Commander wiring

[GerryT]

I am about to remove and tidy up all the redundant wiring from an ex police 1989 commander (all police fitting have been removed but not the wiring)are there any do's and dont's as to what i should doI have a copy of the wiring dia from the Startright site thanks Gerry

[gripper]

All the police wiring will have been incorporated into the harness when it was made. This will involve removing all the wrapping/sleeving and rewrapping after you have removed what is surplus. I replaced my IP2 harness with one from Graham at Startright. Your differences to that will be the instrument cluster and slight differences in the handlebar switches. Might be do-able. A common fault with the Commander is the connections from the alternator to the harness, these can melt, corrode and generally fail. Good luck.

[GerryT]

All the police wiring will have been incorporated into the harness when it was made. This will involve removing all the wrapping/sleeving and rewrapping after you have removed what is surplus. I replaced my IP2 harness with one from Graham at Startright. Your differences to that will be the instrument cluster and slight differences in the handlebar switches. Might be do-able. A common fault with the Commander is the connections from the alternator to the harness, these can melt, corrode and generally fail. Good luck.

Thank you for the information i will have a good look around the alternator harness

[Joe]

Hello Gerry, If I were altering the wiring on a Commander I'd move the ignition coils to a better location to keep them away from the water spray from the front wheel and also bypass the ballast resistor and use 12volt coils. Some Commander owners have issues in the rain and some don't, I did on my ex Police bikes but not on my civilian bike. My coils are now fitted just in front of each carburettor, very simple to do but it does mean you'll have to make a couple of brackets, longer H.T. leads of 455mm and extend the L.T. wiring. I'd also remove each of the three, 9 way connectors under the right hand side of the front fairing which suffer with water ingress and either solder these together with heat shrink or use new water resistant connectors such as AMP Superseal.I also did away with the hazard warning switch on my ex police bike because it didn't like rain.Regards, Joe.

[GerryT]

Hello Gerry, If I were altering the wiring on a Commander I'd move the ignition coils to a better location to keep them away from the water spray from the front wheel and also bypass the ballast resistor and use 12volt coils. Some Commander owners have issues in the rain and some don't, I did on my ex Police bikes but not on my civilian bike. My coils are now fitted just in front of each carburettor, very simple to do but it does mean you'll have to make a couple of brackets, longer H.T. leads of 455mm and extend the L.T. wiring. I'd also remove each of the three, 9 way connectors under the right hand side of the front fairing which suffer with water ingress and either solder these together with heat shrink or use new water resistant connectors such as AMP Superseal.I also did away with the hazard warning switch on my ex police bike because it didn't like rain.Regards, Joe.

Hello JoeLike the look of the superseal the largest l can find is a 6 way , the 3 connectors are corroded but the coils look fine , the hazard switch is corroded and not working did you remove this from the connector or remove all the wiring from the loom Regards Gerry

[Joe]

Hello Gerry, I removed the switch only from the six way connector, leaving the female part behind. This was over ten years ago and I can't remember exactly what I did but looking at the switch and checking on the bike I also removed the Green / purple lucar spade terminal and the Purple to the fuse holder which I think went to the Police flasher relay fixed to the back of the R/H indicator. You'll need to instal a link between terminals 2 & 5 on the six way female connector which have the Green wires otherwise the blinking lights wont work. The corresponding wires on the switch however are Green / Purple. The original AMP terminals should still be available through Durite with part No. 0-005-14 for the 3.00mm female terminal and part No. 0-005-10 for the 3.00mm male pin but you'll probably have to re use your existing 6 way male socket. Very easy to remove, bend the retaining tab back (from pin end) and pull out from the cable end. If you decide to reposition the coils I can supply a drawing of cable lengths and bracket details.Regards, Joe.

[JohnOR]

Hi GerryMany years ago to improve wet weather running and potential life of the electronic ignition box.I moved the coils the electronic ignition and dropper resistor to the void in the fairing behind the screen.I replaced the "Ford Transit" dropper for a metal clad resistor from RS Components.(no failures scince)Al of these mounted on a thin piece of sheet metal off existing mounts.Extra earth returns were wired to the voltage regulator to eliminate charging issues.Cleaning or replacing all contacts in the AMP connectors is highly recomended and then possibly "seal" with RTV from the cable sides.Best of luck with the rewire John

[GerryT]

Thank you all for the useful information l now have a good idea which way to go, if l get stuck l will put a posting on for advice

[johnbirchjar]

Hi JohnOr,Is the "Ford Transit" dropper another name for the ballast resistor? If so, where can I get one from?rgds,J.B.

[JohnOR]

Hi JohnYes the ballast resistor as first fitted was the same as fitted to petrol engined Transits of that eraI replaced it with a panel mount power resistor available from RS Components (a major supplier of electronic components) this required two bullet connector (i think)ended leads to be soldered to the resistor tags and was then a plug in replacement. I cannot remember the value I used but looking at RS Components online site I think the 0.56 ohm would work price £1.44 plus VAThttp://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/panel-mount-fixed-resistors/6150460/I could take the screen off to have a look but that would have to wait for the weekend.Hope this helps John O'R

[Dell Boy]

J.B. I have a few ballast resistors if you want one. They were also fitted to Rascal vans.Derek.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Del,Thanks for the offer,If can you bring me a Ballast Resistor to "The Bell" next club night?(the 3rd) it will be greatly appreciated,ride safe,J.B.

[Dell Boy]

Will do John.Derek.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Dell,You were conspicuous by your absence on the 3rd,hope you are ok ,rgds,J.B.PS,Alan T was handing out menu's for the club's dinner on the 31st of Jan,are you up for it?Hope to see you next club night,ride safe J.

[Dell Boy]

Hello John,I think it was miserable night for riding & the m.o.t. was out on my Transit so I stayed home. Will be there on the ist. though & will bring a resistor. Not sure about the meal, I dont enjoy mass catering so probably not.Derek.