So a couple days back I went to start the bike and I noticed some smoke coming from under my seat. I took the seat off and noticed the positive terminal had gotten really hot. The previous owner had done a hack job of making the lead from the battery to the fuse so I assumed this was the problem and I replaced that cable. I then noticed that the headlights could not be turned off when turning off the key. I then replaced the key/ignition switch. I checked the battery with a load tester and amps/volts read normal. I then replaced the starter relay and the same thing. What is happening now is the bike just makes one click when I press the start button (only one click). The bike does not try to crank over. I feel like I am chasing my tail and can't seem to get this to turn over. I think something got fried but not sure what. I am trying to avoid pulling off the crankcase cover to get the starter out and wondering if anyone has any other ideas I can try.

One other thing I had noticed on the "L" connector of the ignition switch there was a branch off wire that was taped off and off to the side. I don't think that is the problem but just something I noticed.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

You probably had a short of some sort that melted a couple wires together somewhere. Those can be hard to find, so good luck with it. Do a visual check of all the wiring first, and if you don't see an obvious problem, start checking the continuity of wiring that's bundled, checking every wire with every other to see if there's a short or break.

 

Tell me, when you hear the one click does all the lights go off? Sounds to me like you have a bad ground, or the ground cable itself is bad (pretty common actually) might be something to look into

 

No lights stay on. I checked the two main ground leads to the battery and cleaned them up as well.

 

Electrical gremlins are the bane of my existence! Sounds like a ground cable is involved, but since you've checked that, my next step would be a complete wire exam that will probably entail the need to remove some tins. I am also a little wary of a "taped off" wire at the ignition switch. Do you have a wiring diagram for your bike? If not, I would get one.

The only thing worse than an electrical problem, is someone ill equipped (previous owner) who already tried to fix it and was unsuccessful.

 

The taped-off wire to the switch is probably the wire to the lights on the first "on" position. When it's removed, you have the option of running with the lights off (first "on" switch position) or lights on (second "on" postion. Otherwise, if the wire is left attached as it comes from the factory, the lights are always on.

 

Yeah I have a wiring diagram laying around somewhere. Looks like I have a bunch of ohm readings to take. The funny thing about the taped off connection is it looks oem and was attached to something else at some point. Not sure what it could have been though.

The previous owner had some shall we say "inventive" ways to run wiring. Every time I opened a part of this bike up I would make sure I would fix connections while I was there. The guy apparently never heard of shrink tubing, solder, or even basic crimps. Twisting wires together and electrical tape was apparently good enough for him. I actually have a brand new full harness I could throw on but I was really trying to save that for when I completely tear this bike down to repaint/powder coat and change up some of the lighting and such.

 

Good call. I forgot about that.

 

I hear what you're saying, but after what goallight's been through, I would never attempt to guess what's "what". The bike is 31 years old, wiring harnesses deteriorate over time, people who don't know what they're doing work on it, and "probably" would never cut it for me. Hands and eyes on the wiring harness is his best bet, IMHO, and although it's a pain, it will get him to the root cause of his problems and probably point out some future problems he can remedy in the process. A good meter is also very helpful.

 

Figured I would share an image of the phantom wire. Sorry this is the only pic I took of it and I am at work right now. You can see on the green "L" connection there is two wires coming out of the actual connector. The empty loop connector in the background is the actual end of it. I believe 83XLX is right and it is so I can run without lights on.



I actually have video of the clicking noise if that helps. Anyone know if I can embed video?