68
- May 07, 2019, 08:54:15 AMThe never ending story is still alive...
I've just (re)added a 100 ohm resistor on the grey wire (BTW, it's got no diode inside), but again no luck at all: the engine doesn't fire up!
I've also checked the whole damn stuff, with my voltmeter and guess what? I found that the part of the grey wire that goes from said resistor to the OEM switch harness has got ZERO volts!
The weird thing is that I can read 12v (+/-) on the resistor's lead that is connected to said part of the wire, BUT nothing after it...
Maybe it's all because, as Rob stated before, the grey wire needs to have 5.7v only, instead of 12v?
I'm really starting to get nuts.
But before giving me up, I'll try to reduce the voltage on that wire...
Until then, any suggestion would be much appreciated.
Posted by rob f
- April 29, 2019, 07:41:47 AMGood idea. I will be curious as to what the voltage is after you reinstall it.
And just a thought........... not sure if some resistors come with a built in diode. A diode is a device that only lets current flow one way. Easy to check.... take your ohm meter and check resistance one way and then flip your leads around and check the other way. If you get a reading both ways then there is no diode.
R
Posted by mittico68
- April 28, 2019, 11:45:48 AMThanx a lot, Rob.
But before goin' that way, I wanna try to (re)add the 100 ohm resistor on the grey wire of the whole (damn) thing.
That's because I've just checked the OEM resistor and it looks like a 100 ohm.
Here's the pic of said resistor.
Posted by rob f
- April 28, 2019, 08:07:07 AMYou could try this for 12v reduction...............https://www.instructables.com/topics/How-can-I-convert-12v-down-to-5v/
This is getting out of my range of knowledge so you are on your own now. I still will be available if you need me to take some readings on my bike for comparison.
Rob
Posted by mittico68
- April 28, 2019, 04:25:40 AMSo guys, I just got back from holidays with my family, but before leaving I've found the time to check those sparks out.
And it came out that there is no spark at all, when I hit the engine switch button... 
So, I guess that the problem is related to the grey wire and its resistor, as Rob stated.
In my first attempts, I put a 100 ohm resistor in, as suggested. But now I believe it is too big, referred to the OEM tiny one.
So, next thing I will do is to check the ohm size of the OEM resistor and buy a new one, if it's smaller than the 100 ohm (as I believe).
Hope this will help...
Posted by rob f
- April 26, 2019, 08:24:16 AMI just got back from holidays in Utah. Lots of harleys but no drifters.
I see that you are still having trouble Mitt. As Troll has said, and myself also back on April 2 you have to pull the plugs, hook them back up, ground out the metal part of the plug on the metal of the bike and visually see spark. Just pulling the plug and looking at it doesn't show you much. When you do this test make sure that you do not have the spark plug sitting near the sparkplug hole. If you smell gas then the cylinders may be full and when you crank the bike over it will spray out of the hole. If it hits the plug while sparking you will get a big surprise. Just like I did when I was 16 and checking for spark on my Kawi 125 dirt bike. Was looking straight into the hole at the time
So you have checked the red coil wire and it is good. This means that the problem ( if there is no spark at the plug) is related to the wiring circuit of the other side of the coil. This starts at the grey wire of the key switch and like I said, on my bike it registers 5.7 volts. It may be "possible" that if that wire had 12volts during your key swapping that it may have burnt out your ECU box. This circuit is the complicated one that signals when the spark happens. There are tests in the tech manual for this but are a bit more than i can relay to you. I would concentrate on getting 5.7 volts at that grey wire. I believe this is what that tiny resistor in the OEM switch was for.
Good Luck.........Rob