delete this

fredintoon said:
Hi ron,
battery has 2 fat black wires, a short one from negative that grounds on the frame and a longer one from positive that goes to one of the large terminals on the starter solenoid.
The starter solenoid's other large terminal has a fat black wire that goes to the E-starter. (The E-starter self-grounds to the engine)
But back to the first large starter solenoid teminal.
That's where the red wire that powers the bike starts from. It runs to the 20Amp fuse in the 4-way fuseblock that lives atop of the battery cover.
If your stock fusebox is missing that's a good thing because it uses glass tube fuses with clips that were weak when new and pathetic these days.
A modern 4-way spade or mini-spade fusebox is a definite upgrade.
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thank you.great information.these answers are jogging my memory.I knew these things, but could not remember them till you all said them again.I do believe the fuse box is missing.gotta go.Thanks again guys.
 
Not sure about others here but before I got to worrying about any wiring I would be making sure the engine will turn over with the kick starter. If it is in gear and is missing the shift lever if you are careful a pair of vice grips will work. Just don't grab so tight you damage the splines or push on them hard enough to cause them to slip and damage the splines.

I've rode my Sportster close to 50 miles using a small pair of vice grips to shift with, just takes a little common sense. Rock the rear wheel back and forth a little while trying to shift to take pressure of the gears and dogs. If all else fails trying to find neutral remove the rear chain and then you should be able to kick it over even if it is in gear.

Once you know it is not rusted up solid then we can worry about where the cables and wires go to the solenoid and how to fix or replace the fuse box. There is lots of information on the fuse box on this forum, some showing how I rebuilt mine this spring for not much more than pocket change.
 
azman857 said:
Could you shoot us a couple more shots of the oil cooler connections, please? as for cleaning it I'd disconnect the oil cooler and unmount it and soak some cleaner in it. Flush some cleaner thru it sometimes between soakings. Do this untill it flows clean. Replace the rubber lines. I believe the round thing on the lines is a thermostat. I'd clean it too much the same way. Slosh some kerosean in the case and let it soak a bit . Slosh some more. Take the spark plugs out and either use the electric foot or the kickstarter to clean the passageways. Some "Seafoam" in the case too will help.
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Electric foot= starter motor, LOL . Seafoam is a cleaner additive. The can says it can be used in gas and diesiel engines, fuel and oil systems. Grab a can and read for yourself. Maybe I read it wrong. Too expensive to use as a cleaner by itself. Kero is way cheaper and good stuff. Yeah, if the Rt (clutch)cover and the drain plugs in and the sump cover on, the engine, it is sealed enough to runs some kero around to flush/soak the old oil off.
The Solinoid is the componate that has 2 heavy gauge wires and 2 lighter wires on it. Looks like some PO taped off the battery side (Lt one) and made it a kick only starting. Maybe to improve his "Man Points" rateing with the boys. Unwrap it to see if it still has the battery connetor on it.
 
kshansen said:
Not sure about others here but before I got to worrying about any wiring I would be making sure the engine will turn over with the kick starter. If it is in gear and is missing the shift lever if you are careful a pair of vice grips will work. Just don't grab so tight you damage the splines or push on them hard enough to cause them to slip and damage the splines.

I've rode my Sportster close to 50 miles using a small pair of vice grips to shift with, just takes a little common sense. Rock the rear wheel back and forth a little while trying to shift to take pressure of the gears and dogs. If all else fails trying to find neutral remove the rear chain and then you should be able to kick it over even if it is in gear.

Once you know it is not rusted up solid then we can worry about where the cables and wires go to the solenoid and how to fix or replace the fuse box. There is lots of information on the fuse box on this forum, some showing how I rebuilt mine this spring for not much more than pocket change.
Click to expand...
thanks friend,but must have missed one of my posts.The bike was in gear.I got it into neutral and the motor turns over easily with a socket.
 
