[VeeDubScrub]

Greetings Honda people! As promised in my introduction this will be my first project for my 85 rebel--fixing the wiring the PO so graciously dismembered for me! So lets start with the spaghetti left by this meatball:

Mama Mia!

All I wanted to do was remove the electronic speedo/tach that he installed that didn't work and replace it with a USB port to use my phone as a speedo/gps, but it looks like that isn't going to happen right away... After almost a full day of trying to fix that absolute mess I came to the conclusion that it would be easier to just redo the wiring for all the accessories. I will be making the harness based off of this diagram by 66Sprint for a fellow on the form (quick and dirty photoshop stitch):

Next will be figuring out how I want to run all the wiring throughout the bike. Stay tuned!

 

[Oldgeezer]

That is an insane mess. I always wondered why Honda did not put all the connectors in a rubber boot under the gas tank.

 

[VeeDubScrub]

That is an insane mess. I always wondered why Honda did not put all the connectors in a rubber boot under the gas tank.

I agree! It seems a bit odd to have all those connectors up front. Must be because of the limited space under the seat/gas tank? My plan is to relocate the battery and put all the electronics under the seat to tidy up the wiring. Then only run wires up to the front that absolutely need to be there.

 

[longdistancerider]

I've seen some ugly but this takes the cake. Here's some color codes and purpose.
Red= main battery power
Black= ignition switched keyed power
Brown= ignition switched power in P for lights
Brown w/White= ignition switched power for lights in Run/On
Green= ground

 

[VeeDubScrub]

Awesome, thank you longdistance! I was trying to get it to run on an aftermarket 3 position switch and can't get the starter to crank. I think the problem is I don't have the black wire hooked up at the moment. I'll connect it to the ignition pole and see if I can't at least get the starter to go.

The other problem I had was the two black and white wires going to the CDI unit. Not sure if one needs to go to the kill switch and one to the ignition or the kill switch goes to the ignition and then 2 out to the CDI...

 

[longdistancerider]

The Black w/White are CDI grounding wires to kill the ignition. One goes to the ignition switch and in the OFF position it grounds to the Green. The other goes to the Run/Kill switch and in the Kill/Off position it grounds to the Green.
Do you have the FSM for this year/model?

 

[VeeDubScrub]

The Black w/White are CDI grounding wires to kill the ignition. One goes to the ignition switch and in the OFF position it grounds to the Green. The other goes to the Run/Kill switch and in the Kill/Off position it grounds to the Green.
Do you have the FSM for this year/model?

I don't have the manual for this unfortunately. I'll be sure to pick one up ASAP.

So my ignition switch has 3 poles: Battery - Ignition - Lights

Right now I have these things running to the poles, let me know if this is correct.

Battery:
Red wire from battery

Ignition:
Green ground
B/W from kill switch
2x B/W to CDI

Lights:
Nothing at the moment

I'm not sure what I should be putting to what poles. All I want at the moment is to turn the bike over. I thought I had an okay idea looking at the wiring diagram but now i'm assuming I cooked something?

 

[longdistancerider]

PM sent about the FSM
You ignition switch is aftermarket also. You can use it for turning on the lights. The Black w/White and Green will need to go to a toggle switch since in the ON position of your ignition switch battery power from the Red wire will be sent to the Ignition terminal.
For this switch the connections would be:
Battery = Red
Ignition = Black
Lights = Brown and Brown w/White
It's quite possible that the CDI is fried if you turned the switch on while the Black w/White was connected to the switch.

 

[VeeDubScrub]

I got your PM, thank you!

I hear you about the CDI and now that I look back on it was dumb of me to send power directly to it. I hope that it's not cooked but I'll plan for the worst. Not sure if the new rebel CDI units can be used? It looks like people have asked a few times about it but I'm not seeing any info on a conversion in my limited search.

 

[VeeDubScrub]

So here is my plan moving forward:

1. Buy a stock wiring harness/ignition switch/replacement CDI for the one I fried and get the bike running again.
2. Remove the old hacked up harness and scavenge off it to make a new stripped down harness.

So some questions:

-If I get a 2nd gen main harness that will allow me to run a new CDI as well. What other parts would need to be swapped? I'm assuming just the coils.

-Would anyone happen to have the diagram to convert a 2nd gen CDI to 1st gen? I've searched and saw threads that mention it but all the links to the photos are broke.

Thanks again awesome people!

 

[longdistancerider]

Unfortunately we haven't had too many Rebel owners join the forum to date. In the library I have the 85-87 FSM and the 95-08 FSM. It's going to be a case of checking part numbers for specific items like the stator, voltage regulator, ignition switch, coils, etc. Research time unless you can find an answer on one of the Rebel forums.

 

[VeeDubScrub]

Sounds good. Thanks again longdistance for your help so far! I'll probably migrate this thread to one of those forms then post my results here once I'm finished incase another rebel owner wanders this way like I did.

 

[longdistancerider]

The more information we can gain the better for the future members.

 

[Runt4u]

If anyone is still able to reply, can someone let me know how things went with the wiring. I currently have one wire that keeps melting if I'm correct it's with the main fuse blowing out. Can someone help? I'm new to this fourm and I don't wanna sell my bike if I don't have to. It's my first bike and I wanna enjoy it for a little bit then pass it down to my son.

 

[Alan F.]

If you've got a wire melting BEFORE a fuse blows, please verify that you're using a fuse with the correct rating.

Then track down the cause by removing light bulbs and or systematically unplugging stuff while trying to recreate the failure.

But first give this a read: https://www.hondatwins.net/forums/23-member-introductions/121120-critical-read-before-posting.html

 

[66Sprint]

If anyone is still able to reply, can someone let me know how things went with the wiring. I currently have one wire that keeps melting if I'm correct it's with the main fuse blowing out. Can someone help? I'm new to this fourm and I don't wanna sell my bike if I don't have to. It's my first bike and I wanna enjoy it for a little bit then pass it down to my son.

What color is the wire that's melting?...... Phone me to discuss options for "hotwiring " it to start.....

 

[Runt4u]

What color is the wire that's melting?...... Phone me to discuss options for "hotwiring " it to start.....

I'm sorry that I haven't replied, if and when you have a chance anyway that you are able to add me on Facebook? facebook.com/elrunt that's the line to my Facebook. It was a green wire to the I believe a little black cube. I can't remember the exact name but I can let you know when I get home from work. I'll shoot you a text when I can but I have horrible reception at my house at the moment, yet Facebook works best.

 

[66Sprint]

I'm guessing the wire is actually Green with a red stripe and that little cube is the diode Honda calls a rectifier......
Might be better for you to phone me at the number in red below when at the bike......

 

[Runt4u]

It was the diode, I will if I can get reception. Only thing is that I have the whole bike torn apart.