replacing complete wiring harness/loom - any advice?

[czen]

Hi All - If anyone here has experience replacing a complete wiring harness/loom, would you be able to offer some advice/tips on how to go about it?

For example, I gather one of the tricky parts is the neutral indicator/sensor - pulling out of the engine case is supposed to be difficult - but I wonder, is it not possible to leave the existing one in and just cut it and then splice it into the new harness/loom?

Bike is a 2006 S2R1000 with about 19K miles; however the replacement harness I got is from a 2007 model S2R1000 ... I've noticed there is one difference between them in that the 2007 has a 30Amp main fuse, while the 2006 is a 40Amp ... does anyone happen to know if there are any other important differences?

Lastly, I initially got the 2007 harness/loom to use for spare parts and connectors (etc.), but am now considering using the whole thing to replace my existing one because I've been having electrical failures (gremlins, causing stalling due to power cut to one coil and poor signal with TPS, etc.) that I haven't been able to pinpoint. I know I have bad wiring in at least two general areas (in the ECU plugs/connectors, the ignition relay and/or elsewhere in the lines leading from battery to horizontal coil and TPS) but I haven't been able to pinpoint where exactly - so I figured replacing the whole thing might be a viable option.

Many thanks!

[OrangeDragon]

Czen,

Did you take on the challenge of replacing the entire loom?  Any lessons learned?

I am considering replacing the loom on my Monster 695 which has 107k miles.  Various areas of the loom have wear and tear that I am having concerns about.

Some general questions to Czen and board members:

1.  How many bike parts will I need to take off to get good access to install the loom? I am not lazy but I just want to be prepared as much as possible.  I assume gas tank, air box, and pretty much all of the front end parts from the starter switch to the headlight.  Any high level parts that I might need special tools for?
2.  Are there any areas of the loom install that an experienced mechanic should be doing and not a weekend warrior?  I am ok attempting what ever percentage I can do and then towing to dealer for the skilled mechanic stuff.
3.  I do have the red key but will installing the loom require an immobilizer re-programming?
4.  And other lessons learned, tips, tricks, etc?

I enjoy learning how to do things, but I just want to avoid learning from mistakes.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[czen]

Hi - Actually, though there were some frustrating moments, it was not that difficult. You just need to get into Zen mode and expect some annoyance, and it will turn out the opposite.

Ok, so in terms of practicalities:

Yes, remove gas tank, air box, back seat, battery, battery bracket/holder ... and a few other things you will figure out along the way ... the more you remove in advance the easier it will be, actually.

There are no really "critical" aspects to the disconnecting process. The most important thing is to study very very carefully how exactly your current loom/harness is installed/hooked up. Make sure you have a large print out of your wiring diagram handy to see where every connection goes. Then just check every single connection and where and how it is fitted. Take photos of each connection and not just of the single connection but the "context" in which it is set (i.e., take photo from wider perspective too). Also helpful to take some video of the looming ... follow it from "start" to "finish", and all the branchings out, etc. Many people say you should label each connection, but I didn't do that because, well, on my loom each connector was unique and it would've been hard to hook up wire connection from one sensor to another by accident, that is, each sensor had its own configuration so it was pretty easy to figure out what part of the loom hooked up with which sensor or other component (e.g., fuel pump or whatever).

That said, there were small things that needed extra attention: for example, when you disconnect the horn, pay attention which part of the 2-part plug went where.

Actually it was the little things that were most annoying and difficult. Once you start dismantling the loom, you will find that pulling it out will mean that you have to pull out more things to get it out properly. For example, I had to remove one rearset (the rear brake one); I also had to disconnect the throttle cable in order to be able to pull the existing loom out, just because the throttle cable was holding/pinching the loom in in such a way that
it was impossible otherwise. I also had to remove the rear brake reservoir to get to to some of the loom/harness connections. (On my bike, there is a seperate loom/harness for the rear tail lights ... the new loom I got did NOT include that rear lights portion so I just cleaned it up instead.)

I have no idea how the 695 loom is configured, but on the S2R1000, basically you can say it starts (or finishes, depending on where you want to start the dismantling) at the back of the bike with the connection to the Voltage Rectifier/Regulator, then thorough to the back ignition coil, then through to the branches hooked up to the left side of the engine (like the kick stand, etc.), then the whole thing loops through the front of the bike right in front of the headlamp ... and this was the more difficult part, having to pull out a whole bunch of disconnected branches of the loom through the "bottleneck" created by the headlamp and connections to the handlebar wiring (starter switch, air temp sensor, headlight switch, lever switches, key switch, etc. etc.) ...

Once you pull out one side, you go the next, where there is the ECU, fuse box, etc. etc.

Bit by bit, you disconnect each part and eventually you have the loom out.

Again, just carefully study the new loom and how it looks, and then study the existing loom and where and to what exactly everything is hooked up.

The installation process is just in reverse. So just keep in mind the steps that you took during disconnect, and do everything backwards when re-connecting.

