Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech water in fuse box speedmaster? anyone else

I know i have asked this before but it appears i'm not the only one to suffer from this problem. I went into my dealer last week and he informed me that a customer who bought a new america had to be recovered having broken down 80 miles away from home. the cause of the major failure was that water had got into the fusebox and blown the main fuse.
Now i know we all love these bonnies and i guess that i'm not going to be a popular bunnie but, this day and age in the year 2006 i expect more reliability than that. Is it going to be the fact that we daren't wonder too far from home in case it starts to rain and risk breaking down.
triumph should have sorted this at the testing stage of production the location of the fuse box is obviously at fault, it is bound to get wet from wheelspray the rear mudgaurd(fender) is cut back slightley to allow movement of the swing arm but exposes the back of the fuse box to ingress of dust grime and water.
I think this problem is only affected on the TBA/SPEEDMASTER the other bonnies fuse box is located in a different place i think
lets have some views on this matter. Now i know it isn't only me that has suffered embarasing breakdowns but it certainly knocked the confidence out of me and it's a great pity cos i still think the bike is great there is at least 2 of us out there that has suffered this problem
anyone else?

There's no doubt the fuse box isn't particularly well sealed, and it does look as if it's going to get wet and dirty.

But...I've not had any problems in 6500, mostly, but not exclusively, dry miles. Coincidentally I took the fuse cover off my bike earlier today (only the 2nd or 3rd time ever) and it looked fairly clean in the box.

I run my bike all year-but fortunately have never encountered this problem-defending Triumph, I would say, if only one other has experienced this ( I will check posts again) this is not a design issue...but if you were talking roter arms...then this would be something else!

Mal- where are you from- could not see your details in the profile- im assuming UK, possibly Hereford?( home of the SAS) ( need to know)

I'm riding all year any weather rain, hevy rain and very hevy rain and never had problem with fuses but in any case always have few fuses in my pocket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The best way to avoid any electrical problems with the fusebox is to remove every fuse and greeze them up nicely with dielectric grease. Do them one at a time as not to mix them up. I have ridden in torrential downpours for hours on end and have never had a burp from my electrics. knock knock.
And carry a box of spare fuse with you too. There are a few spares in the box itself, you'll notice which ones as they just sit in blank slots in the box. But there is no spare main fuse, if nothing else, carry that spare at least. You can always tape one (after you grease it up) under the plastic side cover and have it handy if ever needed.

I can't look right now, so...Is the main fuse something we can get at the local auto parts store?

The fuse box contains automotive standard and mini blade type fuses.
As Pat says, there are blank spots to keep spares. The standard blade battery 30 amp on the top end has an open slot above to keep a spare large 30 amp, and there are 2 empty slots on the bottom, I keep a spare mini 30 and 20 ( Smart Fuse they light up when blown) for the key switch 30 amp and anything else that might blow.

I've ridden in rain that was bad enough to have cars pulling over, and hurricane generated torrential rain for 4 hours straight and never had an electrical problem. I haven't waterproofed anything. I expect things to work and so far this particular machine hasn't let me down. Blade fuses seat pretty tight no matter what they're installed on. If you're blowing the battery fuse you may have other issues going on when the bike gets wet.

Or it could be a bad design. My Trident box was under the seat. Pretty convenient and it stayed dry.

I have been riding in the rain a lot lately and not a problem. (03 TA). I almost took my fuse box off once to check the back of it, but the warden wanted to go somewhere so I had to put things back together. At 14,500 miles, I've had 1 burnt out tail light bulb, that's all.
I carry a box of every size fuse with me in my sissy bar bag. Not for me, so much, just in case......

I've never had a problem with water in the electrics on any bike I've owned.. at least water from riding in the rain, and I've gone through some serious storms over the years. However, I have known people who whacked their electrics after washing, which in that case, was a result of water being squirted where it would not normally have gone under 'normal' circumstances

Cheers,
Brad

Those smart (light up) fuses are a good idea, finally found a local supplier of them in the mini-blade size. They also had (in standard blade size) circuit breakers that replace standard fuses. A 30A one for the main fuse might not be a bad idea.

Matt

I have "greased" my fuses and every other connector I could find.

I have never had a problem, though, and don't shy away from riding in any weather. Last time I looked (and every time before), the box looked clean and dry inside. Was a little concerned about the rubber band around the fuse box cover. It broke early on, and I was concerned the cover may work off as it seems to be a loose fit. It hasn't, and I quit worrying about that long ago.

I do need to put together an assortment of spare fuses, as that may be an inevitable event.

Something is wrong there. Water is not conductive enough to blow a 30 amp fuse at 12 volts.