amc3
XS400 Member
Hi Folks,
I'm coming into my 5th season with a 1979 XS400, my first and only bike ever.
It's been a great bike, with only minor issues that I've always been able to address on my own. But now I'm stumped.
Pressing electric start button makes a single "click" sound and then all electric is dead--no dash lights, headlights, horn, signals, etc.
Once this happens, the only apparent way to get electric back is to disconnect the battery terminals and then reconnect them. That sounds like voodoo, so might not actually be what's getting the electric to come back. But it seems to work.
In the meantime, I'm forced to always use the kick starter, which isn't terrible but also not ideal.
What's going on? Seems like some kind of short but with electrical being the most mysterious part of the bike to me, I could use some ideas on where to start.
Thanks!
I'm coming into my 5th season with a 1979 XS400, my first and only bike ever.
It's been a great bike, with only minor issues that I've always been able to address on my own. But now I'm stumped.
Pressing electric start button makes a single "click" sound and then all electric is dead--no dash lights, headlights, horn, signals, etc.
Once this happens, the only apparent way to get electric back is to disconnect the battery terminals and then reconnect them. That sounds like voodoo, so might not actually be what's getting the electric to come back. But it seems to work.
In the meantime, I'm forced to always use the kick starter, which isn't terrible but also not ideal.
What's going on? Seems like some kind of short but with electrical being the most mysterious part of the bike to me, I could use some ideas on where to start.
Thanks!