86 honda aero again!

[caito]

do these help at all? also, to marty: i didn't see any burnt wiring, but it's all wrapped entirely up in what appears to be electrical tape. should i..... unwrap? DUN DUN DUN.

[Bear45-70]

Looking at the picture, it appears the rack grounds to the frame and the light assembly grounds to the rack. So the ground in the harness maybe because that harness is also used in another application that requires it. As long as the lights work, don't swear it, but you need to mount the rack back to the frame (or at least run a jumper wire between the frame and the rack to test it) to actually tell if the short is gone.

[caito]

that's just the thing. the lights still don't work. at all.

[martynkim]

Hmmm..... did you check the leads with a test light? power in?

[Bear45-70]

that's just the thing. the lights still don't work. at all.

They won't the way they are sitting in the picture, even if everything is good. You have to make the ground circuit by either bolting the rack to the frame of running a jumper wire between them. If they don't work then check the socket and the light itself.

[odinxxix]

the rack looks broke where it would bolt by the seat. but in any event green is your ground. try hooking the green wire from the lights to that wire you said you seen hanging down. see if they work that way

[martynkim]

that's just the thing. the lights still don't work. at all.

They won't the way they are sitting in the picture, even if everything is good. You have to make the ground circuit by either bolting the rack to the frame of running a jumper wire between them. If they don't work then check the socket and the light itself.

Agreed, just saying check and see if power is coming in.

[Bear45-70]

the rack looks broke where it would bolt by the seat. but in any event green is your ground. try hooking the green wire from the lights to that wire you said you seen hanging down. see if they work that way

DO NOT do that. The that wire from the lights is green with a yellow strip, not a green wire. It is not a ground which is not a ground. Besides

[caito]

it's dark tonight so i can't do anything more. if at all possible i'm going to get out there tomorrow and mess around with it some, but if i can't expect to hear back no later than the day after! i'm going to try and re-bolt everything etc. put everything back in its home, if you will. if that doesn't work, i'll do the test-light route and let you guys know what i see from there.

you are all so incredibly helpful, and your responses are so prompt!

[fightingplankton]

apologies for not seeing this sooner.
your problem is actually simple.
you're missing a wire that attaches to the tail light.
it goes down on that little tab that is part of the brass coloured ring at the base of your fixture. you can see the tab peeking out from behind the wires in the second photo.
all you need to do is get a bit of wire and run it from that point (solder if you have to) and attach it to the green wire in the first photo

ps. unlike the spree, the aero50 does not use the rack as ground. it has plastic around the whole light. there is a metal bracket that keeps it in place which attaches to the frame, but that's it.

[Bear45-70]

apologies for not seeing this sooner.
your problem is actually simple.
you're missing a wire that attaches to the tail light.
it goes down on that little tab that is part of the brass coloured ring at the base of your fixture. you can see the tab peeking out from behind the wires in the second photo.
all you need to do is get a bit of wire and run it from that point (solder if you have to) and attach it to the green wire in the first photo

ps. unlike the spree, the aero50 does not use the rack as ground. it has plastic around the whole light. there is a metal bracket that keeps it in place which attaches to the frame, but that's it.

That would do it. No ground = no lights.

I just looked at my spare Aero 80 tail light assembly and sure enough the tab needs a green wire on it that connects to the Green wire in the harness.

[fightingplankton]

here it is attached to the light


here is where you attach it to the wiring harness

[caito]

youre all GREAT!!!!!

i'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but since i'm trying to actually get my head around how these things WORK (one day i want to be answering questions instead of asking them)... i might as well go ahead and ask it anyway!

will just that one missing green wire cause none of the tail-lights to work because it is the ground?

[fightingplankton]

should just keep the taillight from working.
you can see the wiring schematic in the manual towards the very last page
http://www.hondaspree.net/other/Aero50_SM_85.pdf

if your turn signals arent working, check your signal relay...browse through the whole electrical section of the manual, it should give you a quick understanding of how everything works.

[caito]

all bulbs have been replaced and ground wire successfully connected. upon closer inspection of the red wires leading to the fuse... theyre burnt. so is the fuse casing. this said, does the entire casing need replacing, or just the wires? also, there's a black... i don't know, maybe a fuse-box, that hangs out beside the battery casing, and is routed directly with the fuse. does it probably need replaced also?

we're pretty sure it's not the wiring harness anymore, and that we have targeted the problem specifically to this area (fingers crossed!)

are these two parts easily obtainable at an auto-parts store? if not, it's internet (or you guys ).

one more question -- how far back am i likely going to have to replace wiring?

EDIT: let me also note that i did check out the manual, but the poor photograph quality and explanation has me unsure whether it's the CDI unit, starter relay, or something else entirely. it has like... almost a loop on the side of the battery's casing where it hangs out at.