Engine running, no other electricals working.

[TheMainMuel]

Hey duders. I'm working on my 1981 Special II I bought last month. I want to have it roadworthy for the Dice Magazine release party they are having at Jeff Wright's (Church of Choppers) biker bar Kung Fu Tap and Taco June 11th here in Des Moines.

The previous owner hardwired the fuse box and must have fried something. I put a new battery in and checked all my grounds. I bought some inline, blade-style fuses that I am going to put in. I cleaned out the carbs and got the bike running, but nothing else works. I even tried it with the new headlight and taillights, but still nothing. Any thoughts?

 

[drewpy]

go check out that fuse box, thing may look fine and dandy but underneath may be corrosion and if you have the glass fuses, check them out too!

 

[TheMainMuel]

go check out that fuse box, thing may look fine and dandy but underneath may be corrosion and if you have the glass fuses, check them out too!

Hey Drewpy. The thing is, there is no fuse box. It was hardwired. I am putting in blade-style, inline fuses (no glass!)

I'm going through the harness now, one wire at a time. I'm sure something must be fried, but I'm not sure what. Could a fried regulator be the cause?

 

[drewpy]

I thought you said the fuse box was hard wired

looks like it will be a painstaking job checking everything, can't see any other way.

 

[TheMainMuel]

I thought you said the fuse box was hard wired

Sorry. To clarify; Where there should be a fuse box, the previous owner simply hardwired the lines, eliminating the fuses altogether. So, no protection for all of the electrical components.

 

[lhaolpa]

Sounds like some dufus blew a breaker and replacing the fuse only resulted with another blown fuse.There could be anything shorted out.You need a test light,multi-meter,maybe a cable tracer,however first I would take all the fuses out and test the generator for current.If the generator is charging the battery,check all the lighting and other positive connections for ground shorting[continuity with ground],or corrosion.If no problem is found,you'll need a cable tracer,to find shorted wires or broken wires. lha

 

[TheMainMuel]

Sounds like some dufus blew a breaker and replacing the fuse only resulted with another blown fuse.There could be anything shorted out.You need a test light,multi-meter,maybe a cable tracer,however first I would take all the fuses out and test the generator for current.If the generator is charging the battery,check all the lighting and other positive connections for ground shorting[continuity with ground],or corrosion.If no problem is found,you'll need a cable tracer,to find shorted wires or broken wires. lha

Sounds like a fun way to spend my evening, haha. Thanks for the input!

 

[lhaolpa]

Harbor freight has a cable tracer pretty reasonable,forgot how much,but here's how it works in case you're not familiar.One part [both are battery powered]hooks to the fuse,and with the other you follow the wire and listen for the tone that alerts to a short. lha

 

[TheMainMuel]

Harbor freight has a cable tracer pretty reasonable,forgot how much,but here's how it works in case you're not familiar.One part [both are battery powered]hooks to the fuse,and with the other you follow the wire and listen for the tone that alerts to a short. lha

To update, I have gone through the harness one wire at a time. The wires are all in good shape, I did not find any shorts. I installed the inline fuses and still, nothing. The ground is good, but no power coming through to the headlight, speedo or taillights.

I am curious if this is caused by a burned out voltage regulator. I don't want to buy another one if I don't have to. I was planning on using the regulator from my xs850, but it has the rectifier built into the regulator, so I don't know if that will work the same. Am I off track here? Does anyone else think that could be the cause? Or have better input? I'm all ears!!

 

[drewpy]

got to be a missed connection somewhere. is the switch gear inc ignition OK?

 

[cinco]

Bad "Kill Switch"?

Have you checked continuity on each wire? Maybe a pinched/crimped wire (not visible to the eye) somewhere preventing current flow?

Using a wiring diagram I'd start at battery power cable and work "out" to the next point of "connection". If there is no connector at the "connection" point you can use a razor to pierce the wire's sheath and touch your probe to that. For example you can test the wire's on both sides of a component to verify the wire is intact.

I dunno if it'd help, just an idea...

 

[TheMainMuel]

Thanks for the input guys.

I'll just have to go back through it again.

The ignition and kill switches are not the problem because the electric start works and the engine runs. It's just that I have no lights at all.

Not sure if this provides any insight (and I don't have it in front of me so I hope I remember the wire colors correctly), but the connector for the regulator has three wires, green, brown and black. Both the green and brown have (+) power when not connected and the (-) ground is good. Once I hook up the connector to the regulator, the green (I believe) no longer has (+) power, but the brown still does. When I disconnect the regulator I always get a big blue spark.

 

[fb0mber]

Hey duders. I'm working on my 1981 Special II I bought last month. I want to have it roadworthy for the Dice Magazine release party they are having at Jeff Wright's (Church of Choppers) biker bar Kung Fu Tap and Taco June 11th here in Des Moines.

The previous owner hardwired the fuse box and must have fried something. I put a new battery in and checked all my grounds. I bought some inline, blade-style fuses that I am going to put in. I cleaned out the carbs and got the bike running, but nothing else works. I even tried it with the new headlight and taillights, but still nothing. Any thoughts?

Sweeeet! well I mean sweet for planning on going out to kung fu tap and taco on the 11th, I'm about 90% sure I'll be out there man! Super pumped for the party! Wonder if anyone else on these boards is goin? I'll have to post something in another section.

 

[frwinks]

Thanks for the input guys.

I'll just have to go back through it again.

The ignition and kill switches are not the problem because the electric start works and the engine runs. It's just that I have no lights at all.

Not sure if this provides any insight (and I don't have it in front of me so I hope I remember the wire colors correctly), but the connector for the regulator has three wires, green, brown and black. Both the green and brown have (+) power when not connected and the (-) ground is good. Once I hook up the connector to the regulator, the green (I believe) no longer has (+) power, but the brown still does. When I disconnect the regulator I always get a big blue spark.

hey Muel, have you figured this shit out yet?
I'm having a similar issue with mine right now...sparks at that very same connection, from alternator to regulator. Last Thursday, it blew up half of my electrics headlight bulb, taillight, stoplight, one coil, perhaps the CDI box and who knows what else (it's been parked since I limped it home on one cylinder.