Electrical Issues on XJ650

I'm at a loss with some electrical problems. Right now I am having issues with:

Turn Signals:
When I got the bike a week ago, they worked. Then it went to only the left signals working. Now no signals light up. I opened up the control box where the selector is and cleaned everything out, didn't do anything.

Brake Light:
Always on. There was a split second after I replaced the stock fuse box with a modern one where it did work, but then when back to solid. Replaced front brake switch (tab snapped on it, so it needed it anyway). Didn't touch the rear, but removed it and still had the issue.

Horn:
Doesn't work.

What I've tried:
I have replaced the stock fuse box and contact cleaned all electronic connections and made sure everything is connected snugly. Also, replaced the front brake light switch.

Does anyone have idea what I need to do or maybe even what happened? The bike itself runs well, it's just all this electrical stuff is driving me insane. Thanks in advance

 

have you tested the horn by removing it and using jumpers to the battery?
horn could be frozen.

check for voltage at horn connectors. 12 volts at brown wire. then continuity to ground, pink wire is to button then ground when button is pressed. or hook meter to both wires and get 12 volts when button is pushed.
did you clean the horn button when cleaning the controler?

rear tail light is always on when key is turned on does it get brighter when you apply the brakes?have you checked the bulbs in the turn signals?

you can see on attached wiring diagram tail/brake light #27 blue wire is tail lamp. yellow wire is brake light to switches, black wire common ground. disconnect brake switches 1 at a time to see if brake light goes out, if after both switches are disconnected light is still on check connectors from tail light assembly for proper color connections

EDITS

 

Welcome to the forum! Take the time to do lots of reading, many posts already out there for almost anything you have issues with. Just take the time to do it.

Once you start to have some electrical issues it is time to get some dielectric grease and start to take apart all the electrical connectors. This will do two things, it will give you confidence in your wiring system as to how strong the connectors are. If you find some that are corroded and or cracked then you fix them and move on. Also clean the ground points on the engine and or frame. Just remove the screw or bolt and take either a little file or a sharp knife and make sure the metal is clean under the screw/bolt.

If you don't have multi-meter might be time to get one. Good luck with your electrical issues and just take time and have fun fixing the issues.

 

Crocus cloth (electrical sand paper) is what you want to use to clean, along with electrical spray. hard art eraser comes in handy too

HAVE YOU REMOVED THE BULBS to confirm the bulbs are good.
check the contact points at bottom of bulb for dents.

also in controler it is common for the 3 wires on the slide to break free from board

generic 650 wiring diagram

 

Thank you for the replys! I'm planning on getting some bulbs this afternoon and swapping those out just to be safe. Sounds like I'll have to go through all the wiring again too. You are right though, the more I poke through this, the less overwhelming it seems. Just kind of frustrating though haha

I did notice in the controller, the middle Brown/White was off, so I soldered that back on. Now it's set as Green > Brown/White > Grey or a blackish color (it probably is brown. seems lighter than the ground wire. Matches that diagram)

It just makes me wonder how at one point it worked, but now it just stopped. Would this have anything to do with relays or are those completely different in what they would do? Do those even go out?

Does anyone know the ground points on the bike other than the battery? Is it the left side under the cover to the engine?

 

ground points there should be 1 or 2 up at the coil mounts , then the battery to motor and another from motor to frame.

the wires on the controller will probally broke with the movement of the directional switch (known for this) as the little panel slides with the switch.

 

Question about wire type. Does it matter what gauge I use if I need to replace one? I can't seem to find any information on what gauge to use anywhere

 

keep the same gauge as the wire you replace , try to keep same color as well this makes it easier if you have to trouble shoot, try not to have to many splices as well ,this can cause problems with corrosion and potential shorting. Any wire that is spliced make sure you use the highest quality splice AMP are good Autozone has colored wire and has some good splices you will know the difference they are more expensive ,but you can see the quality is better than the cheap splices. Keep us informed as to your progress.

 

from www.xj4ever.com catalog

XJ PARTS CATALOG, SECTION D: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

you will find how to ID the wire size by color diameter ans strand count.
to thin is a problem heavier is bertter

look for this title in the link
what is my wire size

7 x .028" = 20-gauge wire
(this example means that a 20-gauge wire has 7 individual wire strands, each strand measuring .028" in diameter)

16 x .030" =18-gauge wire
19 x .029" =16-gauge wire
19 x .027" =14-gauge wire
19 x .025" =12-gauge wire
19 x .023" =10-gauge wire
19 x .021" = 08-gauge wire
37 x .021" = 06-gauge wire



it give you more info such as amp ratings ect.

 

If memory serves me there is also a ground connection under the left side cover (left as sitting on bike in proper riding position - opposite side of battery).

