Yam_Tech314's official build thread

YamTech that fuse is your main fuse.
Most replace it with a spade type. But a short term fix could be as simple as this protective sheath.
 

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That's your original main fuse, but it should be in a double wide clear plastic holder along with a spare fuse. That rubber loop behind the heavy red battery cable is what it fit into. You need to insulate it. It will short out if the bare metal ends touch any metal. Boy, people are so stupid when it comes to mechanical stuff, lol. If that fuse was blown, the bike would be totally dead electrically.

9PRlOPt.jpg
 
If that fuse was blown, the bike would be totally d

Gee whiz this really concerns me now... Somehow I have power to the entire motorcycle aside from a few components that likely have other underlying issues, but I'm almost CERTAIN this fuse is melted... Take a look at this craziness...
PO jumped the fuse... AND I RODE IT THIS WAY. Which means there's a good chance some wiring is messed up big time and if i replace the fuse it's gonna blow again. Maybe not, but I definitely got lucky
 

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I also decided to look into why my neutral light didn't work. Took the neutral switch/button out of the top of the case, and it's pretty slotted from years of friction. Even more frustrating is the fact that it just doesn't work at all. Is this a known failure point?

I'm realizing that building a harness is gonna happen quicker than I want.
I also decided that keeping the bike original would be cool, but it's wiring is FUBAR. No sense in trying to fix what already got cut, spliced, tangled, etc.

Hi G_YamTech:

The neutral light is generally not troublesome in my experience - BUT - the little connector on top of the switch is a bit fiddly and so your's may just not be making good contact. To test the switch, do the following:
  • Put your meter on the lowest "ohms" setting (looks like a horseshoe) and put the bike in neutral (key ON - but not running);
  • Now touch one meter lead to the top of the switch and the other (doesn't matter which) to an engine mounting bolt or cylinder head stud.
  • If the meter goes to zero - the switch is good.
  • Now put the bike in gear the meter should read a high number - or "OL" or something like that.
On the matter of harnesses - others may differ, but I have found that MikesXS sells full wiring harnesses for the XS650 that are the correct length, have all of the correct wires with correct colour-coding and connectors installed for the princely sum of around $60 USD. I doubt you could make one anywhere near as good for anything like that low a price - and so I'd just buy one rather than faff around trying to make one. Here is a linky to the applicable page on their site:

https://www.mikesxs.net/electrical/wire-terminals-couplers-wire-harnesses.html

They also sell decent handlebar switches (that are identical to the originals) with their respective harness pigtails for around $57 USD per side - and they have worked great on my 1976 Standard. When I got her, the wiring and both switches were absolutely un-salvageable and so after about two weeks of messing around trying to fix EVERYTHING, I simply replaced the whole ball of wax for around $180 - and it has all functioned like a new bike for three years and more than 8,000 miles plus it looks like a factory job.

NOTE: the harnesses are year-specific and I don't recall the model year of your bike - but be sure to order the correct harness if you got that route.

Cheers,

Pete
 
I also have a 76. I have a newer front end, which makes everything in the headlight bucket an absolute clustered mess. but as far as a new harness goes, I will likely buy a new one. my only thing is that Id love to have modern fuses and whatnot. is there an option for an easy fuse box for the bikes with standard harnesses? I dont plan to change a ton of stuff, but I DO like the idea of having easier, more modern fuses.
 
Yes, just one. All the Standard models had just one fuse, a main fuse. Only the Special models got the fuse box with 4 fuses in it. Your fuse looks hard wired in at one end. Normally, the fuse holder is just a short pigtail that plugs into the line with bullet connectors on each end. It's a simple matter to install a modern blade type in-line fuse holder in it's place.

If you get a new '76 harness, you'll probably need to make a few changes to it where your modern front end stuff plugs in. I recall your ignition switch is from a later model Special. That plug won't match up most likely. If your handlebar switches are later ones, they won't match up either.
 
I also have a 76. I have a newer front end, which makes everything in the headlight bucket an absolute clustered mess. but as far as a new harness goes, I will likely buy a new one. my only thing is that Id love to have modern fuses and whatnot. is there an option for an easy fuse box for the bikes with standard harnesses? I dont plan to change a ton of stuff, but I DO like the idea of having easier, more modern fuses.

