I re-connected the electrical system and tried out the turn signals. Guess what! They work!!
I was amazed that I had actually guessed the polarity right at the first time of trying. I had soldered wires to match the original colours on to the bits of wire that came with the lamps. These were going on to black and purple wires on the original connectors which I had to re-use. There was always the chance (50/50) that I'd got it wrong and the two ends wouldn't match. Not a big deal really but it felt so good that something had gone right first time.
That was the end of my good luck!
Next, I had to fit a waterproof connector onto the stub of wire from the multilock which plugs into the tail-lamp assembly. This is the only way I could see of doing this as the wiring from the turn signals has to be fed through the bolt which fits the signal onto the fender. As I've no power in the garage, I can't solder it as the connection must be made after all the parts are assembled.
The connectors proved to be so fiddly they are just not practical to fit in such a confined space. So, once more, it is back to the drawing board.
I had a read through Vehicle Wiring Products catalogue and decided on using heat seal bullet terminals which I will wrap in a cable cover. Hopefully this will give it enough weather-proofing. At least they deliver exceptionally quickly so I will have all of the stuff I need in the next few days.
To be fair to myself, I did also manage to strip down the front brake hose and measure up the control cables. So next weekend I can go back to Area 51 and order up the extended cables I need. I had considered buying them myself from V-Twin Mania but the ones they have on sale are fitted with chrome banjo bolts whereas I'd prefer black stainless ones. I also want black braided control cables so hopefully they will be able to source them as the HD ones, which while looking the biz, are just over the top price-wise.
None of this is ideal but at least I know that my ideas have worked even if putting them into practice takes longer than planned. And, just so you can see what's going on, here's some pics:-
I was amazed that I had actually guessed the polarity right at the first time of trying. I had soldered wires to match the original colours on to the bits of wire that came with the lamps. These were going on to black and purple wires on the original connectors which I had to re-use. There was always the chance (50/50) that I'd got it wrong and the two ends wouldn't match. Not a big deal really but it felt so good that something had gone right first time.
That was the end of my good luck!
Next, I had to fit a waterproof connector onto the stub of wire from the multilock which plugs into the tail-lamp assembly. This is the only way I could see of doing this as the wiring from the turn signals has to be fed through the bolt which fits the signal onto the fender. As I've no power in the garage, I can't solder it as the connection must be made after all the parts are assembled.
The connectors proved to be so fiddly they are just not practical to fit in such a confined space. So, once more, it is back to the drawing board.
I had a read through Vehicle Wiring Products catalogue and decided on using heat seal bullet terminals which I will wrap in a cable cover. Hopefully this will give it enough weather-proofing. At least they deliver exceptionally quickly so I will have all of the stuff I need in the next few days.
To be fair to myself, I did also manage to strip down the front brake hose and measure up the control cables. So next weekend I can go back to Area 51 and order up the extended cables I need. I had considered buying them myself from V-Twin Mania but the ones they have on sale are fitted with chrome banjo bolts whereas I'd prefer black stainless ones. I also want black braided control cables so hopefully they will be able to source them as the HD ones, which while looking the biz, are just over the top price-wise.
None of this is ideal but at least I know that my ideas have worked even if putting them into practice takes longer than planned. And, just so you can see what's going on, here's some pics:-
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