Electrical issues 2007 ST1300

There is also a heat distribution element to this, small wires and connectors do not dissipate heat very well. And as has already been mentioned here resistance causes heat. Heating elements and light bulbs etc. And heat increases
resistances which creates more heat. The real problem appears to be according to the label, “Made In China” on the loom.
I think the wires and connecters are to small.
 
mjc506 said:
(I still think the single thin grounding wire is marginal :) )
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Many members have run into the same ground problems while running STock kit. Like most manufactures Honda met budget requirements by not over-engineering every aspect of the bike.

I don't believe all or even most of the wiring needed to go up in gauge but certainly some key leads should have. At least one member has run several grounds to one ring connector and bolted it to the frame.

However Honda didn't realize during production that a bulletproof motor would mean a lot of the riders would hang on to these bikes a lot longer than might be typical. Fortunately there's a repository of great information that can head off a lot of problems before they happen as well as deal with calls for help.
 
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On switching to high beam from low beam, are both headlights supposed to be on or is it just one at a time?
 
ASPC said:
On switching to high beam from low beam, are both headlights supposed to be on or is it just one at a time?
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Both on, hi and lo beam.

You might have to fashion a new ground from the three wire connector on the back of the headlight in question.
 
Both on. One side is powered by one fuse. The other side is powered by a different fuse, and is switched on by a relay which is triggered by current from the first side.

See my diagram here. Note - the passing switch circuit doesn't feature on USA bikes.

Article [13] - ST1300 - Headlight Circuit | ST1300 Articles

A Circuit Diagram showing the odd configuration of the ST1300 headlights, with some explanation. The circuit is taken from a UK 2009 ABS model - from 2004 headlamps are on all of the time, there is no light switch on the handlebar console. However, the UK spec models have a 'pass' switch to...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
ASPC said:
Thank you everyone for helping me solve this problem.:bannana:
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Interesting thread,,, and perhaps for me quite timely. In the last couple of weeks,,, I have noticed the following. On warm-up's,,, say within the first 5 minutes,,, a brief miss,,, like a bad connection affecting ignition. And also on some warm-up's,,, an initially dead speedo,,, like a dying speed sensor,, or bad connection in that circuit. Then the speedo comes back to it's normal function after 5 minutes. Then,,, on tonight's evening ride,,, I noticed the highbeam indicator was not lit. I stopped for gas,, and before shutting the bike off,,, I note that both headlights were non-functional on both the high and low beams, and on both high and low switch settings. I shut the bike off and refueled. Started the bike,,, and the headlights were normal, and stayed normal for the 30 minute ride home. Three glitches at the same general time ?? Might be a good time to start checking grounds,,, huh ??? CAt'
 
Catmandu2 said:
Interesting thread,,, and perhaps for me quite timely. In the last couple of weeks,,, I have noticed the following. On warm-up's,,, say within the first 5 minutes,,, a brief miss,,, like a bad connection affecting ignition. And also on some warm-up's,,, an initially dead speedo,,, like a dying speed sensor,, or bad connection in that circuit. Then the speedo comes back to it's normal function after 5 minutes. Then,,, on tonight's evening ride,,, I noticed the highbeam indicator was not lit. I stopped for gas,, and before shutting the bike off,,, I note that both headlights were non-functional on both the high and low beams, and on both high and low switch settings. I shut the bike off and refueled. Started the bike,,, and the headlights were normal, and stayed normal for the 30 minute ride home. Three glitches at the same general time ?? Might be a good time to start checking grounds,,, huh ??? CAt'
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They do get really weird when a ground is bad.
 
So gathering up all the info,,, regarding grounding points to be checked and cleaned,,, is this a complete list ??

1. Anything attached directly to the battery ground.
2. The grounding bolt on the frame,, under the rear of the upper tank.
3. The ground connection in the rear left side white plug-in.
4. The entire yellow grounding block.
5. The battery negative grounding cable attachment to the engine, and perhaps the frame ?
6. Additional grounds can be created,,, for the #3 and #4 items.
7. The recall kit pictured below, for '02 to '04, provided additional grounding through the pink/red connector located under the pair valve solenoid. This kit no longer carries a valid part number.

What am I missing ?? CAt'
kit1.jpg
 
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Catmandu2 said:
So gathering up all the info,,, regarding grounding points to be checked and cleaned,,, is this a complete list ??

1. Anything attached directly to the battery ground.
2. The grounding bolt on the frame,, under the rear of the upper tank.
3. The ground connection in the rear left side white plug-in.
4. The entire yellow grounding block.
5. The battery negative grounding cable attachment to the engine, and perhaps the frame ?
6. Additional grounds can be created,,, for the #3 and #4 items.
7. The recall kit pictured below, for '02 to '04, provided additional grounding through the pink/red connector located under the pair valve solenoid. This kit no longer carries a valid part number.

What am I missing ?? CAt'
View attachment 278859
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Be interesting to see what your yellow bus bar looks like (right side behind headlight )and the large white connector where the green ground wire goes. (left side near front) Good luck....
 
Kevcules said:
Be interesting to see what your yellow bus bar looks like (right side behind headlight )and the large white connector where the green ground wire goes. (left side near front) Good luck....
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I finally have had an opportunity to check some of the potential ground failure points discussed earlier. Took me a while to get the 14 wire yellow ground block opened up,, and then to carefully remove the common 14 pin connection strap. The whole block was dry, with no evidence of burning or corrosion. I will likely polish it a bit,,, spray some contact cleaner around,,, and reassemble. This block seems to be in good shape,,, but I read lots of posts and found video's that attest to the yellow block being an issue on GL's, cbr600,, cbr1000's,,, etc. The usual fix is to cut it out and do a bunch of soldering.
20211101_220955.jpg20211101_222911.jpg
Also,, over on the RH side,,, the large white mega-pin block looks okay as well. Although it was packed with dielectric grease. I will clean this up,,, and maybe add a ground wire to the frame. In both locations,,, I was surprised at how light a wire gauge is used in this '04 harness. So I don't think I have found a bad ground yet,,, and so will keep searching. Just wanted to update the thread,,, before I forget too,,, cheers,,, CAt'
 

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The left side of the yellow connector for grounds definitely has been hot... the metal clip is discolored, and the yellow plastic cover was melted to it, that's why you had a hard time getting it open. Resistance is causing the heat, you may be able to clean it and lower the resistance, or do the replacement as others have discussed. Basically, if you are melting plastic, you have a bad connection. There may be other areas bad as well, but you do need to address this spot.
 
Its a long time back - but

Post #48 July 16th, 2nd photo down.

Check that earth point for resistance to the -ve terminal on the battery. Just 'cos a wire is connected to a frame, doesn't mean it has a good connection to earth. That looks to be where a subframe is bolted to a main frame. I might be wrong, but it doesn't hurt to check.

(I have a few places around the rear seat grab handles (when the seat is off) that I thought I would be able to use for a good earth for resistance readings. Turns out they do not give a good earth connection earth at all.)
 
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