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Interesting the comment about odd VM readings on rough roads-- mine does the very same thing. Thanks Scoots.

Duane, ground contact remediation is now topping my electrical to-do list. I'll go through every one I can find with the Scotchbrite/dielectric grease procedure mentioned above. I did indeed test charging voltage at the battery post. Also, I realize a DMM can certainly provide more information than is significant, but I get paid to know how to use one and I've been conversant in the use of multimeters in general since sixth grade. Thanks for the tips, but that may be the one component of this process I can say I know well. I love the damn things, in fact: I've got an old Phaostron marked "U.S. Air Force" I bought at a flea market for no other reason then I thought it needed a good home. Got my dad's old Suzuki meter, too. Anyway, thanks for the help.

Steve, those connections added to the list. Thank you.

Daz, just trying to keep it light was all I was doing. I don't really have a use for a KLR, anyway. Thanks.

Nailhead, sounds like you are good to go with using a meter.

I haven't worked on bikes as new as yours, but in my era the crimps and connections were certainly poorly done.

Duane Ausherman wrote:Nailhead, sounds like you are good to go with using a meter.

I haven't worked on bikes as new as yours, but in my era the crimps and connections were certainly poorly done.

The new one I haven't had to work on yet, and the RS was made during my first year of high school, so it's just plain OLD to me.

Something just occurred to me: remember typewriter erasers, the ones with the brush on the end? I wish those were still made because they were really effective contact cleaners.

They would be perfect for tasks like this.

Nailhead wrote:Something just occurred to me: remember typewriter erasers, the ones with the brush on the end? I wish those were still made because they were really effective contact cleaners.

They would be perfect for tasks like this.

I have a fiberglass mechanical pencil that is made exactly for this: the "lead" is a bundle of fiberglass fibers that work perfect for polishing electrical contacts.

I do not remember where I got mine, but it's like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Brush-Fib ... B0019V18D2

Along way back when computers were still the size of a room and drawings were produced by draughtsmen we used to use those fibreglass pencils as erasers on plastic velograph master drawings. Horrible things if you had to use them all day as they produced the usual irritating fibres.

I have never heard of a fiberglass pencil, and I'm ok with that: fiberglass batts pretty turned me off on the stuff.

I still use pencil erasers for that. If I have enough room, I use one of the large type that has no pencil attached on the end. Many have two grits, smooth and rough. Either can be the right one for a connector. Don't clean up silver connectors, as the oxide is conductive. Not any used on a BMW though.

Back then I knew that the connectors/crimps used by BMW were often faulty, but now that I have been properly trained on real connections, such as used in the telecom business, the BMW stuff is far worse than I knew back then.