The infamous grey wire

[NewBlue]

I removed the tank to check my plug today, and was thinking "where is the grey wire that they disconnected?" Where is that grey wire, and where should I look to make sure that they(the dealership) disconnected it ? Thanks

[drewpeacock]

On my 04 it was on the right side towards the top of the frame. There were about ten wires that came together into a plug. There was a grey wire in there that I pulled out of the plug and wrapped with electrical tape. Hope this helps you.

[NewBlue]

thanks

[timcook]

I ditto that. The wire is the only grey wire in the two large plugs under the tank at the top of the right side of the frame with no stripes....solid grey.

Do not cut it....use a fine tip pick and release it from it's plug and tape off....

[RADRick]

I ditto that. The wire is the only grey wire in the two large plugs under the tank at the top of the right side of the frame with no stripes....solid grey.

Do not cut it....use a fine tip pick and release it from it's plug and tape off....

Bad idea. These connectors use water-tight seals on each wire where they enter the plastic housing. Removing the wire from the connector removes the seal along with it and can allow water to contaminate the rest of the connector leading to possible electrical problems. The best thing to do is cut the wire about an inch away from the connector and crimp a butt splice to it. That way you can reconnect it easily later on and the connector will remain water-tight. Tape the wire ends to the main bundle and you're done. On the '04 WR, the gray wire is in the six wire harness under the backbone.

[timcook]

Bad idea or not....cutting a wire that you are not 100% sure about is quite a gamble. I am only suggesting that the terminal be removed properly and the entire plug and wire end can then be taped off. It has been long suggested by many to not cut this wire and ruin the harness's integrity. The plug can be water-proofed quite easily.

[RADRick]

Bad idea or not....cutting a wire that you are not 100% sure about is quite a gamble. I am only suggesting that the terminal be removed properly and the entire plug and wire end can then be taped off. It has been long suggested by many to not cut this wire and ruin the harness's integrity. The plug can be water-proofed quite easily.

What's not to be sure of? It's the only solid gray wire in the harness. Defeating the factory water sealing will "ruin the harness' integrity" far more than clipping the wire will. It can always be reconnected with a crimp splice. What would you suggest to waterproof the connector that is better than clipping the wire and leaving the pins and their seals intact? FYI, the gray wire is grounded to the frame. Clipping it only breaks the connection to ground and has zero potential to harm any component. A leaky connector on the other hand...

[Eric_F]

Rick,

Please do not openly bash on other peoples' ideas. I hate to say it, but you seem to really really love proving people wrong. I sincerely hope that makes you feel all warm and gushy inside, but to me it's a slap in the face to the people that take the time to make a worthy contribution to this community. I don't care how well read you are on these motorcycles, solderless butt splices, or waterproof connectors, it's called respect and I hope you start showing some.

Don't take this the wrong way. I'm sorry, but I had to say it. ?

~Eric

[chiefsfan.58]

Hey guys, just a side note on what I did after considering the pros and cons of cutting or not cutting for cleanliness and ability to re-install if necessary:

I removed the wire from the harness connector, folded the wire back and taped it with electrical tape around the exposed metal end that goes into the connector and then around the other wires to keep it folded back and lookin clean. Then when I saw that the connector wouldn't remain weather-tight, I grabbed my trusty "ultra black" silicone with the clear plastic applicator which I usually throw out right off the bat. Cut it so that the opening at the end was smallest possible, and squirted a tad into the end of the now open connector to seal it from the elements. I only put a small amount so that it could easily be removed from the connector should I wish to re-install grey wire..........the connector is clear plastic so it was really easy to see how much of the black silicone was actually being squeezed in.

That my frinds took loger to type than the actual work performed ?

Peace

[timcook]

Rick,

Please do not openly bash on other peoples' ideas. I hate to say it, but you seem to really really love proving people wrong. I sincerely hope that makes you feel all warm and gushy inside, but to me it's a slap in the face to the people that take the time to make a worthy contribution to this community. I don't care how well read you are on these motorcycles, solderless butt splices, or waterproof connectors, it's called respect and I hope you start showing some.

Don't take this the wrong way. I'm sorry, but I had to say it. ?

~Eric

Eric,

Thanks for the support!!!

I never knew such a simple subject as this would lead to an exchange of wit!!!!!

I agree that we are only here to exchange ideas........some good and some not so good. It is up to each TT member to gather mutible ideas before drawing a conclusion.

