TOPIC:

My DVOM, digital voltage ohm meter, does not lie. On my stock motorcycles it takes less than 2 years for the electrocal system to go from full battery voltage at the load to 90%. Everything on my bikes works better with full battery voltage, so I use relays to make sure every system gets full voltage. The charging system gets maintained regularly so there aren't overcharging problems.
Do what you want, just don't try to tell me that what I'm doing doesn't work. My 48 years of riding and working on motorcycles tells me the relays work just fine.

80B4 wrote: My DVOM, digital voltage ohm meter, does not lie. On my stock motorcycles it takes less than 2 years for the electrocal system to go from full battery voltage at the load to 90%. Everything on my bikes works better with full battery voltage, so I use relays to make sure every system gets full voltage. The charging system gets maintained regularly so there aren't overcharging problems.
Do what you want, just don't try to tell me that what I'm doing doesn't work. My 48 years of riding and working on motorcycles tells me the relays work just fine.

Relays work just fine... until they don't. I also have been in electronics for about 50 years and (ironically) while you say connectors "fail" every two years, the truth is that relays are one of the most failure prone components in electronics. The reason is they switch high current across their contacts and that causes them to "arc" each time they open and close. A really good relay (with gold contacts) will give a good service life (maybe) but the cheap ones most often seen today don't. The A/C relay on my new Chevy failed after 16 months. I honestly could not count how many bad relays I have had to change out in my experience, but they do fail and usually they fail when the contacts arc weld together (shorted) and don't open when the coil voltage is removed.

I have no objection to using relays when the advantage justifies the risk, but for coils, it definitely does not.

I think this obsession with coil voltage stems from the myth constantly being peddled by hucksters selling "super spark plugs" that a "hotter" spark gives more power or better performance.... it doesn't. If the spark is adequate to ignite the fuel, the fuel burns..... period. It doesn't burn any better with "more spark" as long as the ignition is working correctly, and the stock ignition works very well.

80B4 wrote: My DVOM, digital voltage ohm meter, does not lie. On my stock motorcycles it takes less than 2 years for the electrocal system to go from full battery voltage at the load to 90%. .

What load? Do you mean the positive power terminals on the coil primary side?

What you may not realize is the voltage while starting the bike is primarily determined by the strength and health of the battery. A really good battery will "only" drop to about 10V under starter crank but a mediocre one drops to about 9V. Pull the spark plug caps and measure the battery voltage while cranking and see.

The point is that the major "offender" in lowering the coil voltage when trying to start is the battery and the coil relay does nothing to change that. If you have other voltage drops from wiring problems: those are fixable without adding a relay.

80B4 wrote: Everything on my bikes works better with full battery voltage, so I use relays to make sure every system gets full voltage. .

OK, it's your bike. As for working better, once your engine fires the regulator should be holding the system voltage up to 14V (assuming it's working) so you should have plenty of voltage to run off. Unless you have some severe wiring problems or bad coils, you should have plenty of voltage for your ignition to operate correctly.

Patton wrote: Would guess that bikes kept outside in damp conditions may be more prone to corrosion in connectors and switches.

No doubt about that, although the Kawi connects on mine are very well water proofed with the sliding plastic tube seals on the connections.

Regardless of how often the connections get corroded, a relay to power the coils is only addressing a small part of the problem, and is leaving the rest of the system vulnerable. Repairs should be done to fix the underlying problem.

Luckily these are not aircraft. Bandaid fixes have brought down many commercial jets... I've been watching a lot of Air Crash Investigations on youtube.

Where did I say "fail" ? Reread everything I have added to this thread and show me where I said connectors "fail". I did say " on my stock motorcycles it takes less then two years to go from full battery voltage at the load to 90%". The ignition circuit has the most problems because of the shitty kill switches that Kawasaki used on these old bikes. I can read my DVOM so I will stand by my statement. I have never had a relay fail in any vehicle, and my Nissan truck and Toyota Camry are full of them.
All of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have made great engines for about the last 40 years. The electrocal systems, not so much.

I've seen plenty of failed relays. I've also seen vibration cause aftermarket relays to open and close if they are not mounted on a dampening structure. More than one person has reported that issue, not that it can't be corrected. I've seen it when I used a relay for extra headlights. The lights would go dim when revving a certain RPM. It looks so much like a voltage issue, but it was simply vibration. I wonder if that has caused anyone to suspect a jetting issue at a particular RPM?

80B4 wrote: Where did I say "fail" ? Reread everything I have added to this thread and show me where I said connectors "fail". I did say " on my stock motorcycles it takes less then two years to go from full battery voltage at the load to 90%"..

And you still never explained exactly what that statement means. At the "load"? Do you mean at the positive node of the coil? The headlight? They are both loads. If a connection or switch or any conductor "degrades" (ie, increases in resistance) the increased voltage drop across it is proportional to current flowing. So, in reaty, it would be virtually impossible to see 90% voltage reduction at all circuit load points since every load (bulb, horn, blinker, coil, etc) draws different current. I don't understand what the 90% claim means or how it could apply.

Yes, you will see voltage drops across connections, switches, fuses, and even wires but that's designed into the system.

80B4 wrote: I have never had a relay fail in any vehicle, and my Nissan truck and Toyota Camry are full of them.

Buy a lottery ticket, you're the luckiest guy I ever knew. As one of my technicians once told me:

If I had a dollar for every board I had to rework with a stuck relay, I wouldn't have to work here anymore.....

thank you for the tips tho i have not had a heat issue yet the 2ed relay is for the 2ed coil left and right also doubles as a back up if one fails on the road i can quickly wire it to one and keep going i have pulled it all apart and re wired the mail wiring harness to move all the wires under the tank too keep them out of the headlight and so i can move a few things ill be posting that soon

i went tho the bike its the switches and i cleaned everything still losing voltage its js just the 20 yr old wiring and wires seem to small for the coils anyway but thanks for the input

i have gone tho it the head light relay its set so when i hit the start buton it terns the head light off just to help start it i ride this bike in the cold so when its 40 or 30 out and the engines cold every bit of power helps