1975 XS650 Electrical Problem

[Kelly McCurnin]

Hi guys,
Where to start....I removed my stock bars and replaced with new bars. In the process I only loosened the housings on both sides and slipped them off. I slipped the right and left housing on and secured everything, I hit the started button and now it clicks and the neutral light goes away and the bike is dead. it will come back though. I've taken the entire housing apart pulled the wires from the headlight checked all connections, put it back together and it still does the same thing. The started was slipping, so I also tightened the starter clip to help it not slip, but I can't try it because of my electrical problem.
Any ideas or help from you guys would be great. Oh, and before I change the bars I took it on a 86 mile ride with the Norton club at Hansen Da.
thank you
Kelly

 

[Jim]

Sounds like a dead battery. Maybe quit charging somewhere along the ride?
Could be you did nothin' wrong... just odd coincidence. First thing I'd do is check batt. voltage. Recharge if it's low and go from there.

 

[azman857]

Are the bars painted? They need connection to ground. Switch housings need to ground to the bars.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

You might have disturbed the connection at the kill switch in the right housing. Overhauling this switch, if you have not already, might help your situation.

 

[Kelly McCurnin]

Hi Jim,
You were right. A bad battery and it was just a coincidence that it gave up the day I swapped out my bars. Man, I have 20 hours into trying to figure the problem out and it was the battery. I have a new one on order.
Thanks again very much.
Kelly

 

[Jim]

A bad battery and it was just a coincidence that it gave up the day I swapped out my bars.

Glad to hear it was just the battery. But now you have to determine.... was it an old battery that just gave up, or do you have a charging issue? Put a meter on it when you get it running with the new battery and make sure it's charging.
Cheers.

 

[MaxPete]

As pointed out, be sure to check that the bars have a very solid ground connection. The horn, starter button and other things depend on the bars serving as the return circuit.

 

[Jim]

The horn, starter button and other things depend on the bars serving as the return circuit.

Actually, if you think about it... the bars are mounted with rubber vibration isolators. The bars themselves are not electrically grounded. I haven't looked at the wiring diagram, so I could be wrong, but it seems that any grounds needed at the switches would have to come through the wiring... not the bars themselves.

 

[Doug79]

Jimd54 I was thinking the same thing. If I'm wrong, I would like to know before I start fighting wiring.

 

[TimeMachine]

Even stranger to think about is how the 78e is wired utilizing the bars as a ground .
Though the left side switch is grounded by wire through the headlight bullet plugs, the right side switch has no ground wire. The handle bar is the ground, thus escalating the importance of the switches making a good contact on the clean chrome.

 

[Jim]

I just looked at the starter switch and at the diagram. The switch only has 1 wire going to it. So common sense says the other side of the switch is to ground. That would have to be through the handlebars... so, apparently the bars must be grounded somewhere. Maybe a ring terminal under the triple tree?

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - as I recall it, the LH bar clamp has an electrical connection to the frame and that grounds the bars.

Some months back a Forum member had powder-coated his bars and had all sorts of electrical difficulties as a result. He had to laboriously scrape the coating off under the bar clamps to restore functionality.

Pete