ground wire smoking as im trying to start bike

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tonywilde

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So when I first got the bike as soon as I turn the key fuses will pop. couldn't find the shortage. I ordered an entire new wiring harness for the bike, put it on and that stoped that issue.


but, when I began to turn over the engine the ground wire connected to the battery is beginning to get hot and smoke.

any help here please!

Thanks
 
is the starter wire getting hot to? the thick 1 going out from silinoide, is your ground wire new? and is it conacting on fresh clean metal? you can try grounding the motor to batt. also maybe your starter is pullung to much current
 
ok, ill check that. I had a friend suggest that it might be the voltage regulator but he only work son cars....It couldn't be that could it?
 
Once my battery ground wire got hot, and then I noticed it was not bolted tight. Tightened it at the frame and at the battery (it was a little loose at both ends) and it didn't get hot anymore.
 
no it can't be the VR, that works when the bike is running and the batt would fry before the wire goes i would put a thicker guage wire in place
 
I'm sure this sounds dumb - this I my first bike. Would I have that problem if I just kick started it?
 
Check for a loose connection first thing. Next, check the battery voltage. One screwy thing about DC motors: as the voltage goees down the amp draw goes up. So if the battery is borderline then the motor will draw a bunch of amperage to try to do its job and the wires will get hot. I saw many a car starter burned up that way.

On old brush motor R/C cars, when the battery got low if you kept trying to run it the battery wires would get so hot the insulation would melt. That's why a lot of electronic speed controls included a low voltage shutdown circuit.
 
Clean, tight connections are important to any electrical system. On a system as marginal as the XS, they are critical.

Also, check the first bit of wire AFTER where the terminal is crimped on. Frequently, what looks good at a glance has corrosion under the insulation just after the crimp.
 
Thanks for the help I will try that on Saturday, bike is at my friends car shop.

Also the ground wire that is getting hot is ground to the battery...is that ok? I copied how the original harness was set up when I got the bike. I did notice the new harness only had one ground wire in the front an none in the back like the original did. So I copied how the other ground was set up. Once I did the lights wouldn't work until it was grounded to the battery. So that where I kept it. I also used a bigger wire and it was still happening.

I can post a picture if this is a little confusing.
 
Your battery ground is usually from the battery to the frame behind the battery. If the connections are clean and tight this makes the frame a good place to hook ground wires.
There are places on the bike that are rubber mounted. The battery box is one, the rear fender another. Most of the lighting is rubber mounted.
If you hook the harness ground to any of these rubber mounted places you won't get a ground. No ground, no power flow.
Get a good bare metal to bare metal connection between the ground wires and the places they mount. Sand paper works good for this.
Leo
 
yeah it seems the ground was the problem. Got her running good. I can only start her with the kick start, the starter sounds real weak then gives up, this isn't a big deal to me since I'm planning on keeping her kick only.

Does anyone know a good thread to remove the start to convert to kick only on here for a beginner with this bike?

thank for all the help!
 
There are plenty of threads on the starter removal. Up at the top of page put starter removal in the forum search box. Click search. Seek and yea shall find.
Leo
 
I'm having this same issue. Very weird for a battery ground wire to go to a floating rubber mounted battery cage and not directly to the bike frame.
 
ground strap.jpg
 
My battery ground on my 81 xs650 is just behind the battery on the battery cage itself not on the bike frame like in your photo. I wish I had a photo. This electrical system is the craziest I've seen on any bike.
 

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