Starter Solenoid Ballast Resistor???

[robert_hollis]

Ok, I'm still in the process of undoing all the stupid things my PO did on my bike, and I'm a little stumped on something. My bike's a 79 XS1100SF, but several of the parts seem to have been scavenged off other models... I've diagnosed my old starter solenoid (a round style solenoid) as being bad, and replaced it with one of the spares (a square style solenoid) I got wih the bike. Yippee, I now have a working push button starter! Of course, that only leaves my bike 3 months away from running... Now I'm wondering about this dark green wire which is attached to the black wire that connects the starter and solenoid. When I got the bike, the green wire was connected to the oil pressure sensor (The PO was an idiot), and I knew that wasn't right. Skimming through several posts on here, I've come to the conclusion that the green wire goes to a ballast resistor. Is that right? Where's this resistor and what's it look like? Is my model bike supposed to even have one? I ask cause I haven't seen anything that I even think could be it. Nor have I found a matching green plug or mention of this part in the Clymer manual. Maybe, I'm just having a brain fart, but damn... Just wondering if the PO scavenged a starter wire off a different bike, and it had the ballast resistor.

Ok, hopefully I've made myself at least as clear as mud.

Thanks,

-Rob

[bikerphil]

Ballast resistor wire is red/wht, and yes your bike has one unless someone upgraded the coils. The ballast is mounted to the frame up under the left front of the fuel tank. About the green wire, don't know.

[robert_hollis]

Well, then I was way off on that guess! Still, I'm wonder what on earth that green wire goes to. It's clearly part of the solenoid to starter wiring. I mean, the two wires are made as a single piece, and I saw it in some pics in the Clymer manual, but I never saw where it went.

Thanks,

-Rob

[boyat68]

robert_hollis:

In your Clymers manual on page 169 there is a picture of the Ignition Ballast Resistor mounted under the bottom brace near the front. There is also a description of the use of that resistor. On page 270 of the same manual, there is a wiring diagram of the 1979 XS1100 F model. If you count 7 items over from the top left starting with the "Front Stop Switch", you will come across the resistor with two R/W wires connected to it. Follow those leads out and you will see that it is connected to the Ignition coil and back to the Handlebar Switch. If you look at page 166, it will show the schematic of the Ignition circuit with the Ballast Resistor interposed between the stop engine switch and the starter relay.

If you have the original coils and not after market coils, you may need the Ballast Resistor to drop the voltage to the coils after starting to protect the windings from excessive wear. Some after market coils are heavy wire coils and were manufactured to do away with the Ballast Resistor and many on the site have done just that.

[boyat68]

robert_hollis:

I got curious about that Dark Green wire you referenced in your original post. If you look at the Clymer's Manual on the wiring diagram, page 270, there is a DG wire from the fuel sending unit to the fuel gauge on your bike. A black wire B is connected to a universal black wire feeding ground to many units on the bike. Could this be the wires you are talking about? The diagram shows that there should be a R/B wire on the Oil Pressure Switch.

[randy]

That green wire off the solenoid is indeed the ballast bypass lead, it SHOULD plug into a corresponding lead in your wiring harness. That is IF you have your original wiring harness.

[robert_hollis]

Ok, yeah I must have been drunk when I originally posted. It's all cleared up now. The Dark green wire did plug into a red/yellow wire. Yes it's the original wiring harness, though it's seen some tampering. Oddly enough, I got the bike with 3 wiring harnesses, and only one was for a 79 Special. One went to a 78 Standard, and one to an 80 Special (of course the PO thought they were all the same). Sometimes I want to go strangle the guy I bought the bike from. His monkeying around with the electrical system took forever to undo.

Thanks,

-Rob