[jdd123]

Thanks for the reminder about connector being exposed. I would not cut the wire. Just put a little silicone on the connector end that you can remove later or use dielectric grease.

[cgrlvr35]

Thats what I like about TT. Everyone gives advice. Then you take the best and do it. I thought I was on the Jerry Springer Show. Wheres Steve? Oh wait! I am Steve. Lucy Im home. ?

[RADRick]

Rick,

Please do not openly bash on other peoples' ideas. I hate to say it, but you seem to really really love proving people wrong. I sincerely hope that makes you feel all warm and gushy inside, but to me it's a slap in the face to the people that take the time to make a worthy contribution to this community. I don't care how well read you are on these motorcycles, solderless butt splices, or waterproof connectors, it's called respect and I hope you start showing some.

Don't take this the wrong way. I'm sorry, but I had to say it. ?

~Eric

Bash on other people's ideas? Love proving people wrong? Where do you get this crap? All I said initially was that it was a bad idea to leave the connector exposed to the elements by following Cook's method. I can't help it if he can't handle constructive criticism and got his panties in a bunch. For the life of me I can't understand why anyone would make such a big deal about cutting one freaking wire, a ground wire at that! It's no big deal. As someone mentioned, a little silicone can reseal the connector if they choose to use Cook's advice. I prefer to cut the wire and leave the pin in place with its factory seal. No biggie. But accusing me of doing anything other than offering correct info and trying to help others is off the mark. If disagreeing with someone qualifies as disrespect, then this forum has no purpose as there is no way to counter when someone posts bad advice without idjuts like you calling them disrespectful. Yeah, that's right, I called you an idiot. Nothing I said in response to Cook was intended to be disrespectful nor was it technically incorrect. Just different. He chose to be offended simply because I said his was a "bad idea." Instead of recognizing the potential for the connector to be contaminated, he chose to insist on his method being fine. Sorry, I don't agree and I don't think it does the group any good to ignore the possibility. If that makes me disrespectful, I can live with that. You sir, need to get a grip. ?

[Eric_F]

I think i'm gonna curl up in the fetal position and go cry now in a corner due to psycological trauma. ?

I should have said you love confrontation when you can use the English language to your advantage rather than saying you love proving people wrong.

As for the gray wire:

I didn't notice a difference in performance until I switched to YZ cam timing. I ended up switching it back because I am not above the top half of the RPMs for the most part.

~Eric

http://carcino.gen.nz/images/image.php/463c5922/arguing.jpg

[chicoff]

Is the grey wire the rev limiter which cuts spark at high rpm's?

[WheelsUp]

Is the grey wire the rev limiter which cuts spark at high rpm's?

Not the rev limiter... we haven't found a bypass for that yet.

The grey wire retards the timing by something like 30 degrees above 6000rpm.

[chicoff]

So what is it really doing? I have the bike bone stock.04-450

[Eric_F]

Here's what I got from Yamaha:

The CDI unit is the same for both YZ and WR models. The gray wire matches the ignition map to the WR and its shorter throttle stop to limit RPMs. This is done solely to allow the WR to meet drive-by sound restrictions. By swapping to the YZ throttle stop and disconnecting the gray wire, the WR can now access the YZ ignition maps that allow ignition timing that matches the wider throttle openings. There is no lower rev limiter, per se, in the WR CDI. The limitation comes from the stock WR not being able to have its throttle opened completely. Disconnecting the gray wire simply allows the CDI to use the YZ ignition curves that provide high RPM timing advance not available with the WR's stock setup. Besides meeting the noise restrictions, the thinking is that the WR being a trail bike, most riders won't miss that high RPM capability. And those that do, well, it's there if you want it. I'll be covering this and many of the other WR mods in an upcoming issue of Dirt Rider magazine.

He sums it up quite well.

~Eric

[jdd123]

It appeared to me, when I did it a couple of months ago, that the connector has each terminal in it's own cylinder. If you do not seal the connector when you remove the grey wire, the worse that can happen is the terminal coroding. If you reconnect, the corosion will prevent continuity and you will still be stuck with YZ mapping. I cannot imagine wanting to go back to WR, but you never know.

[dirtr1der]

Glad I read this. I removed both the gray wire and blue wire on my '02. The gray wire on mine was in a 2 wire harness under the tank on the right side of the frame. The other wire was black. The light blue wire was in a 6 wire connector on the same side. I rode through a lot of mud and water last year. Hope I didn't ruin the connector! ?

Thanks for the advice, y'all.