HELP!!! Main fuse keeps blowing

GanGREEN · #1 (**permalink**) 02-22-2010, 10:02 PM

First of all let me say hello to all my green family! I am new to the site and have searched and cant find anyone who has had the issue I am having. I bought my 450 just over a week ago used but in great barely used shape and took it for a ride through a woods course here in Northern Indiana and ended up finding some mud and water and well long story short every time I turn my headlights on the main fuse blows! I have cleaned and dried out every elec. plug I can find up front and sealed with di-electric grease and the problem sill persist! They worked fine till my last ride. I can still ride and have a blast on it until I try to turn the lights on! The only thing electrically I have done since buying it was take the battery out to put a good charge on it and Im sure I tightened the terminals enough or it shouldnt even be starting should it? Man I hope someone can help me! I have un-taped the headlight harness back to where it enters the velcro bag and see no bare wires or kinks of any sort and there doesnt appear to be any water in the light housings. I havee one of those multi meters but am kinda lost as to how to use it! I am good mechanically but suck at wiring!

**DaGoblin** · #2 (**permalink**) 02-22-2010, 10:44 PM

I am blowing the main fuse to man! I'm not sure why it's happening though. I think it's when I'm braking, but I'm not 100% sure. I can't even drive it to tes my theory because of all the snow...so I guess I'm going to have to wait!

Duster · #3 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 01:53 AM

I can help... I think...
I've spent days crawling this electrical system.

What you have is a short popping the fuse.

There are rubber boots over the back of the lights that are supposed to seal them, but allow you to change bulbs.
Open those and check things out.

Next, there is a pair of white plugs that connect the lights to the lighting harness.
Open those and check them out.

Next, while those are disconnected, sacrifice a fuse and turn the lights on to see if you pop a fuse. If not, it is from there out to the lights. If so, it is deeper into the system.

Next, there is a velcro bag under the main fuse... open that up. This contains the plugs between the power, switch harness and lighting harness. Unplug that stuff and check it.

If you have not found water or a damaged wire by this point... trace it on up to the switch.
If still nothing, start tracing the red wire off the switch, and the blue wire coming off the front brake.
Trace those all the way back to the tail light, and check the tail light out.

If you can't see a problem from inspecting what wires are readily visible or from inside the plugs, then stop there and come back here. We'll get you started with a meter to see if we can single out the offending wire. If not, we may need to have a look at the switches.

w4r3z · #4 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 01:56 AM

I allready blew my main fuse a couple of time because of my brake light sensor. Now they are all removed, no more issue.

GanGREEN · #5 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 08:20 AM

I checked both white plugs for lights and actually disconnected every plug I could get to up front and cleaned them out with electrical contact cleaner, dried them out and packed with di-electric grease before I posted and I seperated the switch and visually inside the switch it looked brand new and dry buy I still cleaned and dried just to be sure there was no arcing. However when I pulled the rubber boots back I just peeked inside the light housing and didn't see any obvious water or mud so I didn't go any further so I'll do that this evening and hope that's my issue! I have blown Many fuses "testing" but so far only when u turn headlights on! I pulled bag off by ignition switch/hood plugs and inpligged another white plug there too and cleaned/dried it too bit maybe my light plug was further back in and I missed it so I'll try that tonight too. I did all these before I posted last night, like I said I can do just about anything mechanical and know the basics on on how to track a short but if it's not an obvious bare wire or corrosion or moisture I'm lost! Thanks for the help and I'll let ya know how it works out tonight! I'm expecting my megabomb header tonight so im gonna be bummed if it's still tore apart!!

GanGREEN · #6 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 05:22 PM

Ok just got home, checked both bulb sockets and they are clean and dry. I unplugged both headlight WHITE plugs from harness, fired it up, turned light switch on and cycled through low/high beam several times fuse didn't blow! So does this mean my short is from the bulbs to the white plugs???

kawnin · #7 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 05:36 PM

I had the same prob when i first got mine. I went though the whole system and put dielectric grease on every part that might get water to the electrical system. never happened agian

GanGREEN · #8 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 05:38 PM

I've done that too but I still don't see any bare wires or corrosion on socket harness! Unless it's behind the plastic sleeve!

nkeen07 · #9 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 06:10 PM

It might be inside the headlight connectors. If it's not blowing w/o lights it has to be somewhere from the connector forward.

GanGREEN · #10 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 06:30 PM

Man they look PERFECT to me! I even cut the plastic sleeve that the wires are in to make sure there wasn't any bare wires behind it but all looked great, no corrosion on sockets, ground wire seems soldered good to socket etc etc! Any idea how I would test these with a multiple meter?