XJ Electrical Problems

[Cobia]

Hi All.....HELP!!

Finally got the XJ running decently, thanks to expert Bikerphill. And, yes, we had to take the carbs out three times until we got them right. Not for cleaning, although we found the idle jet on one of them clogged up, but for float adjustment. What a fuel hog!!! We started with a setting of 23mm then went to 21.5 and finally at 20.75 before it was happy. The idle we had to back out 3.25 turns as well. It's purring now!! Thanks Bikerphil, many thanks, bud!!
But that's not why I'm asking, make that begging, for help with the next problem on my table......
My instrument console, tach, horn, brake light, and signal flasher have stopped working. They worked intermitently for a while but now have stopped working altogether.
When my headlight stopped working I went through every single connector took them apart inspected them and cleaned them with electrical contact cleaner. I even used a small file to clean off any corrosion buildup that I found. During this inspection we discovered that the self cancelling flasher was totally corroded and replaced it with the flasher for the emergency flashers. I also had to go through the rear brakelight switch which was frozen solid with corrosion. It worked after I freed it up. But now the brake light won't go on, either with the front or rear actuators.
This work got my headlight and turn signals to turn on but it didn't help with the instrument console or the other items I mentioned above.
Is there another in-line fuse or other item that I'm missing that anyone knows about that would help with this?
Sorry about the long-winded post but I guess it is just my degree of desperation coming through.
Thanks again for any and all help you can give me with this.

[Geezer]

Are you getting output from the reg/rec unit?

The best what to check is from one of the red wires to ground with a DC meter.

Geezer

[Cobia]

Thanks, I'll give that a try as soon as I can. Pouring down over here.

[Cobia]

Problem Solved

Thanks to the overwhelming response to my question and all the possible solutions, I decided to start with the simplest. With the fear of having to wear the pointy (dunce) hat, I will admit I started troubleshooting and found the problem in the fuse panel. Namely, I checked the continuity of the fuses and found that one, although it looked good, was bad. Changed it and everything came back.
Thanks for all the reads, and keep in mind that sometimes the most daunting problems have very simple solutions.
Gracias, Amigos.

[egleaves]

Don't feel bad, I've worn the same hat recently. ALL of my electronics went out mysteriously and the first thing I checked was the fuses, seems obvious, right? They all LOOKED fine, but after several people suggesting that I actually put a tester on each fuse I finally did, and...well...I guess you probably know the rest of the story.

[trbig]

The flasher unit just went out on my XJ today. I replaced it with the one I had on my parts bike, but I was wondering if you guys use just an automotive flasher for this and have it work. I looked at Bikebandit and they want over $90 for a little flasher!? I wouldn't pay that much for a good looking BLONDE flasher..

Tod

[TopCatGr58]

First, Hey Cobia,

The XJ's electrics are a whole different story than the XS's, and so with the computer box/display and such, you're pretty much on your own....hence the 100+ looks, but no replies!!

Tod, I helped a fellow several years ago with an XJ to use a 2 prong auto flasher, but had to swap one of the wires in the plug before it would work, actually pulling them out of the plug and swapping their position within the plug, not just trying to reposition the whole plug, but it will work with one that way!

Need to make a tech tip for this, a few threads or posts have also been made, didn't try to find them just now!
T.C.

[bikerphil]

xj flasher

I replaced the signal flasher with the emergency flasher on a XJ11 a few weeks ago and it worked fine. Plug and play, no switching wires around. Obviously, no cancel. The emergency flasher should be the same as a standard 2 prong car flasher, mabye.

[Cobia]

Problems disappeared after installing new fuse panel

Hi,
I even installed the battery level sensor and although the warning light and the instrument console still indicate a problem, it goes away after a while. The "Batt" in the LC and the warning light just go away after a while.
I wonder if it just needs to be totally saturated before it will send the right signal. I wasn't able to put it in all the way. Still has about 1/4" to go but battery is topped off.
Oh, well.

[barberad]

Hi,
I even installed the battery level sensor and although the warning light and the instrument console still indicate a problem, it goes away after a while. The "Batt" in the LC and the warning light just go away after a while.
I wonder if it just needs to be totally saturated before it will send the right signal. I wasn't able to put it in all the way. Still has about 1/4" to go but battery is topped off.
Oh, well.

When I changed the battery on my XJ, I used one of the batteries with the strip type battery cover. The holes are bigger in the new battery, so I put a hole in the strip and then put in the sensor. It sat up higher so my battery indicator on the control panel stayed on till I put more fluid in it. No warning light though.
Hope that helps.
Dan

[Cobia]

2 Prong flasher

TC and Trbig - The self cancelling unit on my XJ bit the dust and we exchanged it for the emergency flasher without having to do any mods. Bikerphil did it, actually. Then I went to my local autoparts store and bought a 2 prong with the same specs of the one used in the emergency flashers and have not a lick of problems so far. Of course, I lost the self cancelling feature but I check my very frequently anyway. I've gotten in the habit of cancelling the turn signal as I start my turn.
Barberad - I am using a battery with the same strip covers but it also has a little hole with a plug for ???, the sensor perhaps. Trouble was that the sensor plastic base was too thick for the hole (wish I had that personal problem!!) so I had left it off. But I got tired of having to turn off the warning light so I just ground it down with a piece of emory (sp?) cloth until it fit. It just didn't go in far enough by about 1/4". The warning goes away after a while. I intend to grind it down some more until it goes in all the way. I'll report back on the result.
Gracias, Amigos

[petejw]

Hi Cobia,
glad to hear u sorted ur electrical problems out,
was curious about ur float levels, how was the bike running/reacting with the floats set at 23 compared to what theyre set at now?

[Cobia]

XJ Float level

Pete - The bike ran very rough it sputtered and missed a lot and really didn't have too much power in the higher rev range, above 3.5K to 4.5k and above. Once we found the level it liked (19.75) it pulls quite hard. Now I have a bit of a miss in the lower end, 1.5k to 2.5k where again, it sputters a little and doesn't run totally smooth. It has been getting better as I continue to adjust it. I've got the idle needle jet out about 4 turns and it's still asking for more.
I think I may have to clean the carbs for the third time since we found some debris in one of the idle jets the last time we adjusted the floats.
This engine really loves that fuel!!
Good luck with your project.