So i bought the bike from one of my cousins friend that lives in Iraq.. i ownd it for atleast going on 3 yrs now.. the bike has ipod connection with speakers installed on the bike but before u get to turn it on, u need to use the toggle switch unfortunately one of the wire broke and it doesnt say which is negative and positive.. Im thinking bout replacing the toggle switch with better one but i dont know which is negative and positive.. Now my question is what is the worst thing that could happend if i accedently connect the positive to negative, negative to positve? sorry if its this thread is too long

 

if its to connect to the toggle switch your worried about dont be b/c it doesnt matter what so ever how you hook up a toggle switch all it does is connect ground to power..... will not harm your bike at all

 

That's not entirely true - if it is a two wire toggle switch - absolutely. One will be powered and one will be to the unit. So in that case it doesn't matter at all.

A three pole switch (for example one with a built in light) will have power, ground, and output to the device. Hooking the power to the ground would be bad - plus the ipod wouldn't be powered.

You will simply have to use a multimeter to test the switch in that case, or, use a couple of keep loose LEDs to test it.

 

Let er buck!!!!

Im sure a toggle switch on a bike to power an ipod is not a 3p switch. your call mang, id just test something first....

 

Thats not entirely true either. An Ipod/speaker combo likely isnt going to be grounded by anything but a ground wire. The switch could be on the power or ground side.

 

+1. If you're replacing the switch, then it doesn't matter anyway, as you will be personally wiring it up correctly. The hot wire is easy to find with a voltmeter.

 

The switch should only be on the power side. Doing otherwise can lead to some interesting short circuit scenarios.

 

ok so i just wired it up 2 hrs ago and it work!!!!!!!! thnx much guys.. I know some people are wondering how it looks if u got an ipod and speakers on ur sportbike fortunately i do anyways i will post some pics later today.. once again thx for all the INPUT guys.. this is why i love cbr forum either ur a noob or a veteran, u still get respect for people..

 

How do you figure? If there is a short to ground before the load (in this case the ipod/speaker set up) fuses blow. If there is a short to ground after the load and before the switch the device will not power down. If there is a short to ground after the switch it will have no effect on the circuit. 95% of circuits from major manufactures are controlled on the ground side. No disrespect meant but the switch could realistically be on either side and the circuit would work the same way. Not to confuse anyone who might be trying to fix a similar problem but I think woot, as well as anyone else who understands electrical basics, can learn something from this. I hope thats clear enough to make sense. lol. If its not let me know and I can clarify.

 

JP's right. I wire switches into guitars to cut the ground all the time. It's easier that way, as the pickups often have multiple power sources (multiple batteries, etc), but a common ground.