Solenoid Wiring

[Robj]

Hi every one. I have been mining this awesome site for awhile, now its time for me to ask a my own question.

I have a 79 xs400. I was given to me for free, this was its home for the last 5years..

Now to the question:
I have been having problems geting the the electric start to work. The voltage on the red wire bottom left is around 8 volts(I have a new batterie so it must be resistance from the wiring harness). The Blue wire bottom right grounds nicely. It seems to me like the wiring has been switched around at the female top connection, not sure why anyone would do this. Is this why it seems like my solenoid is not working? I have looked at all the Wiring diagrams, They do not show enough detail I need someones first hand account. It looks to be like from tere its wired to the solenoid right but im not sure.

Cheers.

 

[HoughMade]

Have you confirmed that the battery is charged to 12+ volts? When I bought a new battery (one you have to put the acid in yourself) it needed to be charged before it would put out full power.

Also, that fuse box looks pretty crusty.

 

[Robj]

Thanks for your input,

Yes the battery was charged and is a solid 12+ volts, and the resistance across the fuse box connections was measured all about .1ohm
I do plan on replacing the fuse box, in the future.
Cheers,

 

[Robj]

If someone could help me out here that would be awesome. I just need to know if this is wired backwards. Seems to me like it was.

 

[hmusket]

If its not working now, you don't have anything to lose by switching the wires. Hard to know what a PO, (previous owner, not probation officer), did. One thing you can try is shorting across the solenoid with the ignition on to see if the starter motor turns. If you haven't done this before they'll be some sparks, but keep steady.