 

Found the grounds (I think). There's one midway under the gas tank, one from the battery and one from the starter.

Good news, figured all the electronics stuff out (with a "but"). Ended up cleaning all the connections and making sure everything g was sound. Put it all back together and it was fine. Horn is shot from jumping it to the battery, so now I know that's bad. Lights all work.

The bad news now is I can't start the bike. No crank, no fire. Just the idiot light for oil level pops on when I click the button. Oil and gas are good. I'll troubleshoot that tomorrow.

 

should be a ground from voltage regulator . battery grounds directly to motor, then from motor to frame.
starter has no wire ground it is grounded by being mounted to the motor.. Yamaha used black wires for ground and from solenoid to starter.
was starter working before above repairs?
could be the safety switches is bike in neutral, green light on?


oil light bulb test when you press starter tells you bulb is good and starter button is good. c

battery may be dead charge it.
check for voltage at the small wires on the solenoid.
jump across the large connectors of the solinoid old screwdriver or a quater. starter should spin

you have a XJ650G so there is no side stand switch.

EDIT if you look on page (pdf)102 manual page number 110 you will see the starter system wiring circuit. what fsm calls starter relay is the solenoid and in picture of bike you will see locations of all components shows a relay (LH) which is the starter safety relay which is unnamed in the wiring diagram

 

What did you replace the front brake switch with and where did you get it?

 

Yup, saw the one from the regulator to the frame and the battery to the motor. There was another that comes off the same place of the motor and mounts to the other side underneath the rectifier (Mis-worded). If there's another, I must have missed it.

Starter was working at one point, but I would get this thing where it would start sometimes, othertimes I'd have to turn the bike off and then turn it back on one or two times and then it'd work. Now it doesn't even do that.

Neutral light comes on just fine.

I am going to try that this evening and hopefully will come up with something. I hope it's something cheap haha

 

I got it off Mikesxs.net

https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs65...hLKOBdpulBh18BP4P2gO_Eo1XGWRFzXG78aAhex8P8HAQ

 

could be your solenoid or your starter needs to be overhauled easy enough to test
look for voltage on the 2 small wires at the solenoid. voltage will be different because of voltage drop , you can also measure the resistance. I think it is 8k ohms.
you know your starter button is good, oil light comes on.
then just jump across the nuts of the solenoid to see if the starter spins.
if it spins your solenoid is bad
you can also check voltage on the nuts. one will have the battery voltage the other will have nothing until you press the starter button.
again no second voltage bad solenoid. if you get voltage to second nut check for voltage at the starter connection, no voltage there bad cable, voltage present time to think about the starter.

of course this is all dependent on the starter relay working do you here it click when you turn on the key ?

check your in box for some info.

 

Mike has a decent reputation and I do not know if it matters or not. But you bought a front brake switch for an XS and you own an XJ.

I am not trying to offend anyone, and my electrical knowledge is limited, perhaps these ARE cross-compatible. Just re-reading your first post seems to indicate things were good until you replaced the front brake switch and fuse box. - - Things work, you change a few electrical bits and now things don't work.

Check, double check the fuse box and the wires coming and going from it - I know there is not a lot of wiggle room with them - did something inadvertently get crossed/ grounded out?

 

It is always a good Idea when you do repairs to your bike, that if something that was working fails to work after the repairs to recheck the work you just did.
plenty of photos of the work area before and after.


http://www.partzilla.com is your friend when buying parts to check x fittment

RONT STOP SWITCH ASSY 1A0-83980-30-00

click the part number and you will see all the bikes that will x fiit and it is quite a list from years 1976 through 2000. yamaha does not change something unless they need to cost savings reasons

some times a part will fit but is not on the list becaue of paint color

see my edit in red in above post

 

No worries. I'm right there with you. You learn quickly though. Just gotta get in it, it seems.

Things started going wrong for me when I was cleaning stuff. Honestly, I probably didn't put something back secure enough the more that I think about it. Plus, things were always touchy with the bike and starting it. Like, with the key thing on and off and selectively starting.

However, the switch was broken when I bought the bike. One of the two pins that locks it in to the grip point was snapped off, so it just slipped in and out, basically making it worthless. They are the exact same switch though. Same pins and length of cord. I'm pretty sure Yamaha just had a universal switch for this.

Fuse box was originally ready for the trash and needed to be swapped. The old terminals were cracked and corroded, so the fuses would constantly jump out when I moved the bike or went over something. Plus, it's more convienient to find box fuses than glass if I ever needed some. Gas station availability vs specialty store just makes sense in a pinch.

 

Quick question about something under the headlamp. There were two female spade terminals that seemed to be dead ends and not connected to anything. Does anyone know what they might be for? Both the wires are black.

