Simplifying Harley-Davidson's Electrical System: Eliminating Problems

Life seems more and more complicated. Generally we complicate it ourselves, induced by "the system" established, which tries to convince us that to be happy we need more.
If we stop to think a little, we suddenly come to the conclusion that less is more, and this is something we can apply to all facets of our life. And on our bike too.

Electricity, magic and voodoo
The electric part of any motorized vehicle is one of the biggest unknown and feared, both by DIY enthusiasts (do it yourself) and even by experienced mechanics. This has an explanation, and it is that the human being by nature fears what he cannot see or what he does not understand. But we are in the 21st century and we should break this myth, electricity is very accurate, we can control it and even visualize it (measure it) with the right tools and knowledge.
I not going to base this article on a talk about electrons and potential differences. (we will talk about it another time), it is simply enough to understand that electricity "travels" through conductive cables as if it were water through pipes, so it is essential that these pipes are in good condition so that there is no leakage. The connections of any electrical system are its weak point, and if they are in good condition everything will work properly.

Simplifying Our Lives
Imagine that you could start all the wiring on your bike and make an electrical system from scratch, with just a few wires. This system would be able to run the engine and the essential lights, and also as you created it yourself (and it is simple) it would allow you to diagnose any failure in a very simple and fast way.
Do you like the idea? Let's put it into practice.

From zero
Before I begin again I remember that it is of vital importance to pay attention to connections, they must be realized consciously, without haste.
We start from the basis that the bike does not have any cable and works with carburetor (electronic injection needs a lot of wiring).
The chassis is a "fat" cable: Every time you see this symbol:

indicates that the cable is connected to the negative pole of the battery. If we connect the negative battery cable directly to the chassis, we are making it part of the electrical system, and all electricity will return through it, saving us all the cables back!

We start with the ignition key, which has 3 positions: all off, on and on + lights.

We're still at the lighthouse.

Then we wired the rear pilot.

The next step is the horn.

Then the ignition.

We continue with the starter motor.

And we finished the job with the charging system.

Ending
It should be borne in mind that these schemes are orientative and can change according to the components, but choppers around the world have been used for several decades to the present, facilitating diagnosis and maintenance, simplifying our passion for 2 wheels.
The schemes are also valid to understand how the different electrical circuits act as they allow us to isolate the connections of each component and understand its functioning. Minimalism in a pure state.

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley