'75 FXE wiring gauges

[kajutisg]

Hi.

I've got a 1975 FXE that had a melt down a couple years ago (battery positive shorted out to oil tank & melted a hole through it, melted some wiring harness, melted corner of battery & burnt part of seat) while it was parked in my garage next to 2-3 other bikes & my 1977 TransAm.

Finally getting around to working on it & find that diagrams in both manuals I have (OEM H-D manual & Clymer) do NOT list gauge of wires in harness; only colors.

Will I need to do calculations to figure out current load on each circuit & determine gauge of wire that way, or does someone have recommendations?  I'm considering going with marine wire 'cause it has finer strands making up each wire, & they're supposed to handle flexing better.  I'm also considering changing from old Molex connectors (not many on this old beast, except maybe in headlight shell) to newer Deutsch, but that may only happen if I absolutely have to, 'cause there's so many ring connectors elsewhere on this old beast.

Thanks, in advance, for the assistance!

Gary K  '75 FXE, '79 CBX, '84 FLTC

[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

[kajutisg]

Because of limitations on attachment sizes, am including more photos separately.

Gary K

[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

[kajutisg]

Because of limitations on attachment sizes, am including more photos separately.

Gary K

[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

[kajutisg]

Because of limitations on attachment sizes, am including more photos separately.

Gary K

[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

[Julio]

Check J&P Cycles. They have complete harnesses for ~$125 American.

[kajutisg]

Thanks Julio re J&P.  Only problem is that the harness may not work 'cause bike isn't stock (gee, go figure, eh?).  As far as I know the 1975 FXE came with the small tank & speedo / tach at the bars, whereas mine was modified sometime in the past for fat bob tank with speedo there.

[76shuvlinoff]

The harnesses available are easily modified as needed.

But...  If you are going to run new wiring I believe in running it without splicing into the old stuff. The splice is just another potential failure.

Asa far as gauges go I can't really help, sorry. I think most of it is 16-14 and 12 should handle about anything other than starter and battery connections. I have often seen it suggested here to use marine grade connectors.

Mark

[easyricer]

 I am very proud of the wiring that I do on bikes. I usually strip the entire bike of every single wire and start from scratch. I use only marine grade wires and marine grade connectors. I will tell you right now, that the job is expensive. Just the wires and terminals needed can easily run into the 100's of dollars.
You will need several different colored wires(Orange, Red, White, Yellow,Blue, Brown, Purple, Black, and Green), each of different gauges (10/14/16). You will also need the sealed marine terminals with a good high quality crimp tool. Then you will also need an assortment of heat shrink tubing to keep it all neatly bundled as well as the wire ties.
A good rule of thumb, start with the 10ga, from the battery to the main breaker and ignition switch, then back to the other two breakers. Run the 14ga wire from the breakers to major split points, and the 16ga wire to the individual components. Run 14ga for the headlight and use a high quality plug.
Take your time and do it right, it will outlast you. I give lifetime warranty on my wiring jobs from the shop, because it is nothing but the best. The best wiring diagram for the job is posted in the sticky notes at the top of the page.
EASY

[kajutisg]

sticky notes?

[kajutisg]

My bad.  Figured out that you mean at the top of the page in Shovelhead section.  Thanks.

[HotRodShovel]

Easy, just curious...you don't solder the joints?

[easyricer]

John, I do when I can control flex, such as when using Duetsch plugs. A crimped connection is less prone to breaking. When splicing wires, I always twist the wire together, solder only in the middle of the twist then double heat shrink it, (when space is not an issue). For the unsealed connectors that our bikes came stock with, I try to never solder the terminal for that reason.The sealed marine connectors are fairly strong with very little flexing.
EASY

[76shuvlinoff]

Easy, just curious...you don't solder the joints?

"Solder or don't solder" can raise as much hell around here as "synth or fossil?"

I don't solder anything I don't have to and I have not had many wires ever breaking.  I do solder the pain in the ass control button terminals that our bikes originally came with.

Mark

[kajutisg]

I've been searching on the 'net, attempting to find the old connectors that look like AMP / Molex units, but they don't appear to have any 12-pin ones (in 2 rows of 6) like back then.  I've seen 12-pin in 3 rows of 4, but that's it, & I might have to live with that.

Alternatively I found a site (http://www.cycleterminal.com/bullet-terminals.html) that sells the old-style bullet connectors used by most Japanese bikes for ages, & those work pretty good as long as you grease 'em up a bit with silicone grease to protect the connections from corrosion.  I may just have to look over the OEM wiring diagram & rework it using those bullet connectors for inter-harness connections & lugs for relay & other connections.

Deutsch are expensive & overkill for this old bike.

[Hogman]

I Don't KNOW if anything here will help you or not Gary, BUTT, Can't hurt to Scroll down the page and have a peek at what they have there. Don't just stop at the first couple though, as they have Quite a bit of Wiring related stuff lower on the page. Even seen a 12 pin connector. Don't Know if that is THE one you're looking for or not, but maybe there is somewhere else on the page??  H. T. H. (Not into the computer stuff well enough to KNOW if you'll have to copy & Paste the link or not. COULD just show up ready to "Click" on it???)
Good Luck Brother.

http://www.retrocycle.com/listparts.php#top

[HotRodShovel]

Interesting, I solder/heat shrink all my connections. I have never had a solder break but i did have many crimps slip apart. Maybe I was not crimping em right

[kajutisg]

Thanks, Hogman.  I wasn't aware of Retrocycle & it appears that they might have the connectors I'm after.  I'll investigate further sometime today.

[Hogman]