I disconnected the exisiting loom and left it for a couple of weeks before going back to disconnect ... this was a bit of a mistake because I had forgotten what I did! But I only had the energy/time to do it that way, which made my life a bit harder than necessary.

I would recommend taking a block of time to do both steps at once.

The best parts: when you start clipping off all the zip ties (not sure if you have those on your bike), and then at the end starting the bike back up knowing you've got it right!

YOU SHOULD EXPECT to make small mistakes ... just go back over whatever you did to retrace steps and make sure you actually made all the connections properly. For example, I had neglected to hook up my starter switch fully to the new loom, so when I went to start it ... nothing happened ... so I thought I mades some huge mistake ... but it was literally nothing, just a matter of getting the connector to "click".

ALSO SOME OTHER ADVICE: Keep in mind that your new loom/harness will be connecting to old sensors and/or devices/components ... THEREFORE, I would take the time to clean up the connections on the old sensors or devices, i.e., the things that you're hooking up the new loom/harness into. I went out and purchases some Deoxit connector cleaner and made sure any corrosion on the older components was as gone as possible.

Note also: I've ended up replacing a bunch of sensors and components over time, like the TPS, and I have new Crank Position Sensor and a new Air Temp sensor that I will eventually hook up ... I gather the do fail over time. I just took my time sourcing them for the least expensive variants possible.

Also be sure to check or test your relays ... on my bike there are 3 in total - one "main", one "ignition" and one "starter/selenoid" relays - just make sure they're still in good working order, with connections clean and tidy.

Make sure you make the main Battery Negative to Ground connection as tight as possible. Make sure all connections are tight.

Make sure the fuse connections don't have corrosion - so pull out each fuse and inspect each fuse connection.

You might find that the new loom/harness will not fit exactly the same way as the old one; so you may need to work it in a bit in places and some places the fit might be very tight ... just take it easy when doing that ... it may need some massaging.

HOPE THIS HELPS ... GOOD LUCK!!

If you want to see all the photos and videos I took of mine, send me your e-mail and I'll send you a drop-box link, just so you have some idea.

CHEERS!

Czen,

Did you take on the challenge of replacing the entire loom?  Any lessons learned?

I am considering replacing the loom on my Monster 695 which has 107k miles.  Various areas of the loom have wear and tear that I am having concerns about.

Some general questions to Czen and board members:

1.  How many bike parts will I need to take off to get good access to install the loom? I am not lazy but I just want to be prepared as much as possible.  I assume gas tank, air box, and pretty much all of the front end parts from the starter switch to the headlight.  Any high level parts that I might need special tools for?
2.  Are there any areas of the loom install that an experienced mechanic should be doing and not a weekend warrior?  I am ok attempting what ever percentage I can do and then towing to dealer for the skilled mechanic stuff.
3.  I do have the red key but will installing the loom require an immobilizer re-programming?
4.  And other lessons learned, tips, tricks, etc?

I enjoy learning how to do things, but I just want to avoid learning from mistakes.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[czen]

Since that was so long-winded, here is my most basic advice:

1) Study your new loom while it is still off the bike very carefully. Look at each connector and figure out what it is for.
2) Study your old loom while it is still ON the bike very carefully. Look at each connector and figure out what is is for.
3) Use a large print out of your wiring diagram to help you figure out some of the connections.

4) Figure out how the existing loom/harness is "wound"/snaked through the bike; where does it "start" and where does it "end". Keep in mind there will be many branches out from the main loom/harness to various components. What I'm talking about is the main trunk/snake ... how does that fit and wind itself through the bike?

5) Once you know how the main trunk fits generally, you can figure out where each smaller branch branches out to. So basically you will have a portion of the main trunk on the left side of the bike, and another on the right side, with branchings out from each going to various sensors or componeents. Just study all these carefully.

6) Again, taking pictures helps a lot ... even though I ended up going by intuition and common-sense a lot i the end, it was good to go back to photos when needed. Take many many photos from  many, many angles. Take videos too.

7) LASTLY, DON'T BE AFRAID: if you mess up, you can always take the dismantled part to the shop and ask them to install the new one for you ... you've done half the work for them! 

Czen,

Did you take on the challenge of replacing the entire loom?  Any lessons learned?

I am considering replacing the loom on my Monster 695 which has 107k miles.  Various areas of the loom have wear and tear that I am having concerns about.

Some general questions to Czen and board members:

1.  How many bike parts will I need to take off to get good access to install the loom? I am not lazy but I just want to be prepared as much as possible.  I assume gas tank, air box, and pretty much all of the front end parts from the starter switch to the headlight.  Any high level parts that I might need special tools for?
2.  Are there any areas of the loom install that an experienced mechanic should be doing and not a weekend warrior?  I am ok attempting what ever percentage I can do and then towing to dealer for the skilled mechanic stuff.
3.  I do have the red key but will installing the loom require an immobilizer re-programming?
4.  And other lessons learned, tips, tricks, etc?

I enjoy learning how to do things, but I just want to avoid learning from mistakes.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[czen]

LAST BIT OF ADVICE:

BE SURE THAT THE NEW LOOM/HARNESS YOU HAVE PURCHASED IS EXACTLY FOR YOUR BIKE AND MODEL AND YEAR!

