[Claire]

imported post

I've only had my 83 aspencade a few months. Before, I had a 75 gl 1000 without any extras. Now, I have a stereo and a clock. I set the buttons to my favorite stations, and set the time. Then when I turn off the bike, I lose all the settings. I can't imagine that the bike was built that way. Any info on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you

 

[corneo]

imported post

What type of radio do you have? My radio doesn't have the clock and to set the station you hold the button in until the station flashes and it's set. (push button 1, go to your station, hold button 1 until it flashes and that's it)

Did you check all the fuses in the fairing and make sure there isn't a burn out one? There may be a fuse for the memory.

 

[Kyle]

imported post

Nope.....you should have a wire that doesn't hook into you ignition, which is for your settings and clock. It needs a constant source of power which doesn't shut down when you turn your ignition off. Sounds like whoever put the radio in, wired it all to your ignition. I'm really playing by memory here and I think it is purple. You can probably pick up a schematic from any audio place, or you may have a schematic right on your radio, but come to think of it, that is no use to you because you would have to take out your radio to see it. A lot of this depends on how comfy you are with tracing wires. KISS (keep it simple simon) As Corneo says, check your fuses first. You probably have an audio shop close by that would check it out for you if it is not a fuse issue, but generaly you wouldn't have a dedicated fuse for a memory.

Kyle

You count your pennies and the dollars will look after themselves.

 

[edzinohio]

imported post

I have the same problem..same bike....it's not my next project to do yet.....Keep me posted if you figure it out.

 

[exavid]

imported post

I don't think there's anything wrong with fuses or the radio, most automotive radios have two +12V leads. One is the normal power lead which is usually hooked up through the ignition switch accessory post, and another which is the "keep alive" power that is applied to the chip to hold the memory for station settings and the clock. That lead needs to be attached to a non-switched 12V source. Some times there is a third lead for +12V that powers the radio lights and dial that is either hooked up to the switched power lead or in a car is hooked up to the dash light dimmer so that the radio will dim too.

It might not be a bad idea if you find the keep alive lead and check it with a Milliamp meter to see how much current it pulls, remember this will be drawing a little current from the bike battery all the time.

 

[BigAl]

imported post

Claire,

Do you have the Honda (Clarion) radio and clock?

Have they behaved like this all along since radio was fitted, or has it only happened recently?

 

[Jason]

imported post

Al is asking the right question Claire, we need answers before we can try to help. I've got my 1100 wiring diagram ready, just in case your bike has the Clarion Hondaline stuff fitted. :cheeky1:

 

[Claire]

imported post

Wow, I'm pleasantly surprised by all the responses. Thank-you all.

My bike does have the clarion radio with cb, intercom, and tape deck. I bought this bike from a long time friend, who had it for about a dozen years. He says that the radio and clock were like this since he first bought it. As someone pointed out, there will be a slight draw on the battery if memory is maintained. I suspect the original owner did a modification which causes the loss of memory problem as the bike has always drained the battery in about two weeks time. I personally don't care about the drain, because I'm extremely unlikely to let the bike sit for more than a day or two at a time. As it turns out, switching the clock and radio didn't fix the battery draining problem.

I've been hesitant to pull everything apart to trace wiring. It seems to be a big job to get inside of the fairing. The radio/cb/intercom/tape deck has an intermittent problem. It takes a while to warm up, sometimes up to 30 minutes. It also seems to switch between high and low settings, all by itself. I've sprayed contact cleaner as best as I can. It made little difference. I was thinking that perhaps I could find a stock replacement. Again, that will require some teardown. Meanwhile a local electronics shop suggested that it sounds like a cold solder joint and that I need to pull out the entire system and let them go through it at $35/hour. I'm not encouraged to do that yet. I sure would like to have the cb and intercom part working better though, as I can talk with other wings on the road, as we travel.
Anyone know how difficult it is to take out the whole system for inspection? Anyone know if Clarion is a great unit and should be salvaged, or is there a drop-in place replacement, or any other suggestions? I guess once I get in there, I'll figure out the hot wires and power supply points. Is it just my bad luck, or do all wings have electrical problems? My 75 had constant electrical problems. This 83 also has other problems such as turn signals which work most of the time. Other than electrical, it's a fantastic machine, and I love it.

 

[Claire]

imported post

Oh, I should have said that the clock is stock, and is part of a group of three instruments just below the windshield. Clock to the left, volt meter in the center, and cb led to the right. It just happens to have the same issue as the radio, but isn't built into the radio. I would have thought that all wings are the same per given year. I guess that's not true. I'm seeing lots of pictures on the net, of 83 wings, and none of them have a digital speedo and tach. Mine does. Is that unusual?

