tail light problem with pictures

[3Phase]

(muffled remarks and a couple'o clandestine thuds)

William,

Ahhh. Dinner was good.

Ok, No smartass remarks on how i wired the rear. I have security issues..

Ok first pictured is how i set up the rear blinkers and the brake light.
Please note that i was using the Brown and D Green wire from the 5 wire section that had the wires being used for the brake light. But because this section did not have a black wire I could easily tap in to; i used the black wire from the 3-wire section that only.

The Stop/Tail/Turn wires look okay. You can ground the lights to the frame or to the Black wire; your choice.

If the Turn Signal lights are different brightness when using the 5-wire connections and the 3-wire connections then the connectors are dirty or the ground connection is bad.

The next question/Picture
I have two wires that when I first pulled off the headlight to see what was going on these 2 wires were not connected (red and Blue) the plug you see is for the headlight adapter (which plugs directly into the headlight.) It is just not on the plug

What are these wires and should they be connected to something. I cant find them on the wire diagram because of how it laid out, I don’t know were they go to, so i cant identify them on the chart

In your picture:

The Red wire is unswitched 30 Amp fused power direct from the main fuse and the battery. It runs any accessories that need power even when the Ignition switch is Off.

The Blue wire is switched 10 Amp fused Headlight power from the Headlight Relay to the instrument lights and to the Reserve Lighting Unit (RLU)

The Brown wire with the Light Blue snap-on connector is switched 20 Amp fused Signal and Auxiliary power to the front brakelight switch. The Auxiliary power connector has been broken off and replaced with the Light Blue snap-on connector.

They next picture is of the Light reserve unit. I was told to try this and it still didn’t work. Was this right?

TO BE HONEST I KNOW IF ONE PART OF MY REAR BLINKER PROBLEM AND ANOTHER PART OF MY HEADLIGHT PROBLEM ARE CAUSING EACH OTHER OR ARE RELATED TO EACH OTHER AS A "CAUSE AND EFFECT" THING.

If you guys need better pictures or pictures of something else just let me know.
Thank you guys agian for your help, Your brain power, and your time-William

At this time it is unlikely that the rear blinker and headlight problems are related. Did you test the Headlight Relay? It's up toward the very front of the frame underneath the fuel tank.

Before you cut and splice any more wires, here is a link to a color schematic for the 1980 XS1100G Standard. Take a look and see what you can find! http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...olor+schematic

For example:

The Red, Blue, and Brown wires in your photo are shown in the lower left corner.

The Headlight Relay is shown in the upper middle section.

The Reserve Lighting Unit (RLU) is closer to the upper middle right section.

Both the rear 3-wire Turn Signal connections and the 5-wire Stop/Tail/Turn Signal connections are shown at the right hand edge of the schematic.

Have fun!



Regards,

Scott

[whoride76]

I Plan to test mess with the lighting relay this weekend if not tomorrow night. I really want to get this thing on the road. (and not get pulled over)

Thanks for every thing you wrote. I have read everything twice and have taken notes..

The snap on connectors were wires that were already connected and were loose, i just wanted to make sure my problems were not because of loose wires

[renegade_xs11g]

In my personal experience...

No Headlight or Dashlights....usually mean no alternator

Now, no alternator, can be a couple of different things, usually the Regulator/Rectifier, I'd start by removing the panel that the fuse box bolts to and check the connectors, pay special attention to the one with white wires....

All this being said, the first thing I'd recommend (along with most of the GURU's arond here) is cleaning all the connections,

Most, if not all electrical gremlins can be caused by corrosion, and fixed with a good cleaning,

Good luck, John

[3Phase]

I Plan to test mess with the lighting relay this weekend if not tomorrow night. I really want to get this thing on the road. (and not get pulled over)

Electrical troubleshooting is aggravating - work slowly and take breaks.

I'll be heading up to the Bay Area tomorrow. I don't know how much time it'll take but, afterward, I can hop over to Fresno on the way back home if you need help.


Regards,

Scott

[whoride76]

For only one wireharness, it one big problem i am cant seem to get it right..

I completly pulled out the fuse box and cleaned all the webs out but bad wires or conections. Now i am going to try to switch out the flasher fuse.

I guess i am going start to look on Ebay for an alternator.

I bypassed the light RELAY and the light unit still not head light when i turned on the key.