There is only one fuse on a 1976 XS650 (I think it is a 15 amp - but might be a 20A). It is dead easy to substitute a modern blade style fuse for the fragile glass-body one in the stock harness. Just clip the wires on the segment of wiring that contains the stock fuze and solder-in a pigtail with a blade fuze holder (available at Harbor Fright for around $13).
BSS-HHX_xl.jpg


Pete
 
my ignition switch isnt hooked in with a plug of any kind. its just three connector points. i didnt know it was supposed to be a plug. It would be much easier to identify the components of my harness if there were plugs where they should be. perhaps thats the main benefit of a new harness.
 
Well, it had a plug originally. Looks like another P.O. "fix", but from what I see of his wiring skills (un-insulated fuse holder), I wouldn't trust any of his wiring work. That bare fuse is probably why it blew out. It touched metal somewhere and that popped the fuse. "Hot" wiring it like he did is just plain stupid.

If you get a new harness, save the old one for parts. You can clip all sorts of wires, plugs, and crimps out of it to re-use when fixing or making electrical stuff. I have a box full of old harnesses I've saved just for this purpose.
 
Hey, thanks for that advice! I kinda figured the person that owned this bike before me just "threw it together" to see if the bike even had a fighting chance. I do not want to dissect the whole harness to pick and choose what I want, Im just going to invest in a good built one as suggested, and start over from scratch with all components. it will give me a much nicer starting point for getting this bad boy on the road. not to mention, it will give me a good excuse to pull the motor, and get the head gasket changed out, and perhaps just re build the top end for my own comfort... I know im getting ahead of myself, but still, Ill be doing that eventually. so why not do it when I get a new harness?
 
Can anyone PLEASE tell me... Is it normal to have a harness with THIS many two into ones? There's one that's connecting two main harness pieces, making it impossible to remove from the headlamp bucket... What am I missing here...

There's also a few that seem to connect both harness pieces to the gauges but I'm not too concerned with that, because they're both going into the same hole (haha) I've managed to sort out the throttle and Killswitch/ as well as the signal switches and horn. I also managed to isolate both front signals. I'm sure they're tied together in the harness with the rears but I'd say it's a safe bet that the bucket was designed originally for the harness pieces to be removed individually without cutting wires. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit... I now got the gauges out and gutted the headlight bucket becaise starting from scratch is the ONLY way I'll be able to make sense out of any of this mess.
 

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The factory never used red or blue crimp connectors LOL.
My suspisions have been confirmed... I guess from now on I'll just refer to PO as "The Mangler"

I could write a horror novel about this shite. It's just downright bad.

When I bought the bike the wiring intimidated me to no avail. Now I just see a bike that needs a new harness... It's funny that it even ran. I. Rode. This. Bike... God help us all lol
 
I also decided to look into why my neutral light didn't work. Took the neutral switch/button out of the top of the case, and it's pretty slotted from years of friction. Even more frustrating is the fact that it just doesn't work at all. Is this a known failure point?

It could be internally corroded, like mine was. There's a way to refreshen the switch internal contacts by twisting the plunger back-and-forth...

http://www.xs650.com/threads/neutral-light-switch.36282/

And, post #120 shows some more.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/digital-gear-indicator-for-the-xs650.47952/page-6#post-495143
 
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I could write a horror novel about this shite. It's just downright bad.

When I bought the bike the wiring intimidated me to no avail. Now I just see a bike that needs a new harness... It's funny that it even ran.

Yup - that’s where I was with my ‘76. The wiring was SO bad that after messing with for a couple of weeks, I concluded that it would be easier to just scrap it and start fresh. When I tried to clean up the handlebar switches the little plastic parts simply disintegrated before my eyes - so I replaced those too.

Pete
 
It could be internally corroded, like mine was. There's a way to refreshen the switch internal contacts by twisting the plunger back-and-forth...

http://www.xs650.com/threads/neutral-light-switch.36282/

And, post #120 shows some more.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/digital-gear-indicator-for-the-xs650.47952/page-6#post-495143

as it turns out... the bulb for the neutral switch was burned out.

I found this out after tearing the whole front end apart, and removing the gauges. it was necessary, they need work/replaced anyways, but I thought it was funny that I forgot to check the simplest part first. LOL
 
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