Electrical ground problem....AGAIN!!

[offcenter]

A while back, I posted about an electrical gremlin on my '99 1500.
I would lose all tail lights, the cb would stop working, and the directional indicators on the dash would both light
up and stay lit.
Several of you pointed me toward the 22 pin connector under the seat. Sure enough, the green ground wire
was burned. I cut the green wire loose at both ends and soldered in a separate plug, ONLY for the green ground
wire. All was well for a few months. Yesterday tailights went out, the cb quit and the dash indicators came on
again!!!
I pulled the seat and found that the separate plug I had installed was all melted and the green ground wire
was all burned....AGAIN!!!
I have so many questions regarding this.
1. Why would that ground wire burn again at the SAME SPOT?
2. Why would this ground wire affect the CB and dash indicators when the Honda schematic shows that
it is the ground for all of the tail lights and nothing else?
3. Should I run both ends of this wire to the frame ground under the seat?

I could solder in another plug, but I fear this will only happen again in a short while.
Thanks guys.

[fcanary]

I’m no electrical expert, so not sure if I am correct but....when I troubleshoot electrical problems on heating equipment a burned wire is usually a bare wire touching metal somewhere. I may be off as far as the DC system on a motorcycle but I think it’s worth a shot to see.

[offcenter]

Thank you for your reply.
But....this is a ground wire.
It shouldn't matter if it touches ground somewhere, should it?

[MikeB]

Are you talking about this connector?

I had that same issue but I opted to cut and solder the wires together with a jumper.
I doubt that I will ever have to separate this connector again so there was no reason to install a separate connector.

I suspect that the current draw through this ground connection is what burnt the original connector. With that thought, it made sense to me to hard wire it.
This repair was done three years ago and I have had no further problems.

[fcanary]

My thoughts are you are getting power back to ground causing it to burn. That’s why I thought there may be a bare wire causing it. Any ground wire should not get hot.

[offcenter]

Are you talking about this connector?
Connector_Male.jpg
I had that same issue but I opted to cut and solder the wires together with a jumper.
I doubt that I will ever have to separate this connector again so there was no reason to install a separate connector.
repaired_connection.jpg
I suspect that the current draw through this ground connection is what burnt the original connector. With that thought, it made sense to me to hard wire it.
This repair was done three years ago and I have had no further problems.

Yes, that is the connector. But you repaired the yellow/green wire.
Mine is a solid green. I did just what you did. But I put a plug in the green
wire in case I ever have to get it apart again. The green wire MELTED the
plug/socket and toasted the wire.
Arrgghh!

[MikeB]

Are you talking about this connector?
Connector_Male.jpg
I had that same issue but I opted to cut and solder the wires together with a jumper.
I doubt that I will ever have to separate this connector again so there was no reason to install a separate connector.
repaired_connection.jpg
I suspect that the current draw through this ground connection is what burnt the original connector. With that thought, it made sense to me to hard wire it.
This repair was done three years ago and I have had no further problems.

Yes, that is the connector. But you repaired the yellow/green wire.
Mine is a solid green. I did just what you did. But I put a plug in the green
wire in case I ever have to get it apart again. The green wire MELTED the
plug/socket and toasted the wire.
Arrgghh!

What you are seeing is the wire I used to make the reapir, not the wire that was repaired. I repaired the green wire in the C22 connector. I did not have any wire of that color in that gauge on hand to make the repair so I used a green wire with a yellow trace to make the repair and used blue shrink tubing to protect the connections.

[offcenter]

Ah! Ok, my mistake.
Yes, I repaired the green wire just as you did, except that I put a plug/socket on that wire.
Now the new wire and the plug/socket is melted.
Before the latest meltdown, everything on the back of the bike was working
properly, tail lights, brake lights, directionals.
Tomorrow I'll start removing plastic from the back of the bike so I can
check all the other wires back there.

[MikeB]

Ah! Ok, my mistake.
Yes, I repaired the green wire just as you did, except that I put a plug/socket on that wire.
Now the new wire and the plug/socket is melted.
Before the latest meltdown, everything on the back of the bike was working
properly, tail lights, brake lights, directionals.
Tomorrow I'll start removing plastic from the back of the bike so I can
check all the other wires back there.

I would be interested to know what you find and which connectors the green wire goes to and if there are any signs of damage from heat.

I thought about putting in a connector when I repaired mine. However, I was pretty sure that since I had not disconnected that plug in the 16 years and 182,000 miles I had owned it already that I most likely would not need to separate that connector any time soon.

That little pin in that C10 connector is most likely not making good enough contact to carry the current needed at the end of the line. There are quite a few circuits on that ground line. It looks like it is the ground for the cornering lights, air pump assembly, trunk side marker lights and the trunk and saddlebag brake and tail lights. At one time I had common tungsten bulbs in the marker and brake lights sockets and they draw quite a bit of current. Now I have LED bulbs in all positions. I also replaced the trunk and saddlebag lights with LED strips.

[Rambozo]

How much current is going through that wire? What was the current rating of the plug you added? I suspect there is something drawing excess current, or you are right at the edge of what it can handle. Do you have additional incandescent lights on the bike?