Date: Saturday, September 1, 2018
Man, I’m cooked.
We met Don at the Canyon Cafe just before 7:30. He said his friend Wanye was on his way from the city and should arrive at the shop just about the same time as us.
I made an AutoZone pit stop on the way back to the shop. When I got to the gate the key card Don had given me was not in my wallet. This in spite of the fact that I put it in there the night before. A truck was behind me so I started to get out to ask if they could open the gate. Before I was able to exit the truck the driver was at my door. It was Wayne. Since he didn’t have a key I called Don who came over and opened the gate. The key card was never found.
I went to work on the turn signals while Don and Wayne talked. Lee was busy looking at the route maps.
WIRES, WIRES EVERYWHERE!!
After a little over an hour Don and Lee left to get a can of Triflow and some screws for the trailer cover snaps.
Shortly after they left I had power to the turn signal wires and asked Wayne if he’d help me get the trailer out. The trailer was standing up vertically with the rear resting on a moving dolly. Within minutes we had it outside. It was time to try the vinyl cover that I had custom made. To my dismay the cover was too tight width wise, but was close enough to work.
I removed the taillight lenses and bulbs so I could ohm out the wires. Things weren’t making sense, no ground on the right light, one wire not doing anything. I began unwrapping the wire harness. Yup, a total mess. Don had told me that he’d never used the trailer at night. I can see why!
Rewiring the trailer was NOT on my agenda, but it had to be done.
RAT’S NEST #2!
When Don returned he offered me a brand new set of trailer lights. While the problem wasn’t the lights, but the wiring, I checked them out.
In the set were two amber turn signal lights and a wire harness. Those lights I installed and put the harness to use.
Lee tackled lubricating all Bubba’s cables with the Triflow and did a great job. She also cleaned up the chrome on the bike.
Once the trailer harness issues were resolved I connected the trailer hitch to the bike to work on installing a mating harness.
VERY TEDIOUS WORK
As I looked at the back of the bike I noticed a green tube zip tied to the frame. Upon closer inspection I realized that it was a trailer harness! Wow, this is awesome, all, I have to do is plug it in! BUT, you guessed it, total garbage. It was removed and tossed aside.
WORKING ON THE MATING HARNESS FOR THE TRAILER
At one point while the wiring was routed, but not all cleaned up I tested it. Everything was working, or so I thought.
One minute I had power to the left turn signals, then nothing the next time I checked. I cleaned and recleaned the switch. A continuity check confirmed, the wire exiting the headlight was ok, but power would not pass through it, maddening! Finally I unsoldered the terminal on the headlight end. This terminal joined the power wires for the right front and rear turn signals. For some reason I connected the meter to the headlight end of the rear turn signal wire and checked for continuity to ground. Yup, the wire was shorted somewhere. I spent about 15 minutes trying to identify the problem spot without success.
Lee had been busy marking the snap locations on the sides of the trailer.
I decided that we would not be off first thing tomorrow morning since it was close to 5:00 and there was still a lot to do.
The wiring would have to wait since I’d been at it all day and was mentally exhausted.
I drilled the screw holes for the trailer cover snaps and Lee and I installed them. As I was working, the shorted turn signal wire was on my mind. That’s when I decided that I would run a new wire in the morning and not expend any more time looking for the short.
INSTALLING THE TRAILER COVER SNAPS
Once that was done we stood the trailer on end and I installed plastic wire loom over the harness wires. Lee helped me route the harness back through the trailer hitch tube.
Don had left by then, I think the excitement was getting to him!
While Lee started picking up I checked the trailer cover for fit.
THE TRAILER READY TO GO!
Exhausted, we drove a few blocks to Tacos Michoacan. The food was excellent and the Negros Modella sure tasted good.
10:30, time to sleep.
Adventures With Bubba 