All lights just quit after hooking up fairing

[equinox1216]

HI all,

This is my first post, and it is necessary due to the fact that I lost all my lights last weekend when I tried to hook up a used front fairing I bought.
The fairing's wiring I tracked down with an OHM meter, found blinkers and headlight wires.

I kept extensive notes for colored wires, made cross reference sheet for bike wires and even had to create a coupler for the headlight connector (which was not compatible).

Everything checked out and I hooked it all up (with the fairing standing on a stool next to the bike).

Then I started the bike and tested the lights. One of the turn signals came on full and none of the signals worked nor did the headlight.

I took notes, disassembled, hooked up all original wiring again (because the sun came out and I wanted to ride!) but alas, no lights at all!!

I went over all my notes and wiring legends and triple checked everything.

Here is what I know:

(Bike is 1978 Yamaha XS 1100e)

1) no power to headlight connector
2) no power to signal wire, BUT a constant power to second signal wire (obviously this is a running light - my bike has no capability for the second wire, but the fairing does)
3) checked all fuses in "fuse box" (which is not a box at all in this case. It is simply a series of fuses at the end of wire pairs to a fuse hoder. Apparently someone rewired the bike at some point.)
4) I have not yet checked the bulbs in the fairing, nor the bulbs on the bike (but I am about to do that now, while I await a reply) And yes, all the lights worked perfectly before hooking up fairing wires.

Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated.
I'm not experienced in working on bikes (although I can tell this will change fairly quickly) but I do have a background in electronics repair.

thanks in advance,

EQ

[John]

I would check for the lack of a ground wire. That what it sounds like to me.

[equinox1216]

Okay, but why then would the running lights work... AND... the headlight AND signal lights fail at the same time? The signals are grounded to the frame. There is only 1 wire for each of them. I checked continuity for them as well.

I'm thinking of something like a blown relay or something which handles all the lights. Anything like that on this bike?

I would check for the lack of a ground wire. That what it sounds like to me.

[John]

The headlight is the only device powered up by the relay. Does the tach work properly? The relay is powered up by one phase of the alternator, and that same wire makes the tach work also. If the bike is not charging, the head light and tach will not work. Does the tail light come on with the ignition switch? What do the rear turn signals do when you select left or right turn? A bad ground, or having a burned out rear turn signal would cause a turn signal to glow but not flash, especially if the bulb has two filiments. With a poor ground, the current will back feed through the other filiment trying to find a ground. With a poor ground, there is not enough of a load to create the internal heat required to operate the flasher. The running lights in the fairing are on the same wire as the headlight. The electrical on these bikes isn't all that difficult.
Did all of the lights work before you installed the wiring for the fairing? Is it a vetter fairing?

[wa407mpp]

What kind of fairing do you have? If it is a Vetter there are some good threads on here with wiring diagrams you can check against what you have,also the turn signal grounds on the Vetter and Venturer fairings are notorious for coming loose or breaking at the housing. If one breaks the signals won't work on that side. Also check the plugs under the tank.

[equinox1216]

Yes the tach works fine. Same as always.
Yes the tail light comes on with the ignition switch.
The rear signals stopped working when the front signals stopped working (right after I tried hooking up the fairing).
Yes all the lights, including the headlight, worked before hooking up the fairing.
And, I looked all over the fairing and all I see is YAMAHA and a serial number (17051)

And thanks for your attention to this problem.
EQ

The headlight is the only device powered up by the relay. Does the tach work properly? The relay is powered up by one phase of the alternator, and that same wire makes the tach work also. If the bike is not charging, the head light and tach will not work. Does the tail light come on with the ignition switch? What do the rear turn signals do when you select left or right turn? A bad ground, or having a burned out rear turn signal would cause a turn signal to glow but not flash, especially if the bulb has two filiments. With a poor ground, the current will back feed through the other filiment trying to find a ground. With a poor ground, there is not enough of a load to create the internal heat required to operate the flasher. The running lights in the fairing are on the same wire as the headlight. The electrical on these bikes isn't all that difficult.
Did all of the lights work before you installed the wiring for the fairing? Is it a vetter fairing?

