New Season, New Issues

[whiteclad57]

Hello everyone, it's been almost a year since I've last made a post in here, I recently took the old bike out of storage and fixed some of the lingering issues to prep it for a 150 mile journey across Oregon to my new place.
While it made it there it was not without issues, I'm afraid.

I finally fixed the leak from the fuel pump insulator by setting it with gasket seal, this held up for about an hour until it started shooting oil from the hole with the bearing on the lower section of the pump I'd think this is because of excess engine pressure but I've confirmed that my breather hoses are not blocked at all.
The bike started fine and rode well at 1050rpm during the start, however by the end of the trip the idle had climbed up around 1400rpm. Could this also be because of engine pressure or am I developing a new air leak?
I had my battery on a tender for weeks before I rode, I shut off my bike to get gas midway, only to realize the battery was dead, I got it roll started on an incline and was able to complete the journey. The battery was hot, fizzling and the breather tube was lined with acid condensate, I measured it at 13.7 volts when I shut it off, and 13.3 the next day after it had cooled. While riding gauge ranged from 10.5 volts at idle to 13 volts tops. While this was a pretty old battery ~6 years old, I only put it in because my AGM replacement somehow died over the winter after only two years. I have a new AGM coming tomorrow but I'd rather not cook it to death like the current one. How should I test the charging system to ensure its not overcharging and killing my batteries?

Lastly, I bought a new regulator-rectifier because, well, look at the photo below and you will understand.
I want to install it, but I'd really rather not strip the connector and wire it into this birds nest. RMStator sells a replacement connector for $17, are they my only option here?
https://www.amazon.com/Regulator-Rectif ... B00UJS7JYS
The starter solenoid is equally as bad and honestly, I'd just as soon replace it to eliminate the massive inline glass fuse tube the previous owner wired in. I see these solenoids with integrated blade fuse holders all over amazon and ebay, does anybody know it these are a direct replacement, or will they need altered to fit?

Oh, and lastly does anyone know why there appears to be an extra ground wire on the main harness that seems to just be capped off, it's never been connected to anything as long as I've owned the bike and I'm not sure what it would go to?

Find This Item on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UJS7JYS?tag=goldwingdocs-20

[whiteclad57]

Been working on my Silverwing while waiting for parts to come in, brake pads were glazed on it, return cable snapped, broken choke and the secondary jets and emulsion tubes were pretty gummed up. Anyways took two days but got all those issues fixed and now it runs better than it ever has for me. Still needs new forks (not just seals sadly) and the famed triple bypass but I'm likely as not to post it for sale rather than dump another grand into it.

Anyways back to the Goldwing
New AGM battery arrived I've got it on the charger for now while I continue to work on the bike's other issues.

The front brakes even after a full bleed and resetting all the hose connections are still way too weak, they were a bit better after doing the zip tie trick but now are back to near uselessness after sitting a week in the garage, there's no leaks anywhere that I can find but air bubbles are still present in the reservoir so airs getting in but fluid isn't getting out, a bad O-ring acting as a one-way check valve maybe? I'm not certain myself, I'll take the calipers off tonight to check the pistons, only thing I haven't messed with this season, the rotors need taken off the be reground either way since they're pretty warped and noisy.

Regarding the rectifier plug:
4into1 had similar (identical?) connectors for much cheaper.
https://4into1.com/locking-connector-ki ... ies-8-pin/
I got new 3pin connectors for the stator plug as well.
https://4into1.com/locking-connector-ki ... ies-3-pin/
Ordered two of each just in case I mess up a crimp.

Still have no idea on what that capped off wire in the harness is for, anyone? It appears to be an extra ground wire for the rectifier, so I have three instead of two but none of the wiring diagrams show a third ground.

[Rambozo]

Honda had some factory splices inside the main harness. They are usually on the factory wiring diagram. Sometimes they are semi redundant as they are often ground wires that might have an alternate path elsewhere. If the wire is green, it is most likely a ground. Have you measured it to see if it's grounded? You can also trace it out and find out where it goes if it isn't grounded.
You just never know what a PO has done. I can see that wiring has been molested before.
You can see what splices should be there for the ground wires in that general area.

[whiteclad57]

The wire is green, I have not tested it for ground however, what would be the correct method of doing so without risk if it isn't?

Unfortunately, I've been through it long enough on this bike that I know exactly what the PO has done (none of it good).
Every plug under my left battery cover has been removed and replaced with poorly insulated dry splices.
Only the stator plug was intact until it melted 2 years ago, and I had to solder in new wire and make it a permanent connection.
The bike used to have a fairing and trailer package, I removed the former and a PO removed the later.

Surprisingly the electrical work for those was much more professionally done, likely done by dealership I'm guessing.

[Rambozo]

The wire is green, I have not tested it for ground however, what would be the correct method of doing so without risk if it isn't?

Volt meter from unknown green wire to battery positive. Compare to known ground.
If it's not grounded, you can inject a HF signal and use a wire tracer to see where it goes, then compare with the wiring diagram to see where it should go.

[Rambozo]

The wire is green, I have not tested it for ground however, what would be the correct method of doing so without risk if it isn't?

Volt meter from unknown green wire to battery positive. Compare to known ground.
If it's not grounded, you can inject a HF signal and use a wire tracer to see where it goes, then compare with the wiring diagram to see where it should go.

[whiteclad57]

I tested the mysterious green wire; it was indeed an additional ground wire.
It doesn't match the factory parts fiches or the factory wiring diagrams, presumably when assembling they thought my rectifier needed an additional ground wire for whatever reason.

I've cut out the old bullet splices, stripped down to fresh wire, fluxed and soldered in new 14-gauge wires for all the connectors then followed up with a thin coating of dielectric and heat shrink.
Did this for both the rectifier and the stator unit, not the most professional job but I didn't have much wire left to work with unless I cut open the harness.
I installed new 8 and 3 pin plugs for both units as well.
New rectifier had to be mounted in reverse because of clearance issues but it should be fine under the battery cover.
Only remaining wiring issue in the rear (more of a nitpick) is to replace the PO's comically long inline 30amp glass fuse with a properly insulated, compact blade fuse setup.

My front rotors will still be out a few more days for drilling and grinding to correct a longstanding pulsing issue, I'll also be readjusting the forks to ensure there's no adverse tension affecting the front axle since I've been dealing with a rubbing noise on the front wheel that is entirely separate from the brakes and doesn't show up on a wheel balancer.

I've got speedbleeders coming in as well for the front and rear calipers, the existing bleeders don't even have a long enough bleed-nipple for hoses to stay on reliably and thus have been a doubly painful process to bleed so far.
I'll be changing out all the pads and doing a full bleed when they get here, I should probably also disassemble the master again to make sure the return port is clear, it's been an ongoing issue that my fronts have locked up at seemingly random intervals, I swore I got it clear last time only for it to happen again a few months later.