head lamp saftey relay is good but head lamp doesn't work!!! what next??????

madman1980

XS650 Member
Messages
19
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
swanton ohio
1982 xs650sj heritage spec. head lamp on the fritzzz.i have tested a few things.Handle bar switch,(ok)jumped the reverce lighting device light works,think thats good.Now on to the saftey relay switch and jumped that, the light works.Not sure but eaither the saftey relay is bad or the generator is not maken enough juice.got this enfo from 650rider. I'm i on the right track and where do i go from here???? help is much needed!!:doh:
 
Since you got it to come on by messing with the relay, it's either the relay board or the generator. If the generator isn't working the light will never come on with stock wiring. If you run a +12 jumper to the left side of that resistor and it comes on, your generator or its connection is bad or the diode is open. If not, then it's the relay.


t_safety_496.jpg
 
Have you checked the brushes and ohmed the rotor? Probes on the two rings should read about 5 ohms +- the inner ring is hard to touch so while you have the brushes out to check them you can put a piece of copper house wire in the hole the brush came out of to reach the inner ring.
 
Yep, might only be brushes. Could be a fried rotor. How's your charging? If you jumper to the resistor like I said, the light should stay on after you remove the jumper.
 
Have a meter? With the bike idling what is the battery voltage? At 3000 rpm, what's the battery voltage?
 
i have a meter! tested the batery at idle it was right about 12.2.Tested it at 3000 rpms it was 13.3.I also tested the rotor from band to band it read 2.4 ohms.think that is a problem.I have read it should be 5.-5.5 ohms.I have another rotor it reads 5.8.It come off an older bike with a points still ignition. will that work on my 82 with tci ignition???

got new brushes from mikexs.


i tested the yellow wire on the saftey relay it read 6.6. not understanding what was posted about the left side of resister. What wire???
 
The points rotor doesn't have the needed magnet for the TCI.......though I've read in the old 650rider forum (xsjohn) that a proper sized magnet could be epoxied in to a points rotor if you can determine the correct location for placement. How good are you at fabbing?
 
I think that xsjohn reffered to the magnet as a rare earth magnet. Might be able to pull the one out of the bad rotor and put it on the points model. There may be a spot on the points model that coincides with the location for the magnet, not sure.
Pull this off and you'll be the 'go to guy' for the fab.
 
i tested the yellow wire on the saftey relay it read 6.6. not understanding what was posted about the left side of resister. What wire???

First, the rotor is reading too low to charge right.

But -


If you see 6v on the yellow wire, see in the schematic I posted where it connects to the diode (electrically speaking). Look for 6v coming from the yellow wire on the opposite side of that diode. If you don't see it, if the 6v isn't making it through, I can tell you what to replace the diode with and headlight problem solved.

The left side of the resistor as it's drawn in the schematic is what I meant. You'll have to translate that electrical point on the schematic to a physical point on the board. Sounds like you're making progress and have what it takes to do this easily.


Regarding the older rotor, I wouldn't try to put a magnet on it myself. If I wanted to use that one, I would instead ebay it and buy from ebay a good one with a magnet already. You could use a tci rotor on the points motor if you wanted in the future.
 
if my .650 is off then it in turn my timing will be off?

Yes. You can adjust the timing by slotting the top hole in the pickup though. I'd measure around the circumference from the timing mark using the tci one as a guide.

Also, on the same web site there's instructions for home rewinding, if you want to do that.
 
Last edited:
that is pretty cut and dry. can i was the earth magnet from the tci rotor on the point rotor,if i can get it out?

In one of the other threads it talks about using the earth magnet and setting it just in front of the petcocks , under the tank, to collect any metal in the tank.....not sure how much of an issue that is but I believe they got some magnets from Radio Shack. Just in case you can't get the one out of the TCI rotor.

I believe that if I were to do this with a new magnet, I'd keep the same polarity as the stock rotor magnet, easy to do IF it makes a difference.....?
 
I woudn't dig the magnet out of the TCI one that reads low, it can be rewound. I haven't done it myself but magnets are everywhere.
 
I think magneting the non-magnet rotor is a bad idea all 'round, but at least it would work, for a while.
 
I've tried to JB Weld a magnet to the points rotor. It wouldn't hold and locating it in the right place was a challenge. Using a TCI rotor to locate the magnet got it pretty close.

It not sticking made it impossible to test.

Radio Shack has 3/16" rare earth magnets. $1.99 a two pack. Item # 64-1895. They will JB Weld right on to the old magnet of the TCI rotor.

I think that as the rotor ages and the winding gets weak, the magnet gets weak too. 30+ years is a long time. The weak magnet can still trigger the ignition with the weak rotor.

When you rewind the rotor you bring the rotor up to full strength, this does nothing for the magnet. The strong magnetic feild of the rewound rotor overpowers the weak magnet. Then it can't trigger the ignition.

JB Welding a new magnet brings the magnet up to full strength and can trigger the TCI.
 
in a holding pattern here.With the ignition rotors.Leaning towards having the tci rotor rewond.I want a good running,reliable bike.Not one thats jerryrigde.New rotors are pricy.So I'm at a stand still on my project for now.I thik that my rotor is the cause of my head lamp problem.thanks again for every ones help.
 
Back
Top