headlight/no light

[flyvee1]

Hi ,im new to this board ,i own a 1980 xs 1100 special,and it has been an exellent trouble free bike for 4 years so far. recently though my headlight decided to quit?(headlight relay?) but i took the headlight out to check the wireing out and the yellow wire on the plug more less fell off! now the starter button wont start the bike? if i jump across the selinoid with the ignition on it starts right up as usual,,but as soon as i take the jumper off it quits?i dont what happened but it ran fine before the wire problem ocurred?all the fuses are fine,everythings in good shape ,,any suggestions? thanks in advance!

[dragxs11]

I don't remember whether the right switch wiring goes through the headlight bucket or not. But I know there are a lot of things in there. Maybe another connection got pulled apart in the process of fixing the headlight? I would check the voltage on the start button and make sure you've got it that far. Then look at a wiring diagram in a service manual and start tracing it back. Of course, a DC volt meter is a must here. If you don't have access to one, I've used a 12V light and tied one end to ground before. DVM's (digital volt meters) aren't too expensive. A cheap $15 should work for this job. It's one of those tools that you never knew you needed so bad until you have one.

[flyvee1]

re haedlight

ok thanks for the input dragxs11,,check this out, i went out today ,turned the key,boom started right up!,,cool !,but i still have the headlight relay problem ,,i did read in a post that a guy can cut the yellow wire ,,,somewhere???,and it will bypass the saftey relay? any ideas where to locate this wire?, thanks ,great site !

[dragxs11]

The headlight and the guage lights are the only things that do not work off of your battery. They get power from the relay under the tank and just above the coils. The ingition switch pulls the relay in and then your headlight waits for power from the a.c. generator. You must start the bike, and look for power from the headlight back through all of these components to the a.c. generator. Otherwise, you'll have to have someone else do it for you. Thats all I know.

[flyvee1]

re headlight

ok thank you very much ill get a look at it and see what i can figure out....thanks ,tom

[skids]

Re: re haedlight

No, don't do that to your model! Cutting of the yellow wire is a trick for the 78 models that have an on/off switch for the headlight so that you can shut off the headlight with the engine turning (runners stay on though).

Originally posted by flyvee1
ok thanks for the input dragxs11,,check this out, i went out today ,turned the key,boom started right up!,,cool !,but i still have the headlight relay problem ,,i did read in a post that a guy can cut the yellow wire ,,,somewhere???,and it will bypass the saftey relay? any ideas where to locate this wire?, thanks ,great site !