Oh…no…what have I done?

[Gavin]

I could blame the builder who was working on my garden steps and shouted over that he’d finished
I could blame the postman who stopped to tell me of the impending industrial action
I could blame the neighbour who always seem to want to talk as I’m carrying out routine maintenance work
I could blame Gentle Jesus and his Dad…God, for making the weather too hot for working in the garage

I could just blame myself for not paying enough attention and being distracted by others when I should have been concentrating
For what ever reason…I am the one who hooked up the battery the wrong way round

No excuses,……the battery came with 4 tapped holes in each corner for the connection posts to screw into
Some how ……and I do mean somehow…I managed to wire the earth to the positive ……and viceversa

As the connection was made a slight whirring noise came from beneath the battery position……that’s not right said me to myself before realising what I have done.
A metallic taste filled my senses and my stomach felt like an elevator in free fall….oh shit…oh shit…oh shit …I repeated..until the connections were undone.

Realising the error I swapped over the posts into the correct tapped holes and polarity……tightened everything up and promised to go back to church as long as all was okay and nothing broken.

I took the bike out after checking everything …..relieved that I dodged the bullet, I wondered where the nearest Scottish Presbyterian church was in Essex.
I shouldn’t have worried ….the ABS light came on…followed by the SERVICE light and the digital speedo rose from 68 miles per hour to 278 mph
Strangely…the bike felt stable and comfortable at this speed although ….I was not……and coasted to a safe place.
I flipped the seat and checked everything….a blown 40 amp fuse and a dead battery…hhmmm….relax…take a break have a seat and a French fag…..a Gitane …and think.

Ten minutes pass….I’ve found the spare 40 amp fuse changed it over with the blown one and concluded that this was a circuit breaker hopefully to assist Muppets like me…doing what …I did

Seat back on…helmet and gloves on and let’s hope…..there is enough juice…just…to fire up the bike and head the 18 miles home…this should recharge the battery.

I pulled into a service station to buy more 40 amp fuses and checked the replacement…blown…another replacement and now a jump start to get me going.

The bikes home and so am I…another 2 fuses have blown….it’s Sunday and I didn’t go to church….I spent last night studying parts manual to discover the C1400 has NOT got a regulator or rectifier….it’s all integral in the alternator.

Italy shuts down in two weeks time and the prospect of waiting till September led me to source a secondhand alternator with warranty ….a Norge alternator.The C1400 based engines share the same part number with the Norge and Stelvio……double checking and cross reference confirms the fact.

127.00 gbp will have a replacement here on Tuesday and a trip to Colchester the nearest MG dealer with the diagnostic tools to read the damage I have done…means the bike’s off the road till week after next.

It was that whirring sound which haunts me…..ABS pump?…..ECU?…..the tortured soul of my California 1400?

Who knows….but I won’t make that that mistake again…and I not going to church…for a while at any rate

I’ll be looking for Engineers Anonymous….
Hello, I’m Gavin…an engineer….and I’m not as good as I once was!

Enjoy the read….Feel the shame

Gavin
The Scottish Engineer

 

[Raven]

I feel your pain. Shit happens to the best of us.

 

[JasonC]

Hi Gavin, entertaining write-up!

Wishing you all the best in correcting your crossed wires problem.

Jason

 

[DeadEye]

In the Old Days things ”Used to be Positive Ground“

 

[PaulDavies]

Don't blame yourself - it's all in the knack

 

[scottmastrocinque]

I wouldn’t be who I am today if you took away the times I had accidentally inserted my head up my own arse!

We learn best from our mistakes, not our successes.

In truth, I have no damn idea what the repercussions are for doing what you did but I look forward to learning from your delightful writings. Please continue.

Good luck!

 

[DeadEye]

We learn best from our mistakes, not our successes.

Please continue.

Nothing says humility like accepting your mistakes

Scott - BOY - have I learned A LOT !

No Gavin - Please Do NOT continue - learn and move forward
( trying to add a bit of levity )

 

[RodgerMillan]

Don't blame yourself - it's all in the knack

His staying there swinging his legs is funny! Furthermore, when he fixes the machine as the Doctor is saying it's messed up! LMAO!!!

 

[Moto-Uno]

Stop , check the alternator number , I've seen them and separate voltage regulators on ebay . The entire
alternator was barely $200.00 Canadian and the reg,rectifier much less , it's all Chinese manufacturer from
Moto-Guzzi . Peter

 

[Gavin]

Moto Uno ……I was hoping and praying that mine had the unit with the separate regulator bolted on the b@ck end of the alternator but alas….no. Over here in the UK….we have Electrex ….a specialist replacement regulator manufacturer and supplier…used them many times over the years on my Ducati engined bikes….no listings. Even the ideal replacement company MOFSET show no alternative……not saying it can’t be done ….not even saying that this IS the problem…I simply did want a 130 gbp part on back order to kill my summer…..so sourcing a replacement alternator was on the agenda.

