Ironhead The Dreadful Electrical!!

[mikepeetz]

Originally Posted by piniongear

Hey! It looks great!!!
And that tail light works too!
How many times did you ride it up and down the street?
Glad to see you got it running and thanks for posting the video.
The electrical was not that difficult was it?
pg

I took it up and down just three times...I just got insurance on it today and am going to register it tomorrow. i don't wanna take take it on the streets and have a cop pin me for no tags..ya the electrical is pretty easy i just made it allot harder than it needed to be...im gonna be posting before and after pics on my build thread that i never updated.ill probably post them here to. thanks for taking the time to help.

[Hopper]

looks and sounds good. Job well done!

[ElCaFreak]

WOW I read and learned so much from all those posts. Ya'll realy helped that guy,,, and I loved all the hand drawn stuff too!
I'm kind of in his place way back in the first post. I just got my wire harness and am kind of overwhelmed. I've had some training in the past but not on anything like a Harley.
What is a Fork terminal board terminal? I have a '71 XLH that I've had to put together out of a pile.

[piniongear]

Originally Posted by ElCaFreak

WOW I read and learned so much from all those posts. Ya'll realy helped that guy,,, and I loved all the hand drawn stuff too!
I'm kind of in his place way back in the first post. I just got my wire harness and am kind of overwhelmed. I've had some training in the past but not on anything like a Harley.
What is a Fork terminal board terminal? I have a '71 XLH that I've had to put together out of a pile.

A fork terminal board is pictured below.........



It is nothing but a piece of metal that bolts to the front fork yoke.
It has 5 or 6 square holes in it and into these holes there is a square nylon insert in each of the holes to secure the wire connections using a screw.
Since the material is nylon it is insulated from the frame.

On a 1971 there is a fork terminal board (shown in the pic) and there is another similar one welded to the left side of the frame back where the battery is located.
Wires coming off the harness attach here and then get 'forwarded' to the other areas on the bike.
pg

[ElCaFreak]

Ok,,, that's one step closer to getting there. OK, then there is a fairley big box in the schematic that is just off center that is in alot of other years and is not labeled. It looks like the wires from most of the front of the bike go to and then pass on to the ignition, starter, generator and tail lights. I see the junction terminal board after this too.

[piniongear]

Originally Posted by ElCaFreak

Ok,,, that's one step closer to getting there. OK, then there is a fairley big box in the schematic that is just off center that is in alot of other years and is not labeled. It looks like the wires from most of the front of the bike go to and then pass on to the ignition, starter, generator and tail lights. I see the junction terminal board after this too.

That 'big box' on the schematic is nothing at all. I do not know why HD drew in this box but it represents nothing.....not even a plug connection.
So just ignore it.
A yellow wire goes in and a yellow wire goes out. A red wire goes in and a red wire goes out.
In reality there are just unbroken wires running through 'the box area.'

Another tip for you......
Try to follow the wiring diagram starting at the battery.
All power originates at the battery.
The electricity then runs to the starter, ignition, regulator and terminal boards.
From the terminal boards it then is routed further on to the lights, horn etc.

Starting at the battery may make the diagram easier to follow and also make more sense.
pg

[ElCaFreak]

That's great advice. My memory aint that great these days, so I confiscated a notebook from the wife and it's fillin up quick. I also like the thought of downsizing all the wiring. That was stupid, so forget I typed it. OBVIOUSLY you will only use the wires you need!!! duh

Anyways, I'll steal the battery from the ridin lawnmower and start layin wire out as soon as I get back from the shop with the top triple tree I had to order. Can't run wire without handle bars mounted and can't mount handle bar w/o triple tree. LOL
I don't have any turn signals yet, but I'll still run the wires for them to ba added later.

I think I will only need 1 circuit breaker for safety and protection. If I remeber correctly, it should be just after the battery? And what size should I look for?
Thanx in advance
Dug

[piniongear]

Originally Posted by ElCaFreak

That's great advice. My memory aint that great these days, so I confiscated a notebook from the wife and it's fillin up quick. I also like the thought of downsizing all the wiring. That was stupid, so forget I typed it. OBVIOUSLY you will only use the wires you need!!! duh

Anyways, I'll steal the battery from the ridin lawnmower and start layin wire out as soon as I get back from the shop with the top triple tree I had to order. Can't run wire without handle bars mounted and can't mount handle bar w/o triple tree. LOL
I don't have any turn signals yet, but I'll still run the wires for them to ba added later.

I think I will only need 1 circuit breaker for safety and protection. If I remeber correctly, it should be just after the battery? And what size should I look for?
Thanx in advance
Dug

If the bike is a 1971 XLCH you need only one circuit breaker.
A 15 amp should do it.

If the bike is a 1971 XLH with electric starter you need an additional breaker for the starter. That should be a 30 amp.

Be careful running wires to turn signals that have no signals, (if you will ride it like that) so the wiring does not short out.
pg

[ElCaFreak]

I gotcha. TRUST me, I am so anal retentive there will be no questioning the wiring when I'm done. I may have 1,000,000 questions getting there?!?!
I've gotten some great advice here already.
Thanks alot

[mikepeetz]

Im glad the thread i started has helped you...these guys are great with allot of patience..I thought about seeing if i could add all of the threads i have started to the sticks because as a whole they basically go over how to rebuild the whole entire bike..the bike i have is the first bike i ever had and i completely rebuilt it and modified it...NEVER!! would have happened if this site did not exist. good luck with your wiring.