No Lights!!!!

[chrislfromwi]

I recently got an '80 XS650 "SG", which I now have running. One of the problems is I have no blinkers or headlight. I do get a tailight and a brake light but that is it.

I put 12V directly to the bulbs and they work, and all the fuses are good. Where/How do I start to track this down?

Thanks for any help.

[spyug]

Chris,
Welcome to the board.

Electrical probs are one of the big issues with this bike. With an older machine you have to think about corroded connections and bad grounds.

First get a manual for schematics and a circuit test. If you don't have a manual go to the links section and look for the link suggested by Jeepurze for the online manuals.

Have a good look at the fuse block and fuses....often they are corroded.
Next check all other connections and clean and reseat.
turn on power and using the circuit tester check to see where voltage is flowing.

Take off head light and have a look at all the connections inside.
Check voltage to the controls on both sides. Left side for the blinkers. check all connections in the controls and clean.

Check under the tank for connections to the blinker module and the self canceling module.clean and reseat.

Same with all other modules.

Check all grounds ( black lines ) starting at battery. clean and reseat.

Blinker module may be bad, self cancelling module may be bad.

Blinkers may not operate unless engine is running. Blinkers may flash slow unless revs are over 2500 rpm.

Blinkers may not flash unless bulb amperage is a s specified ( 27 amps I think).

The most often recorded electrical issues stem from bad connections. Clean everything up. Next check for bad grounds. Next look for chaffed lines, broken lines. Something will pop up.

Hope this helps a bit.

Good luck
Spyug

[chrislfromwi]

Ok an update..

The 3 wires for the turn signal switch came off inside the housing, I had them resoldered, and monkey with the connections inside the headlight and now I have blinkers.

Still no headlight though. I will pull the reserve lighting unit and see if things work out.

This is starting to get fun now.

[chemist]

Chris,

Fun?

I also have a headlight that doesn't light up. There is no power to the plug in module. The left front turn signal doesn't work either. I checked as many connections as I could find and finally discovered that the turn signal problem may be the signal flasher unit. There is a resistance of about 70 ohms between two of the three prongs but only 0.1 ohms across the third. Does this mean the flasher is bad? Could a bad flasher unit also cause no power to the headlight?

I spent about five hours today going through the wiring harness and many of the bits connected to it and I learned a lot about the bike. I could even say that I did have fun getting my hands dirty and using my tools. Chris is right. Part of the fun of owning a bike is taking care of it and fixing it up to make it better.