Electrical Gremlins!!!

[DiverRay]

Well, I just had to borrow a cage to get home today! Special Ed and I went out for a ride, he with SWMBO and I with me and myself. Rode the 20 miles up to Eds house, and then about six miles on up the road and Daily Ride just died! Lights on, neutral and oil light on, but starter button didn't do anything! After about 5 minutes, got to the fuses and found one with a bad spot, not really burned. replaced it, bike fired up, and started on up the road. About 1.5 miles later, bike died!!! pulled over, replaced the fuse again with a 30 amp, as that is what I had left, started it, turned to go home, and it died again!
Ed went back to his house with his better half, and she drove her car up to me. They headed on up to Alice's, the original destination, and I used the car to get home and grab MY car and bike trailer.
Bike is now home on a trailer, and I'll be looking at the electrical in about two days. I need to go over the hill in the morning to try and find a job, so it will be the cage, and NOT the bike.
At least I have the Midnight Special for a ride, so I shouldn't go too crazy while I'm trying to fix the other bike.
If anyone has any ideas what may have caused this, I'm open to any item I may need to check. I did NOT have a VOM with me, so I can't say the pick-up coils are good or bad. the wires have NEVER been fixed, but they were good when I checked last, about 1K miles ago.

[Stralya]

Do you know which fuse got hot?

Did the replacements blow or just get hot as well?

[prometheus578]

I need to go over the hill in the morning to try and find a job...

Come on, Ray... you went over the hill years ago.
As for having to find a job...
Man, jobs are for... the working class.
Just hang in there, Ray... Obama's gonna make everything alright.

Anyway...
Obviously, ya got a short somewhere. Isolate the fuse and then backtrack along the wire.
Nothing wrong with the pick-up coil wires... the voltage there is miniscule and there's no fuse in that system.
The wire that supplies juice to the TCI for the spark plug coils could be rubbing on the frame somewhere...
The wire for the kill switch on the handle bars could be bare and rubbing metal somewhere...
Etc...
Like I said.. find which system the fuse services and then go hunting... but not for a job.
Jobs are for commoners.
If you didn't live your "High Falutin'", wasteful lifestyle, Ray... You'd have plenty o' money to spend on fuses and plenty of time to do proper motorcycle maintenance.
Shameful, it is.
A GURU... asking fer help.
"Oh, the pain... the pain...

[DiverRay]

Prom said:

A GURU... asking fer help.

Well, this was a NEW problem to me, and I didn't know if anyone had seen it. Planedick had changed out the fuse panel, and it now has going from front to back a 30, 10, 20, and 10. The 10 amp that is bad goes to the ignition, I think. I had all my lights, but no starter motor when it went.
I'll be looking at the kill switch, as I have had one come apart inside the handle, and the bike would do the same thing. The job is to try and set a "good example" for my son and daughter. I want the both of them to get high paying jobs so they can support me in the fashion to which I should be accustomed.

[Jerry]

Had a similar problem last summer. Finally tracked it to a horn problem, intermittent. Wire to horn is on the hot side, check with a meter, and horn button completes a ground circuit. The circuit goes live when the ignition is turned on, horn is part of the ignition circuit. (Who knew?) Hot wire was shorting out on the frame, blowing the fuse. I had to re-mount the horns to clear my Vetter fairing mount, and problem was in the extension wires I had made up to do this. Keep in mind this is an XJ, don't know if the XS also puts the horn on the ignition circuit, but if so, may be worth a look.

[DiverRay]

OK, Found the problem, both of them!
First is the loose nut behind the handle bars. When I put the new coils in, I just plugged the wires from the ballast resistor into each other, and tucked it in the frame. The 28 year old wires pulled themselves back out, and shorted against the fuel tank.
Second issue was the kill switch. The plastic that is used to keep everything in place was just gone. I had about ten bits of plastic, instead of one. This is the SECOND switch I've found like this. Something to think about for other owners. I did have a NOS switch assembly for a '78, and it fits and works great. I don't have the wires to turn off the headlamp, but it's not plugged into anything on the other end, so no harm.

[Brent]

going again.

Ray,

Glad to hear your bike is running again.

Happy motoring,
Brent