azman857 said:
Electric foot= starter motor, LOL . Seafoam is a cleaner additive. The can says it can be used in gas and diesiel engines, fuel and oil systems. Grab a can and read for yourself. Maybe I read it wrong. Too expensive to use as a cleaner by itself. Kero is way cheaper and good stuff. Yeah, if the Rt (clutch)cover and the drain plugs in and the sump cover on, the engine, it is sealed enough to runs some kero around to flush/soak the old oil off.
The Solinoid is the componate that has 2 heavy gauge wires and 2 lighter wires on it. Looks like some PO taped off the battery side (Lt one) and made it a kick only starting. Maybe to improve his "Man Points" rateing with the boys. Unwrap it to see if it still has the battery connetor on it.
Click to expand...
you are one smart guy.All of you guys are.I am getting cables and a battery tomorrow.But i work tomorrow night so it will have to wait till saturday to do more.What is a good way to clean 30 years of dirt off that harness and connectors.i have found a few problems in the past.The advice is always 'clean all the connections real good,put dialeletric grease,inspect for breaks,etc'.But the reality is trying to pry the connectors aprt many of them are brittle and break.I even ordered replacement connector parts from vintage connections one time.Also buying a harness off ebay gives you another 40 year old harness.I just basically want to get all the dirt off without getting a bunch of water in the wrong places.
 
An electronic place would have contact cleaners. There are vendors who are on this forum that sell brand new harnesses. His name escapes me now. Check the classifieds. As for the plastic connecters, you can get molded plastic connecters at the electronic store. They just won't look like the factory ones
 
Take the seat and tank off, make sure the engine and carbs are sealed up. LA's totally awesome cleaner (dollar stores) or Dawn dish soap and buckets of hot water. A big soft bristle brush, clean and saturate everything, harness connectors and all. You won't hurt a thing with the battery disconnected. This will give you the best starting point. Nothing wrong with spraying the connectors with Totally Awesome and rinsing and then blowing them out with air. Go drastic first and then do the contact cleaner thing.

Scott
 
ron bayless said:
thanks friend,but must have missed one of my posts.The bike was in gear.I got it into neutral and the motor turns over easily with a socket.
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Okay, must have missed it. So as others have said a good general cleaning of the bike would be the next best thing to do, makes other things easier down the road.
 
I got a battery.Connected the positive cable from pos on battery to one post on solenoid.the other post already had a cable down to the starter.Then I grounded the ground cable from the neg post to a bolt and nut through the frame.I turned the key, the brake light came on.So that means something is connected right.Like the battery at least.I hit the starter button.nada.I put pliers across the solenoid posts.nada.The ignition switch is really messed up.3 times i turned it to the right no problem.Then it wouldnt turn past midpoint and i couldnt make it turn enough to light up the tailight.I will have to take the switch out and spray stuff inside to maybe get it turning again.I tried starting it with the kickstarter.It did turn over ok but no response.That doesnt surprise me.One person pointed out since the battery wasnt there, the cables werent there ,maybe the former rider kicked it all the time.Who knows.I do not understand how lights etc can work without a battery.Unless the motor running is generating electricity somehow.There is no fuse box anywhere.i heard it was supposed to be on top of the battery.But there was no battery.I expected to find a box with glass fuses somewhere.There are bunch of wires in the battery area all with bullet connections.I wonder if the PO did that and ran without fuses.
1.I suspect the starter was bad and the person kicked it to run.Dont know how hard that is.I could try that if everything was connected.
2.I know even if the ign switch isnt on the solenoid should make the motor turn over unless the starter is bad.Or the solenoid.I will have to get the switch functional to see if current is getting through to the solenoid right?I dont want to start buying things guessing what the problem is.I just wanted the starter button to work.he might have disconnected that too.Should a light in the dash come on if the switch is on, or a neutral light? i am thinking yes.The plastic window of the place where idiot lights are is really scratched up.probably it has a removeable cover.I could see bulbs light up then.The bulbs might be missing too.I hate paying $80 for a battery and havent solved anything. At least I know the motor turns.I would guess both a starter and ign switch are not cheap.The solenoids I have found for about $20.But those might be chinese.Where do you all get parts?Thanks for the answers.
 
Time to break out a schematic for the wiring.
It's a challenge but with the schematics that have the wires colored it's not too bad.....unless you're color blind....

I'll add........., in the 'tech' tab at the top of the page, click on it and scroll down to 'electrical'. Click on the first thread 'some wiring diagrams'. Scroll down to the 7th posting to see a bunch of schematics. In the first column, third one down is a schematic for the '79.
 
