Gremlins!!!

[the108penguins]

ok i've heard people reference gremlins in the wiring of these beasts but until about 3 days ago i didn't believe they existed... but now i believe, oh i believe.

I've been chasing them around my bike for the last few days and every time i replace something i think i've got it and it works for about a day then it goes back to exactly how it was. no headlight, weak starting, no starting!, and now a flickering tail light.

i've changed out the fuse panel and the RLU has been removed and shorted out properly. i've checked out my tip over sensor and also checked my ignitor box. but just last night my bike left me stranded at an intersection about 2 miles from my house. I was thankfully rescued by a friend but my bike is still not working.

any help guys, i'm getting close to the cliff or gas and a match solution

[cywelchjr]

If you haven't done so yet, take apart every connector on the bike one at a time and make sure they are clean and tight. If their too bad, replace them, Geezer on here sells most of the connectors. Clean and refurbish your run/stop switch and make sure it's working properly, and clean your ignition switch.

Once you have done all these things, then deal with things as you find them. Oh, and if you haven't done so in your travels yet, I would recommend removing the regulator/rectifier and clean every part of it that connects to the frame, particularly the ground connection and then put it back. If done right, that should clear up most if not all the electrical gremlins, particularly if at the same time you're making sure that everything is connected to the right place.

[bikerphil]

just last night my bike left me stranded

Don't forget the grounds and the connection at the starter itself. What is the voltage reading at 4K RPM?

[the108penguins]

The gauge light, neutral, brake/running, turn signals all work. i only lost power to the ignition. my headlight hasn't been working lately also but that happened before i lost ignition. my starter works fine i traced the poor turnover to my starter relay the connections were very bad but that hasn't solved my other problems

[the108penguins]

if the reg/rect wasn't properly grounded would that stop the bike from starting? or does that only affect the charging system?

i have checked for spark and it is there, and there is fuel getting to the cylinders (i can smell it and the plugs are wet) and i have compression.

what should i look at specifically to figure out why the bike won't start? it is as if the kill switch is off but i've checked it and it works fine plus i have a good ground to the handle bars and an extra ground wire!

[DGXSER]

Will the starter not turn over period? Or does the starter turn but the bike not start? Your description indicates the starter is turning the bike over. Is the battery weak? It needs at least 10 volts or so to run the TCI.

If you have compression, and you have GOOD spark, and you have the right air fuel mixture. It will run, but only if they are hapening at the right TIME. Yep, timing is the other thought. Only thing that can make sense if the bike was running and now is not, and your compression is still good, would be pickup coil wires as far as timing issue.

[BigRed]

Other places that should qualify for a quick check would be your battery connections, main fuse, and 3-wire connector coming from the alternator. If these connections are bad, they can waste voltage, and prevent you from getting a spark while you're cranking the engine.

If it tries to start and then dies as soon as you let go of the starter button, then you should check your ballast resistor as well.

Good luck!

[James England]

Have you checked the block connectors in the headlamp and cleaned the connections or renewed the block connectors completely. As I think I may have mentioned before, I found my connectors in the headslamp shell to be really poor and I lost power to the ignition and then to whole bike, due to a corroded and poorly fitting plug which had been pushed back by the headlamp reflector

[the108penguins]

thanks for the ideas guys i haven't had a chance to go over anything yet. both my bike and i are out of commission right now. once i feel better and i get back into it i'll post my results.

[Poprock]

If you still have glass fuses, change to a spade type fuse box. TC has 'em. Take apart every connector in the harness, clean with contact cleaner, fill with dialectric grease, put back together. Clean and re-attach all the ground connections. When I was chasing down a dim headlight I found green dust and grey corrosion on the plugs behind the fuse panel. Cleaned and greased, along with every other one I could see in the harness, my headlight was way brighter. Next day it was replaced by a HID, which is WAY bright. Kill switches can flake out too. Check yours for proper function. Good luck and don't give up.

[trdriver71]

If you still have glass fuses, change to a spade type fuse box. TC has 'em. Take apart every connector in the harness, clean with contact cleaner, fill with dialectric grease, put back together. Clean and re-attach all the ground connections. When I was chasing down a dim headlight I found green dust and grey corrosion on the plugs behind the fuse panel. Cleaned and greased, along with every other one I could see in the harness, my headlight was way brighter. Next day it was replaced by a HID, which is WAY bright. Kill switches can flake out too. Check yours for proper function. Good luck and don't give up.

Where did you get your hid light kit for you bike?

[Poprock]

Light kit

Found the company on eBay. They didn't list a single bulb bi-xenon kit, so I emailed them about it. They set me up with a one light kit and harness for $35 shipped. If I were to do it over again, I'd shop for a modular kit, where each leg plugs into the main harness. Then there's no extra wire to tuck away somewhere. It isn't a real problem with the fairing to hide it in, but on a naked bike it might be a hassle. More is better when it comes to light. 3X the light of halogen, only pulling 35 watts. What's not to like?
Search eBay for this seller:
XenonAutoHaus (PL)
PO BOX 2662
La Puente, CA 91746

[trdriver71]

What do you mean by modular kit? I still have the stock sealed beam on mine.

[Poprock]

There is a main harness with the relay and power connections. It has a two receptical head on it. A leg with a ballast and light connector plugs in to each receptical. If you only need one light, there's just one leg. The kit I got, the main harness is all one piece, with a long and a short leg, for the wires from the light to plug into. Since I only use one light, the unused leg has to be tucked away. No prob with a fairing, but guys running bare would have to tie it up somewhere or maybe cut it off and insulate the wire ends.

[the108penguins]

i missed one tinsy little simple thing

well my problems aren't completely solved but after going over all the connectors in the headlight bucket (thanks james) all the connectors on the frame checking and cleaning all the grounds i tried to start the bike..... and it wouldn't start so i check for spark and there's a nice fat blue spark ok so i've got spark. and i know i've got compression so what about fuel... removed the fuel tank and lo and behold, no fuel! ha!

so even though i needed to go through the electrical systems and clean everything and ground everything, i probably couldn't start the thing because i ran out of fuel... i had in-line fuel filters on it and they were full to the top so i assumed there was fuel getting to the carbs, but my filters sat just low enough that the fuel wasn't being let into the carbs at all. they have been removed now and the bike seems to run better. my headlight still doesn't work and my tail light is still on the fritz but it starts and runs great. looks like the problem with the headlight and tail lights is comming from a little rubbery box that has 12.5v and Koito? stamped on it.