#Airhead: I grounded out and lost both headlight relay and starter relay

[baldwithglasses]

Bought an Omega charging system from Nathan at Boxerworks and while installing it, grounded out my custom ground strap (from previous diode board arrangement) between bike ground and the positive terminal off the starter. Sparks, blue smoke, and the bike don't work no more.

Sadness.

Spent past week and weekend chasing down replacement parts and wrecking them, and no, the relays you might get at NAPA don't work. DAHIMK. Bike's out in Palmetto GA, across from Serenbe, so it's real pretty and peaceful and there's scant cell coverage and scant wifi out that way.

The relays are standard items, I like the Bosch units myself but they come from numerous manufacturers, terminals 85 & 86 operate the relay, #30 connecting to 87 & 87a.

[baldwithglasses]

Originally Posted by Jasper ST4

The relays are standard items, I like the Bosch units myself but they come from numerous manufacturers, terminals 85 & 86 operate the relay, #30 connecting to 87 & 87a.

Not quite; #30 connects to #87, but the switching occurs between #85 and #86, and the center pinout (connecting to the diode) is 86A.

I tried reconfiguring the receptacle to make it work with that standard relay, and it absolutely is not the same.

Again, the pinouts go thusly ( BMW/ Bosch diode- included unit):

#30, 85, 86, 86a, 87

The auto parts haus relays are as follows:

#30, 85, 86, 87a, 87

See the distinction?

Now I gotta finagle a ride from the airport south to Palmetto.

Originally Posted by baldwithglasses

Not quite; #30 connects to #87, but the switching occurs between #85 and #86, and the center pinout (connecting to the diode) is 86A.

I did say it operated via 85 & 86 but yours is different than mine then. I just looked at the factory manual.

Again, the pinouts go thusly ( BMW/ Bosch diode- included unit):

#30, 85, 86, 86a, 87

The auto parts haus relays are as follows:

#30, 85, 86, 87a, 87

See the distinction?

Now I gotta finagle a ride from the airport south to Palmetto.

I see the distinction but electricity doesn't know how we label things.

[Overdog]

http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/airheads/relay.shtml

This WORKS! I think the relay cost me about $27 bucks , though. If you have the Bosch relay with the metal cover, you can open up the bad relay and you'll understand how it works....there are several terminals that merely act as a junction....they have nothing to do with the actual operation of the relay. I'm a total putz when it comes to electrical issues.....I can get the shorts out of the crack of my ass and that's IT!....but I read that article, bought the parts and it WORKED!. The part i got was actually different than the one in the article...I got mine at Advance Auto parts....a GM A/C relay. I can get you the exact brand and part number if you need it.

[norton73]

Originally Posted by baldwithglasses

Now I gotta finagle a ride from the airport south to Palmetto.

Jeez, digging up old threads can be dangerous. I was about to PM the OP and offer to go get him. Then I saw the date stamp

[Overdog]

Wow...I never even noticed that! I didn't dig up the old thread.....it was right up there when i logged-on! Anyhoo....I Hope the link I posted will help someone. When my relay went bad it seemed like everyone was sold-out of OEM starter relays...the only dealer I could find who had one was asking DOUBLE what the old price was...so I gave the aftermarket one a shot...and I'm glad i did!