What are these for?

Chachiboy

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My newbie question #3.

My brake light doesn't work with either lever or foot brake. Took off the seat to investigate and came across several 'abandoned' wiring. Male, female and then 2 wires. Here are the pics. Any ideas on what these are for?

Any basic areas I should check as to why my brake lights aren't working? Taillight is hooked up. Followed wiring as far as I could. Is there anything by the lever or food brake I can check?
 

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The bigger 6 wire plug looks like the plug for the reserve lighting unit. With it removed, your headlight shouldn't work unless you jumper a couple of those wires in that plug together. Details are here .....

http://www.excess650.co.uk/tips & tricks.htm

That 2nd smaller 4 wire plug looks like the plug for the clutch safety switch relay, which a 1980 model shouldn't have, at least not a 1980 U.S. model anyway. Maybe the Canadian model got it. With the relay removed, the electric starter shouldn't work unless you jumper together the 2 red/white wires in the plug.

The 3 single wires I'll just be guessing at, but here goes - if the dark one with the double bullet connector is black, it's a ground connection, most likely for the rear turn signal grounds or the tail light. The blue, if it's just blue without any colored stripe on it, would be tail light power. The brown is power for something, maybe the rear brake light switch. Yes, there are 2 brake light switches, one for the rear down near the brake pedal and one for the front built into the front brake lever perch.

Honestly, that wiring looks pretty hacked. I wouldn't leave my driveway on that bike, lol.
 
Thanks. Yah I have some figuring out to do but your info helps.

The headlight works fine PO may have don't the jumper trick.

Yup mine has the clutch safety switch and yes my starter doesn't work.. What type of relay do I need to have plugged in there?

I will more closely look into those 3 wires. But if your description matches, then these are the reasons my brake lights don't work!
 
In an unmolested wiring harness for your year bike, the wires for the rear end function re: tail light, brake light and turn signals, junction in a rubber boot that is held down by a metal 'fork' off of the rear fender under the seat. It's there that the rear function wires are pigtailed into the wiring harness. No multi plugs, pigtails only for those functions.
 
I don't know what kind of relay you need but it may be a special one. You may need to source an original. But, you don't really even need one, just jumper the wires together like I told you and your starter should work .....

bJwJB3o.jpg


7kVPN4p.jpg


Then you can remove the switch up on the clutch lever too.
 
It's pretty obvious this one has been molested. I will take better pics and share what the tail light and signal light wiring looks like. At the moment, the signals work fine just not the brake. (oh.. And the electric starter too..)

This may sound crazy but I love having to figure this out. Kinda why I bought it. Want to get my hands dirty abd make it my own
 
I don't know what kind of relay you need but it may be a special one. You may need to source an original. But, you don't really even need one, just jumper the wires together like I told you and your starter should work .....

bJwJB3o.jpg


7kVPN4p.jpg


Then you can remove the switch up on the clutch lever too.
I will give this a try! Thanks
 
Your bike is not a 1980 model. The clutch switch indicates a later model. The 1980 model had a rear disk brake. Looks like a drum brake on your rear wheel. What is the vin number?
 
Chachiboy, if you like to figure things out, an old motorcycle will give you plenty of opportunities! To help figure out what wire goes where, a multimeter is your best friend. Get a good one; cheap meters aren't usually very accurate at low resistance readings, and it's more likely than not that you'll need to take those to inspect the alternator and the ignition (if not now then later).
 
Weird! Previous owner swore it was an '80 and it's registered as an 80

I will get VIN
Regarding this assumption, just remember this...when an 80 model was on the dealership floor on Dec 15th, 1980, but ended up selling in Feb 1981, what year do you think Lucy at the DMV labeled it, 80 or 81? If your answer isnt' developed with certainty, your assumption shouldnt be either. Point being, thru the generations motorcycles have always lived in the grey area of strict year recognition by government recording standards, nobody cares til something like thos occurs. Now you are dealing with a bunch of smart folks who do care. If you want, file the necessary paperwork to get ownership and registration docs corrected but, you may find out with the amount of time and expense necesaary to accomplish that task, why nobody takes on that chore thus we are where we are. All years are susceptible to this scenario, forward or backwards, once you consider 81 models were on the dealerahip floor during the later months of 1980.
 
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Thanks for the response, it make so much sense. Being so new to this group I am very impressed and thankful for the feedback I have gotten so far.
 
It looks like many, if not all, of your relays and safety add-ons have been removed. That's not a bad thing as it simplifies the wiring somewhat, but you can't just unplug and remove some of them. They require some wire jumping to restore the functions they control. Your clutch safety relay was originally mounted under the right side cover. Just below it is another relay, a double relay unit for the headlight and starter .....

qO7iCqh.jpg


If that double relay unit has been removed, it would also cut the power flow to the solenoid (which activates the starter). Here's a pic of the late model starter/headlight safety relay. Do you still have it installed? .....

1BcPYWZ.jpg
 
Hopefully that double relay is still there. I consider it very important and would not run without one. It stops the starter from engaging once the motor is running, a very worthwhile and I think required function. Just think of the mess you could make if you accidentally hit the starter button while tooling down the highway at 40 or 50 MPH, lol.
 
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