[equinox1216]

I posted the only info I could find on the fairing in my previous post.
How would I go about finding out what model it is?
I finally got the seat off a couple days ago and found some connectors which I checked out. I also found another rubberized block with wires running to it. (there is one at the fuse block too)

I guess I need to work out removing the tank then. See what lives under there.

Thanks for your help thuis far.

EQ

What kind of fairing do you have? If it is a Vetter there are some good threads on here with wiring diagrams you can check against what you have,also the turn signal grounds on the Vetter and Venturer fairings are notorious for coming loose or breaking at the housing. If one breaks the signals won't work on that side. Also check the plugs under the tank.

[equinox1216]

Please remember that, at this point I am trying to get the lights on the bike to work again.

I will examine the fairing and research the wiring possibilities for that later. The main thing now is to get the lights working again.

NOTES:
(1) There is no power to the front blinker connectors while bike is running and switch is engaged.
(2) I cannot get power to the headlight connector while bike is running.
(3) There is power to the running light connectors (front). (They are not used with the lights installed on the bike.)
(4) There are two sets of wires for each blinker assembly (front). One is constant power (running light) and the other was hooked to the blinker assembly. The ground is through the mount. However, there is a brown 14 guage wire (store bought) running back under the gas tank from each front mount bolt. It is attached with a ring connector.

I plan to remove the gas tank this weekend to inspect that area.

Other notes:
-The tach works fine. Same as always.
-The tail light comes on with the ignition switch.
-The rear signals stopped working when the front signals stopped working (at the time I tried hooking up the fairing).
-All the lights, including the headlight, worked before hooking up the fairing.
-I looked all over the fairing and all I see is YAMAHA and a serial number (17051)

[DiverRay]

What does the fairing look like? how big is it? Does it have four mount holes, or six, with the two extra in the FRONT of the fairing?
This will tell us what fairing you have.
The headlight ONLY works AFTER the engine has started. You ALSO have a "headlight switch" on the handlebar. This is on the '78 ONLY.
If you can't figure it out, and need to send a picture for help, you can send an email with the photo attached to mechray54(at)gmail. If you can post to photobucket or one of the online sites, you can then link the photo so it shows up here!

[equinox1216]

Fairing Pics/info

I inspected the mounting for the fairing.
There seem to be only 4 holes. 2 on each side.
It has a YAMAHA emblem on both sides toward the back (pic 2) in gold.
The fairing came with mounting hardware and a wiring harness.

Here are the pics of the fairing:


If you require better photos, I can take it outside in the sunlight.
Even do a walk-around video if necessary.

[DiverRay]

That's OK, it's the Vetter Yamaha fairing. Same thing I have on my '79. I'll start checking my wire diagrams, and get back in a few hours....

[equinox1216]

Vetter Fairing

Thanks so much for your help!!

EQ

[equinox1216]

Fairing wiring diagram

I found a data sheet on this and created an RTF (Windows Word Pad or MS Word) file to display it. You can access it from my domain:

Windjammer wiring reference

[DiverRay]

Looks like the proper doc!! It matches what I've got in the fairing. I'm NOT going to pull the fairing to verify the bike side, but it sounds correct.
Here is what I have:
inside fairing________Bike___________Signal
Black----------------Black------------Ground
Yellow---------------Green-----------Low Beam
White---------------Yellow-----------High Beam
Light Green----------Blue-------------Running Lights
Purple---------------Dark Green-------Left Turn
Light Blue-----------Brown------------Right Turn

[equinox1216]

Another side-effect

Thanks, Ray.
Yeah I am about to open it up again now.
But while examining the bike a minute ago I noticed something I didnt notice before.

The horn also doesnt work now. And yes, it worked before.
I know I didnt hook up the horn to the fairing though. I didnt get that far.

Another clue? Or complication?

EQ