I made the mistake of purchasing a used 2007 harness thinking it wold be identical to the 2006 model, but there were very small differences that, ultimately, were actually sort of important. So I ended up buying a loom/harness for my year/model exactly.

Also: you may or may not need to disconnect the gear neutral sensor, which is literally ensconsed/embedded inside the engine block ... luckily, for my loom, there was an connector that disconnected just the wiring, so I did not have to pull out the whole neutral gear sensor from the block. But, weirdly enough, for the 2007 version of the harness, there was not the same connector so I would have either had to pull out the sensor OR cut it and splice it back in, which would have been easier. So again, that was one small difference between the 2006 and 2007 versions of the harness/loom.

AND ONE MORE ANNOYING THING: Maybe Ducati solved this issue by the time they built your bike, but for mine they used this really realy crappy electrical tape that melts very easily and falls apart ... it's like this black gauzey stuff with crappy glue that melts ... it's very crappy stuff! So I bought some high quality self-vulcanizing tape to replace that stuff in some of the more important parts, like the tape that winds over the ECU terminal connectors.

AGAIN, GOOD LUCK!!!

[czen]

SORRY, ONE MORE:

I mentioned I used DeOxit to clean up the terminal connections ... but there is other stuff out there ... and supposedly one of the best but harder to get a hold of  and also more expensive is something called STABILANT 22 ... there are some videos about it on the net ... auto shops use it apparently.

https://www.amazon.com/Stabilant-5ml-Kit-Makes-30ml/dp/B001E50GQS

[czen]

RED KEY ISSUE: There was none on  my bike ... note you're not replacing the ECU, just the wiring in and around it ... so it should NOT be an issue.

[OrangeDragon]

Czen,

Thanks for taking the time to reply and all of the advice!!!!!!!!!  I just ordered a used loom on eBay. I got the same one for my bike.  

I probably won't do this project until my week off for xmas.  Until then I am going to study and prep mentally as much as possible.

I will definitely take pics and videos along the way.   I plan on working from the front of the bike to back.  I am not sure if it is possible but am thinking of trying to remove the old loom step by step and put in the new loom as parts of the old loom are being removed vs. removing the entire loom in one step and installing the new loom from pictures.  I am not sure if there will be enough space and access with the step by step method though.

My existing loom has a number of zip ties that hold it in place, but I won't cinch them tight until all connectors are in connected so i can make adjustments.

Yes, I plan on cleaning every part of the bike along the way as I will have access to the hard to reach areas with all of the dismantling.

Thanks again.

[czen]

Yeah, you might be able to do it that way ... but I suspect by the time you've studied the old and new loom configurations, you won't have to. You might also find you'll have  too much wiring going every which way if you try the step-by-step approach ... but no reason not to start off that way at least. I didn't think of it myself.

For the zip ties: YES ... do not tighten or clnch anything in until the very end and after you've tested the bike to see if it will start and idle ... just leave things loose ... you will have plenty of opportunity to tighten and add more zip ties after.

NOTE: I was gonna buy so-called "low profile" zip ties to do the job ... but frankly I got lazy and impatient and used standards stuff. I can always replace them in the future.

[czen]

This is the SELF-VULCANZING TAPE that I got ... good quality stuff, high heat resistance, etc. ....

https://www.designengineering.com/category/catalog/dei-cycle/line-sleeving/fire-tape-self-vulcanizing

I also used some cover sleeving in some parts to cover over the harness/loom ... for example at the front of the bike behind the headlight ... I intend to do more of that later both for aesthetics and protection.

This is the DeOxit stuff I mentioned ... seemed to work fine ... because I'm paranoid, after application, I also used air spray can to remove any residual moisture droplets ... and to make sure all is nice and dry before putting connectors together:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-DeoxIT-Contact-Cleaner/dp/B00006LVEU/ref=pd_sim_236_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4CX1DAZHSXV0BMRS5HS0

[OrangeDragon]

thanks for the info on the tape.  besides avoiding mistakes, i am also up for improvements as well so the loom install will be better than original(if possible).

[Bergweiserus]

Hi All!

Thanks for the writeup, czen.   I will be tackling this project in the next couple weeks....a bunch of wires on my '99 have slowly but steadily broken after 20 years(!!) of use.  I've been band-aiding here and there over the years just to keep it running.

But now it's time to do it properly.  I purchased a new main harness on eBay which looks to be in really good condition.  Going to snap a zillion pics and take video of the 'before' situation at each connection.

I'll post the results as soon as I can get to it.   Again, thanks for the writeup and notes!   
-Kris

[koko64]

Bravo guys. Great stuff.

[krista]

I had a 620 where the wire for the switched +12V to the ignition would have intermittent fault in the steering stem area when the handlebars were turned enough. And yes, you must critique every pin of every wire if you try to use a different year or model wire harness! The configurations will change from 59m to 5am ECUs -- on both the ecu and on the gauges. Sometimes they might work, most often not.