 

[AZWinger]

imported post

My 83 Aspencade has the digital display also. I just looked at the audio schematics for mine and it doesn't show a "keep alive" wire.

I'm wondering if the power needs to be supplied through the starter relay switch? There are no extra leads coming off my battery going to anything that wasn't added onlater (I don't think). I didn't install all the after market lights but I did rewire most of them!

I also checked the bike schematics. Looks like everything goes through the relay.

Check the starter relay. It may be corroded or bad.

Bob

 

[Claire]

imported post

Thanks Bob. Does your bike maintain settings? Until I find someone who's 83 maintains settings, I don't know that there's any problem beyond poor design. Btw, where' s the starter relay? I'm thinking that on the 75, it was behind the drop down sides of the false gas tank. That was some years ago, and I could have forgotten. I do remember having to clean relays and switches all over that bike, and often. Of course, the tank sides on the 83 don't drop down. They're not hinged. Sure makes getting to the fuse box a lot harder.

 

[corneo]

imported post

This most likely isn't the problem, but it would shock me if it was. I remember years ago that car radios had a factory battery in them. (computer had this too) It was there just for the purpose of memory. It was recharge from the auto battery and was there in case the radio lost power and would keep their settings.I'm not saying yours does (I don't know). It's just something I remember from the past. Maybe a call to the local dealer would shed light on this?

 

[AZWinger]

imported post

Yes mine does maintain settings.

I agree with corneo, it's probably not the starter relay but it should be easy to check. On my 83 the relay is located just below the battery and the main fuse is mounted on the front of it.

The radio schematics show three in line fuses. One of them may be for the keep alive wire.

 

[corneo]

imported post

If all else fails, you could just make your radio "hot" all the time and wouldn't lose your settings. You just have to turn it off.

 

[FitzAl]

imported post

I've heard of this happening before, on an 83 Aspencade which also had the CB radio fitted. The CB would also not keep the channel setting in memory, along with the clock and radio as well. This indictaes to me that there is indeed a permanently hot wire.

The only place that sems to be vulnerable to the weather in this case seems to be the big plug that come from the bike into the fairing (inner lower left side). Its a big plug, no idea if this contains the hot wire but it would do no harm to check it out in any case.

 

[BenMC]

imported post

I had this problem with the CB on my GL1500. Wouldn't hold the mamory of the channel once I switched off the ignition. After much arguing with my dealer (they had the bike for 10 weeks) it turned out that a yellow & red wire from the radio had corrosiion and wasn't supplying the permanent feed to the CB. Some nightmare to sort out! :?

 

[Hobie1]

imported post

Greetings,

I don't know if the 83 Aspencade and Interstate use the same wiring harness, but I found that my Interstate's Clarion wouldn't hold it's memory either right after I bought it this spring. I found a blown fuse under the left fairing pocket, replaced it with a 1 amp slowblow fuse and haven't had a problem since. There is a mare's nest of wiring in there but just take it slow and easy and open each fuse holder one at a time until you find the bad fuse.

Good luck my friend.

Hobie:cheeky1::jumper:


P.S. As far as your intermittent turn signals, there is aflasher uniton the left side of the faux tank that can be replaced with a standard auto flasher unit. My 83I also had signals that worked most of the time until I took the time to replace the unit. Now they work all the time.

 

[Claire]

imported post

Yep, that was it. I found the three fuses behind the left turn signal lamp. One was blown. What a gang of wires in there! I was hoping to remove the entire system and take it in to find the cold solder joint. I can't for the life of me see how all that comes out. Between the left turn signal lamp and the headlamp is a huge box with about a half dozen large cables plugging in. Just the other side of the headlamp is the amplifier. Continue over and there's another big box that says Clarion on it. Then we round the corner for the tuner. My goodness, if something comes unplugged in there, I'll never find it. I got the service manual for it ('80-'83). What a lousy description of the wiring harness and sound system. Maybe it works for the 80-82, but it doesn't show or tell anything at all about the 83 sound system.

 

[AZWinger]

imported post

Glad you found it! And yes the manual schematics fall short of being helpfull.

Bob

 

[FitzAl]

imported post

Well done. You're right about the fairing inner. It's a nightmare inside, boxes and wires everywhere. The assemblers must have had to d a special course on how to put this all together.