If the high or low bean it out will it not come on if i bypass everything?

3Phase if you would like to stop by fresno if you have time shoot me an email. and i will give you my phone number and you can give a call if you the have time. Thanks "whoride76(at)hotmail.com" Replace (at) with @ OFC, editted for protection from Spambots!

[renegade_xs11g]

OK, Maybe I should have been more clear....

IF, that's IF, it's wired properly, your headlight won't come on until the motor is running, and the alternator is putting out usable voltage (should be around 13 volts, IIRC) this link Testing the Alternator will help

Reserve Lighting Unit (RLU), works like this, if your low beam headlight goes out, it will light the high beam but at a lower voltage....

I may be wrong on this...but unplugging the RLU, bypasses it, meaning if your low beam goes out, you won't have a headlight at all

another way to get an IDEA if the alternator is working or not, does you tach work? obviously it should work when running, if not you've got a problem somewhere....BUT, dirty or corroded connections can and will cause A LOT of electrical problems,

I hope this helps,
Good Luck, John

[canuckroy]

i would like to know if the chrome round thing beside the fuse box with 3 wires on it is the turn signal flasher? my turn signals worked fine and now there is nothing working. I have power to the left handle bar turn signal controller but nothing to the lights. thank you and keep up the good comments.

[bikerphil]

Yes it is. If you unplug it, there should be voltage at the brown wire when the L or R switch is enabled. If yes, then the brown and brown/white wire can be jumped together and either the L or R signals should light up. If yes, then the flasher is toast.

[LAB3]

i would like to know if the chrome round thing beside the fuse box with 3 wires on it is the turn signal flasher? my turn signals worked fine and now there is nothing working. I have power to the left handle bar turn signal controller but nothing to the lights. thank you and keep up the good comments.

Two posts, one on a thread from a LONG time ago....

[bikerphil]

Make it three.
The guy is a newbee

Welcome to the forum canuckRoy

[DEEBS11]

https://xs11.club/forum/idle-talk-fo...rect-operation

[3Phase]

PMFJI but you can temporarily swipe the two-pole hazard flasher and use it for the turn signals if you get stuck with non-working turn signals.

The self-canceling turn signals are actually fantastic but they do take some maintenance to keep working but keeping the lamp sockets clean along with the grounds and using the correct style of bulbs so I always carry a spare.

[bikerphil]

PMFJI

Good to hear from you Scott, it's been a while.

[3Phase]

Good to hear from you Scott, it's been a while.

How's it goin', Phil!


I bypassed the Headlight Relay with a jumper because it was annoying and only used when starting the engine anyway. I think I bypassed the RLU once upon a time but the headlight low beam went out and I had no idea until I noticed I didn't see it reflecting on the bumper of the car ahead of me or on the garage door when I got home so I it put back on and haven't messed with it since.

The Amp draw from the headlight isn't a big deal IF your bike is running well, the Tachometer works and other electrical stuff is up to snuff.

Back in the day I bought a 7-Stage Battery Doctor from Wirthco that I plug in when I park the bike. Unfortunately, it's been discontinued.
https://www.wirthco.com/battery-doct...volt-2-4-8-amp

NO electrical system can charge any battery after short runs to Walmart for tube socks and beef jerky. You have to ride/drive for about 20 miles to fully recharge the battery after a single engine start and that's not always what you want to do when you just want to put on clean socks and munch on some beef jerky.

I put in a kicker because kickers are cool (my XJ still starts on one kick even after sitting) and a couple of prep-kicks with the Start/Run Switch OFF gets the oil pump working and the oil presure light goes out when the pressure goes above a few PSI, telling me it's safe to put the Start/Run switch ON and start the engine. I had to tee in and wire up a red light on the instrument cluster for a Low Oil PRESSURE switch on the XJ1100 like the XS1100s use because the XJ11 has a Low Oil LEVEL sensor that's great for letting you know you're low on oil while you're riding but does nothing if the oil pressure goes away.

Enough rambling...

[3Phase]

i would like to know if the chrome round thing beside the fuse box with 3 wires on it is the turn signal flasher? my turn signals worked fine and now there is nothing working. I have power to the left handle bar turn signal controller but nothing to the lights. thank you and keep up the good comments.

Hey there, Roy! Welcome to the madness!

Your profile says you have a '79 but is that a '79 Special or a '79 Standard? They are close but not identical.