Not exactly the Midas touch

I spent two hours this morning studying the ST1300 wiring diagram again, and half understood it.  After lunch and with the wind blowing a convenient gale though the garage I fired up Fidra and plugged the multimeter in to see what was what.  What turned out to be far too many volts coming out of the main power circuit.  It might be what fried the old battery.  I then spent an hour studying the Haynes manual to see how to get at the alternator.  How easy that is, is this much: Not.  And with autumn in full flow and winter apparently starting early judging by the wind, that probably wraps it up for Fidra this year.

I was sufficiently fed up that lovely bestie phoned from her work, and we had a meeting of minds in which she suggested useful things to try while I was generally beset with various thoughts of motorcycular decrepitude.

I was still sufficiently fed up that I hauled the bread maker out.  While it did its thing I made the tea and then spent an hour in the garage.  The power connector on the torpedo had broken.  It's broken a couple of times before in the same way: the negative wire corrodes and then breaks.  Half an hour with the soldering iron and a new plug and… – no power.  Except, strangely, to the brake light.  But no headlights, no indicators, no hazards, no internal light.  And all the wires I need to get at are hidden inside a glued-down cubby hole.  I'm starting to think I emit bad electrical vibes, because everything I touch seems to stop working.

At least my bread turned out well.