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Tracking down electrical short in Buddy 50

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 12:37 am
by aftersox
I'm hoping there is a resources or someone who can provide some assistance. I'm trying to track down an electrical short. I'm not sure the best way to do this.

I have a 2006 Buddy 50.

The main fuse next to the battery blows whenever I turn on the ignition - consistently. I want to find where the short is. I have a multimeter and a wiring diagram. When I connect the fuse lead to the ground, I get 5 Ohms - so definitely a short somewhere.

When I compare ground to one of the leads the ignition switch it shows 0 ohms, and infinity for the other. I'm assuming that means everything is fine, since once of the leads is connected to ground? But what's the process for using a multimeter to find a short? Where should i check first?

My plan is to print out the wiring diagram and mark the resistance at each lead I find and determine if it should be connected to ground or not.

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 1:22 am
by az_slynch
This may sound extreme, but I would consider taking the bodywork and inspecting the main harness. You may have a chafing on the main harness or a frame member cutting into the harness.

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 2:28 am
by viney266
check the stator out put. Also, have you recently done any work? Did you leave a ground off somewhere? And this is silly, but did you just have the battery out? check the terminals. I've seen it :)

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 1:17 pm
by aftersox
Recently I had it in a shop (not a Genuine dealer) and they refilled the brake fluid. Since then the switch case wasn't attached very well and was cracked open a small amount. So I suspected that maybe the switches are corroded or something, but I haven't found a short there.

I've actually been running it without the battery connected lately.

I will will investigate what it will take to inspect the main harness.