Lights and kickstand problem

[teej21012]

Two parter here. I had the demon universal fairing and have had lighting problems before due to previous-previous owner messing up the wiring. Ordered a new demon fairing and took it in to get professionally reinstalled in Feb this spring. No problems for about 2 weeks then one light burnt out. I was fine with that as I could still see perfectly fine with the other on high. Then the other one, when on high, was dim and when on dim, was off. Changed both bulbs and they were fine after that. Must have been a loose connection on the contacts for the good one. Here's where it gets interesting:

1. After riding for 3 weeks with no problems, both of my headlights completely went out Monday night. Went riding for about 20 mins, was 5 mins from home and the guy in front of me flashes his brake lights. I looked down and noticed mine were out. Looked at the fuse and it had been overloaded. Put a new one in thinking that was gonna be the quick fix, and that fuse blew too. Took both headlight connecters off and fuse still blows. After taking the fairing off, noticed some of the wires coming from the speedometer were split a little bit. I'm talking a wee little tear in the coating. Could see the copper beneath but nothing was coming out. Is this a deeper problem than just a couple of split wires? Should I demand the shop fix for free since it was supposed to be working in the first place after they had serviced it? I was overall pretty satisfied with their work and detail. Keep in mind this was an issue that the previous-previous owner started.

2. Have searched endlessly and to avail can I find a similar problem with my kickstand. It will not retract all the way up. It gets to a certain point then just sits there. If I move it all the way up, it works its way down after riding a minute or two. Moves down roughly 1.5 in. Tried replacing the spring. No luck. Took the entire kickstand off and looked closely at the bolt and little plate that is connected to the spring. The plate is supposed to move the entire time the kickstand is going up but it stops at that one certain point and will not allow the spring to move any further on its own accord. Tried lubing the contact points between the plate and the bolt that holds the kickstand on but that was a no go. Any ideas?

Thanks for any and all input. This forum is definitely amazing when it comes needing fixes for the wonderful baby that is our FZ6. :rockon:

 

[macem29]

excess current flow causes a fuse to blow, 2 things can cause this:
a short circuit, think copper touching steel, or a device(s) in the
circuit drawing more amps than the circuit was designed for, so
as for responsibility, you need to discover if the cause is a mod
or a short first...don't know what to say about that kickstand, pretty
simple mechanical device, inspecting it should rerveal the cause, my
first guess was the spring but you said you've covered that, is anything
bent?

 

[teej21012]

Headlight: No other mods besides headlights. I saw another member on the forum with the same fairing so I think too many amps is not the problem. Must be a short.

Kickstand: Nothing that looks out of ordinary. My roommate also has an FZ6 and after looking at his, they are exactly alike. The only thing I can think of is possibly bad lubrication.

 

[RJ2112]

I'd go with a short on the fuse blowing as well.... and the stand, as long as it's not causing issues by dragging, that's not something I would worry about.

As it is still facing 'aft', it won't cause issues if it strikes the ground in a turn.... it will simply fold up further rather than digging in and jacking the chassis/wheels off the ground.

 

[teej21012]

I'd go with a short on the fuse blowing as well...

You mean like the fuse itself is bad? I tried 6 different fuses and each one blew as soon as I turned the bike on. If your talking of the fuse holder, would that be too hard to replace or would I have to get an entire new fuse box? Thanks

 

[Motogiro]

You mean like the fuse itself is bad? I tried 6 different fuses and each one blew as soon as I turned the bike on. If your talking of the fuse holder, would that be too hard to replace or would I have to get an entire new fuse box? Thanks

He's saying that there is probably a short. This basically means current that is suppose to flow to the headlamp for instance, is being short circuited to ground.

Could be a pinched wire against the frame or it could be where the wire is spliced for the headlight circuit. Open strands touching a ground return or the two wires that feed the headlight circuit in the fairing could be bare and touching somewhere for any number of reasons. Once you've blow a second fuse no matter how many you try you must find out why they are blowing. When you find it it will be obvious and it could be as simple as 2 little strands touching somewhere.

It sounds like you might ask a friend with some experience in these areas to help out. Keep your head up, you'll get it sorted!