K100LT Main Wiring Harness

[DaveP]

I am the proud new owner of an old 1990 K100LT. I bought it, had the annual BMW service done, got to ride it about 130 miles before I had an electrical fire!

Fire started and was confined to the part of the harness that leads to the auxilary guages (fuel level, water temp & cigar lighter). A previous owner had installed them in the right glove box cover.

So, I bought a replacement main wiring harness and I am in the process of swapping them out. However, I have run into a stumbling block... The connector for the instrument cluster will not come back through the opening in the frame. The fork-lock prevents that.

This leads me to suspect that I may have started at the wrong end. Should this harness be threaded in from the front? Thereby leaving the instrument connector out front?

If anyone has some (any?) experience in this task, please let me know. I have a couple of repair manuals, but none address replacing this harness. Therefore, I am stumbling along and am thoroughly frustrated at this point.

Thanks,

[cfell]

DaveP,
Welcome... sorry about your troubles... I've never replaced that harness. I suspect others may pipe up with more experience...

According to the BMW Maintenance CD, you did it correctly.. wiring "forward"

[SilverBuffalo]

When I first read your post I thought, I didn't have any trouble with that,
then I reread it and realized you're talking about a 1990 K100,
there's a web site specific to these bikes and problems,
if no-one here knows the answer try here.
http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech.shtml

[DaveP]

Thanks for the replies... I have been to the iBMWr site and browsed for help. Seems that this particular task is somewhat uncommon. Therefore, no luck so far.

Being a newby, but willing to try, I started with the replacement at the back. That is where the ABS control module is on this bike. Then, I worked my way forward. The biggest wad of wires is in the center, where the electrical box with relays and fuses are located. I'm OK so far.

However, there is this next length of cable that goes to the instrument cluster. That connector is pretty large and will not go through the opening in the frame. This is due, in large part, to the fork lock, which is right there.

Anyway, I am thinking that maybe I started at the wrong end. Maybe I needed to thread the whole cable through this opening, starting with the ABS circuit connector. If I could do that, the instrument connector would be left at the front, where its needed.

I sent an email to the local BMW service manager, but... it was New Year's Eve. I will likely get a reply on Tuesday, but thought I'd try the online forums first.

Any help, encouragement or sympathy is appreciated.

Thanks,

[UncleRock]

Post your question to Don Eilenberger
at this site, he will have the answer you need.
http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech.shtml[/QUOTE]
Rock

[cfell]

Sorry Dave, I thought the picture might be helpful..

[DaveP]

Hi, Uncle Rock...

I tried to email my question to Don Eilenberger at iBMWr, as you had suggested, but no luck... I got this message when trying to ask my question:
--------------
I'm sorry. Time concerns prevent me from answering your question (and really, the fact that I can collect other writer's information about K's does not make me an expert on them, ya know). Please review the articles on the K-Tech page and consider subscribing to the BMW or BMW-Tech mailing lists for more information.

Thank you
--------------

So, still no joy... maybe today someone will have some help for me.

Thanks, anyway...

[DaveP]

OK... here is the answer to my question: You have to take ALL the wires/cables out of that opening before the instrument cluster connector will pass through it. So, the cables that go to the handlebars need to come out, then you can (barely) maneuver the connector through the opening.

And, I had started in the right direction... either from the back or from the center, where the electrical box is located. So, I had that part right afterall.

Man, I wish I didn't have to do this... Its turned into having to learn a lot more than I care to know about my bike. But, maybe that will be a good thing in the long run. :D