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wiring is my nemesis.give me cams heads pistons rings etc and I am good.I have destroyed 2 bikes messing with the wiring.Wiring is simple is the answer i get.For someone who works with wiring of course it is.i am not that person.I hope to get a friend who is a whiz at that stuff to help me.The wiring doesnt look like its been touched.there is a blue wire dangling on the left side and a red one dangling on the right side.other than that it looks intact. Seriously, the diagrams could be rainbows and they still make no sense to me.let me run this by you for the ignition circuit.start with a red wire from the positive post of the battery.run it to the positive side of the regulator.from there to the positive side of the ignition switch.from there to the positive side of the run kill switch,from there to the positive side of the solenoid.then do the same on the negative side with a black wire.At some point between the battery and the regulator is a main fuse that needs to be in the circuit.My bike has no fuse box,no fuses.As in gone,removed,lost or whatever.Therefore i am a total loss.If i knew how to wire in a spade connector fuse box i would.But what connects to what? See my predictament?
 
There was a fuse box on top of the battery originally. Somebody yanked it. I see in one of your pics, they added a couple in-line glass fuse holders instead, but it only looks like 2. There were 4 fuses originally. Looks like they eliminated 2 and just connected their wires together directly. Here's how an original fuse box was connected up .....

SpecialFuses2.jpg


You need to start looking at some wiring diagrams. Above is an excerpt from one. Look at several because some show things better than others. Not all will have the fuse box labeled as well as the above pic.

You have 2 heavy wires running to the starter solenoid but there are 2 smaller wires as well. Those are the ones that trigger it when you push the starter button. The blue/white wire runs up to the button. It provides the ground for the circuit when you press the button. But, for it to make that ground, the left switch assembly will need to be in place. It provides the ground through the handlebars over to the right switch and the starter button. Also, it could be as simple as a bad, dirty, rusty connection of the big cable down on the starter motor. That's all that was wrong with mine. Starter didn't work when I got it, nothing, nada when you pushed the button. I cleaned that connection up and it's worked fine ever since.
 
ron bayless said:
someone posted here somewhere you can buy a new harness.Know where that is?
Click to expand...
One source is:
https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs65...0-50-oem-2m0-82590-50-00-2m0-82590-50-00.html

Or maybe this one:
https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs650-wire-harness-78e-oem-2f0-82590-51-oem-2f0-82590-51-00.html

But be sure you can be positive what your bike is first to see if either one is right for your bike.

I can not vouch for the quality of these as I have never installed one or even seen on in person, hopefully someone here can offer better information
 
5twins said:
There was a fuse box on top of the battery originally. Somebody yanked it. I see in one of your pics, they added a couple in-line glass fuse holders instead, but it only looks like 2. There were 4 fuses originally. Looks like they eliminated 2 and just connected their wires together directly. Here's how an original fuse box was connected up .....

SpecialFuses2.jpg


You need to start looking at some wiring diagrams. Above is an excerpt from one. Look at several because some show things better than others. Not all will have the fuse box labeled as well as the above pic.

You have 2 heavy wires running to the starter solenoid but there are 2 smaller wires as well. Those are the ones that trigger it when you push the starter button. The blue/white wire runs up to the button. It provides the ground for the circuit when you press the button. But, for it to make that ground, the left switch assembly will need to be in place. It provides the ground through the handlebars over to the right switch and the starter button. Also, it could be as simple as a bad, dirty, rusty connection of the big cable down on the starter motor. That's all that was wrong with mine. Starter didn't work when I got it, nothing, nada when you pushed the button. I cleaned that connection up and it's worked fine ever since.
Click to expand...
AHA!!! I looked at the bike.the entire left side bar assembly is dangling down off the handlebars.Thats one problem.Second,the right side assembly the kill switch is sheared off.No way to tell if its on or off.I ordered one of those just now.Even if that isnt the problem the bike will need one.Thanks for your help.That picture is greek to me.But its big and readable.Thanks for your help.
 
OK - so no hate please but as I have said before (ad nauseum), when I got my '76, the wiring was totally f@cked as were the handlebar switches and so I bought the following from MikesXS Canadian affiliate XS650 Direct:
- a new wiring harness;
- a new LH switch assembly (the one with the turn signal and the high-bean switch);
- a new RH switch ass'y (the one with the kill switch, light switch and starter button);
It took a little work - but in the end, it all fits, it all works and it has been durable for a year and 2300 miles (about 3300 km) plus it looks totally OEM and nice and clean.

It took some adaptation of the 1977 signal switch to the 1976 wiring harness - which I promise to document properly tomorrow or Sunday - but it all DOES work and it works well.

Pete
 
i bought the right assembly tonight,probably will buy the left.he has harnesses for $60.Cant beat that.Its always the rats nest inside the headlight bucket that is terrible to sort out.I very much value your input.
 
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