Electrical HELP!!! Please!

[copperhead25]

Greetings again....1979 XS 1100 special...fired up "the Beast" the other night after four months of sitting covered. It roared to life and seems to run well....However...
1) When turn on Hi beam, headlight shuts off
2) No tachometer function
3) No turn signal function
4) No brake light function
5) No neutral indicator light function
6) No horn function
I got frustrated after that, but she started right up and sounded better than ever.
Additionally, I was wondering if anyone knows if alternator/generator and voltage regulators of of other model years will work on my beast.
Thanks in advance for the advice and keep it safe....

Doc

[Brian_D]

First check/clean the two electrical connectors from the generator - located behind the fuse box. One connector is has 4-pins (3 white wires, 1 yellow wire) and the other connector has 3-pins but only 2 wires (Green and Brown - the Brown goes to a Black wire to the generator). These connectors are usually the source of the problem when you are experiencing ALL of the symptoms listed.

Should also liberally apply some dielectric grease to the connectors before reassembly.

[copperhead25]

have checked, leads clean....checked volts with key OFF and meter between + battery terminal and lead....drawing 1 volt until MAIN fuse is disconnected...then draws .14 volts....battery fully charged.......what color are wires to the mysterious lead behind the fuse panel ???? I want to think this is something simple because The Beast starts on the first crank....runs like a champ.....
I welcome any thoughts, comments, concerns...etc.etc.....
Please Help!!!!!

Gonna pull the VR and check it against the shop manual next.....
Anyone with any info....let me know....
Revving The Beast in the driveway just don't cut it......I need to feel the wind on my face and the bugs in my teeth.....


Doc

[Brian_D]

Originally posted by copperhead25
.......what color are wires to the mysterious lead behind the fuse panel ????

Here is the link to a simple wiring diagram for the 78-79 models. it shows both the stock wire colors and number of wires in each connector. the two connectors you are looking for are the ones leading from the generator located in the rats nest behind the fuse panel - it is one of the white wires in the 4-pin connector that drives the tach; the yellow (although not shown as connected in the diagram) energizes the headlight relay; finally, the brown goes to the reg/rect unit and supplies 12V to all fuses except the Main fuse.

Aside from the generator and reg/rect connectors, you could also be having issues with the fuse panel itself - check this thread for a replacement panel from TC

hope this helps

[Geezer]

To get to the bottom of this problem you will have to do some testing. Checking the connectors will help but odds are you will need to test the resistance on the field coil and the stator.

Look for the wires that come off the right side of the engine and follow them the connector and unplug them. You should find 3 white wires from the stator and a brown and a green wire from the field coil. The resistance between the white wires. There should be around .75 to maybe a little over an ohm between them and infinite to ground.

I don't have a manual on had but I think the resistance between the green and black wires should be around 6 ohms. Do a search on this site for charging problems. All this info has been covered here before.

Tony