Post by Bartman on May 27, 2018 12:10:44 GMT
About a year ago, I noticed one of my rear speakers wasn't working. A quick check revealed a common problem we all have (or will have) with these bikes and that is the wiring harness routes along the trunk hinge and after repeated opening and closings, some of the wires had broken. I opened the wiring harness loom, stripped back all the broken wires, soldered in some jumper wires, wrapped each wire with heat-shrink tubing and then wrapped everything back up. This lasted till about six weeks ago and this time, both speakers had stopped working.
Time to replace the sub-harness.
I ordered this harness, 32140-MCA-H11, from Partzilla.com. The direct OEM replacement.
NOTE: If you have an '01 to '05 GL1800, you need a different harness (32140-MCA-670). This harness is cheaper because the '01-'05 didn't come with rear speakers as standard equipment.
NOTE: This is NOT the harness you need if you just want to add rear speakers to your '01-'05. That part is available from Electrical Connection.
Replacing the loom was easy but time consuming. I removed the trunk lining, the seat and backrest. I followed this video to open the rear speaker housing:
Once the speaker housing was open, I removed the speakers and disconnected the speaker wires. Next, I removed all three screws under the rear speaker pods and the two screws in the trunk that hold the top of the speaker housing to the base and the trunk. This has to be done to push that part of the harness out and so you can pull the new harness into the housing.
Following the old harness down each side of the trunk, you will find it connects to two plugs, one on each side of the bike, under the seat. This is real easy to figure out. Then you just have to fish the old harness back up into the trunk and reverse the process to put in the new harness.
If you decide you need to or want to replace your trunk sub-harness, don't be intimidated. I had never done one and it was easy, just time consuming and dirty. And lots of screws. Use a piece of cardboard to hold each screw. You can stick the screws into the cardboard in a pattern so you will know which screw goes where. Or, as you take each part off, put the screws into individual containers.
And as an ode to Fred H., I did this install completely barefoot! This is the old harness.
Important:
For the '01-'05, the Trunk sub-harness is the same for all models - 32140-MCA-670.
For the '06-'08 Base Model, the harness is 32140-MCA-H11.
For the '06-'10 NAV, ABS and Airbag models AND '09 Base Model, the harness is 32140-MCA-A71.
For '12+, all models (Base, Nav, ABS and Airbag), the harness is 32140-MCA-S40.
Time to replace the sub-harness.
I ordered this harness, 32140-MCA-H11, from Partzilla.com. The direct OEM replacement.
NOTE: If you have an '01 to '05 GL1800, you need a different harness (32140-MCA-670). This harness is cheaper because the '01-'05 didn't come with rear speakers as standard equipment.
NOTE: This is NOT the harness you need if you just want to add rear speakers to your '01-'05. That part is available from Electrical Connection.
Replacing the loom was easy but time consuming. I removed the trunk lining, the seat and backrest. I followed this video to open the rear speaker housing:
Once the speaker housing was open, I removed the speakers and disconnected the speaker wires. Next, I removed all three screws under the rear speaker pods and the two screws in the trunk that hold the top of the speaker housing to the base and the trunk. This has to be done to push that part of the harness out and so you can pull the new harness into the housing.
Following the old harness down each side of the trunk, you will find it connects to two plugs, one on each side of the bike, under the seat. This is real easy to figure out. Then you just have to fish the old harness back up into the trunk and reverse the process to put in the new harness.
If you decide you need to or want to replace your trunk sub-harness, don't be intimidated. I had never done one and it was easy, just time consuming and dirty. And lots of screws. Use a piece of cardboard to hold each screw. You can stick the screws into the cardboard in a pattern so you will know which screw goes where. Or, as you take each part off, put the screws into individual containers.
And as an ode to Fred H., I did this install completely barefoot! This is the old harness.
Important:
For the '01-'05, the Trunk sub-harness is the same for all models - 32140-MCA-670.
For the '06-'08 Base Model, the harness is 32140-MCA-H11.
For the '06-'10 NAV, ABS and Airbag models AND '09 Base Model, the harness is 32140-MCA-A71.
For '12+, all models (Base, Nav, ABS and Airbag), the harness is 32140-MCA-S40.