 

ground hook ups. with your meter you can check them for continuity to ground

they look like this on the 650 pdf wiring diagram and in the haynes manual but not the fsm

 

the switch bodies will interchange. there are 2 styles of complete switch one has 3 leads into one connector the other has 3leads into a connector and 2 leads into another connector this switch is for bikes with the atari package
Clean and lube the ignition switch this link will show you how to clean switch and you can fix or swap lock cylinders the cylinders are for different keys.
this link is for gas cap Your Gas Cap and You

 

So these just hang out then?

 

yes inside the headlight bucket you can use them to add things like a usb charger for phones or gps on handle bars or where ever you want. then you just have to find or locate a hot wire plug.
or wire ti splice into. i would suggest the tail light wire as it is always on and switched shouldnt draw much extra current on main fuse. but wire would be a long run , possibly the horn power wire too.
also if you change the handle bars they are a ground source for the starter button even though they run a wire to the connector to no where on some bikes

something to think about if you go painted or powder coated

 

Ah, gotcha. Thanks!

 

The two "extras" are there for use when fitting the optional Yamaha fairing.

 

So...

Ended up being the battery. Charged it up and the bike started just fine. So, it runs, which is good. Everything in that circuit is good.

Here's the kicker and I'm ready to just say "F*** it" and be done with it, rip everything out and just start from scratch. I rotated the left hand controls to a different position for my thumb comfort then I started the bike back up and now I have no headlights or turn signals. Brake light still works fine. Didnt have this problem before I pulled the battery and replaced it. Everything worked just fine. I was sooooo close!

Did my headlight somehow burn out in the interim? Or does this sound like a ground issue? Why the hell cant this bike just work? It's like it's possessed. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

 

It sounds like either a ground issue, or some solder joints popped loose on the switchs. Both are an easy fix.

 

Ok, so, I got everything working minus a couple things. The headlight doesn't come on at all and the speed and tach lights don't light up. All the other lights, even the indicator lights in the cluster, work. I got a new headlight, that didn't do anything. Left hand control is new. Any ideas? Is it the relay or does that not have any bearing on it. Seems that the speed and tach and headlight share that relay for the hot wire.

 

new oem conntroller? as in Brand new?

the backlight bulbs in the speedo and tach thoose bulbes turn on with the headlight relay and are a 194 bulb. if by chance you put in led bulbs the bulbs have a polarity pull them and rotate 180 degrees.


just to be sure you started the bike to see if head light came on?

the 650 has a headlight relay and the head light comes on ONLY when the bike starts or alternator spins fast enough to turn on the relay

test relay the white wire comes from alternator and is the Hot to coil side of relay , the black wire is ground for the relay coil. if you hook relay up to battery you should hear it click.

headlight fuse (you checked yours correct) connects to red/yellow wire which runs to relay .
when relay closes it makes the connection to the L/B wire (blue with black stripe) that wire runs headlight and meter lights(backlights of speedo and tach).

 

No, it's off another bike. One from AZ, so I don't think it had the same life of sitting outside in the MN winter for 10 years. Much, much cleaner all around and I got it for super cheap, so I can't complain.

I didn't change the lights in the cluster. I'll look at that though if I need to. 194, thank you for that!

Fuses were brand new. Yes, started the bike up. Battery was on a trickle charger too and fully charged.

Is the Headlight relay the one in the Haynes Manual everyone says is mislabeled on the location (under the tank), or am I thinking of something else?

 

check the high beam switch clean and lube it could be atleast part of the problem for headlight, but with your cluster backlights out as well unless the bulbs are bad I would check out the relay cover pops off of the relay to clean contacts inside of it as well.

this link lists all locations of relays
The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

XJ650 Maxim and Midnight Maxim models:

Flasher: near the steering headpipe, on right side frame rail, under the right side ignition coil.
Flasher canceller: under the rear of gas tank, behind ignition coils
Starter motor solenoid/relay: on right hand side, attached to and behind the battery box.
Diode block: inside the headlight housing.
Starter/Ignition cut-off relay (no color): behind the turn signal self-canceller. (note: the drawing and the description in the service manual is wrong).
1980-81 Sidestand (kickstand) relay (blue): did not use.
1982-84 Sidestand (kickstand) relay (blue): frame bracket outbound of LH frame tube, just behind the left ignition coil.
Headlight relay (yellow): behind the left frame side cover, on the plastic regulator-rectifier mounting plate. (note: the drawing and the description in the service manual is wrong).
Neutral switch: in a hole in the bottom of the crankcase, just "outside" of the oil pan, on the bottom of the engine, up inside a recessed "well".