As it transpires….I can’t get into the dealership till next Thursday the 28th…to even find out what is fried or not.
When I was growing up…..mechanics had bad tattoos, an oily rag, invariably hand rolled cigarettes coupled to the ability to suck through their teeth before tackling a job and you hoped they had a never say die attitude……many didn’t

This MG dealership has a cafe, where coffee is 3.50 a cup, muesli as well as bacon rolls and a in house barber shop…nothing wrong with any of these …..but the mechanics will NOT make a decision or offer a solution (good or bad) unless the laptop tells them so……and nothing gets done till after the leads are all connected up and feeding the info.

Its all part of the experience……unless you are totally competent in auto electrics….which I am not.
The prospect of me, tackling electrics like dating your own sister….might seem like an okay idea at the time …but will end in tears ..big time. All the bikes I’ve built over the years …I never touched the electrical components other than re route them.
I stick to building and doing the mechanics and welding….electrics is a dark art.

Next week will tell me the damage……I genuinely suspected that I’ve blown a diode or some such thing in the alternator.

But only the laptop has all the answers

thanks

Gavin
The Scottish Engineer

 

[scottmastrocinque]

The laptop is the very worst of the double edged tools which cut both ways…

If has created a whole generation of mechanics who cannot rationalize and think through a problem and reduced them to useless “technicians” and glorified “parts swappers”.

In my overbearing and excessively biased opinion, the laptop computer software should be a tool to provide confirmation of thought and not an oracle of what to do.

 

[Moto-Uno]

Decades ago when H-D brought out the laptops for dealerships , I started to notice the newer mechanics
leaning on the use of them more and more . Simple wire connector tests ( by hand ) was frequently much
faster and frequently all that was required . But , holy crap could they spend ages toying with the laptops
hoping it would make up for their missing experience or simple lack of observation skills . Don't get me
wrong , they have their place in the tool kit ! Peter

 

[JasonC]

It seems that laptop computers are now as much a part of the motorcycle tool kit as a ratchet and sockets. I have to use a program loaded on my laptop to perform the annual brake fluid flush on my road toilet.

And a laptop is required for working with AutoTune on my V7 Cafe.

Jason

 

[Gavin]

UPDATE"…….drove the California 1400 to the dealers…today for 10 am....approx 35 miles.
Booked the bike in and explained my stupidity to the service lady.

She took pity and promised to make it all better…..in a rather exotic Eastern European accent….her name was Katriana
I was escorted to the service bay where I had parked the bike next to skip…..fearing the worse.
The mechanic had to push the bike into the workshop as it would not start…..ho hum..I thought as I kicked the floor.

Fuel range on the California is about 170 miles
Battery range on my California is about 40 miles

The alternator is goosed……no question about it.
They said it needs an alternator and about 5 hours to strip and fit…..problem is no alternator in stock.

Ahh..ha..there’s one in the left hand pannier along with a MG technical sheet on the wiring mod….I stated, trying to get over the Dunce’s Hat they made me wear.

They’ve since called and said due to my misfortune…don’t know if they meant because I’m Scottish or bid boned as my old granny used to say….they limited the charges to 2 hours labour!

Result…..back on the road tomorrow and a total of 250 pounds lighter….shame it’s money and not weight..maybe Katriana would have shown more interest.

Still…..can’t complain……excellent service by the local MG dealer …….Colchester Kawasaki.

Also whilst it was off the road….I did a bit of searching and welding……I’ll report more tomorrow

thanks

Gavin
The Scottish Engineer

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Here’s to your speedy and safe return to the land of the riders!

 

[Gavin]

Hello"……picked bike up …all okay.

Strangely the volt meter was indicating 14.4 on the journey up but the alternator was not charging.

In the end …..the MG dealership chose to utilise some parts from the ‘spare’ alternator and repaired the OEM alternator.

I will never reverse connect the battery again….lesson learnt……promise

Next major change….GTM fueling and flash tool….hopefully it’s arrive before my Italian trip on Sept 4th

thanks

Gavin
The Scottish Engineer

 

[Moto-Uno]

Never say never . Peter

 

[DeadEye]

Never say never . Peter

Now now some people Do learn from their unfortunate incidents