How do I delete the starter relay and safety relay???

[chrisbuckart]

I've recently removed the electric starter on my 78 XS650SE. I've also unplugged the starter relay, and the safety relay. I want to delete both of these permanetly. My wiring harness is mostly stock and I'm not sure how to proceed with the wires in my harness that were connected to my starter relay and safety relay. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[retiredgentleman]

I've recently removed the electric starter on my 78 XS650SE. I've also unplugged the starter relay, and the safety relay. I want to delete both of these permanetly. My wiring harness is mostly stock and I'm not sure how to proceed with the wires in my harness that were connected to my starter relay and safety relay. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

No need to do anything. Your headlight should be working using the manual
"Lights" switch.

 

[chrisbuckart]

Thanks retiredgentleman. I appreciate the response. I thought maybe some of the wires would need to be spliced together. Wasn't sure if this also would interrupt the kill switch. I've reviewed the wiring diagram in my service manual, but I'm a bit of a beginner and don't fully understand what I'm looking at. I'll just tape off all of the loose wires and see how she runs.

 

[CoconutPete]

Yea, pretty easy for you if your starter is gone and your bike is a 78. On my 79 they started making the headlight come on with the relay and removed the "on/off" switch from the bars, leaving only the "hi/lo" one.

 

[chrisbuckart]

Great! Thanks guys, that's easy enough.

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[CoconutPete]

Random piece of advice though. Make sure you want it to be kick-only. I set mine up like that but left some "guts" in place in case I decided to switch back and after a few weeks I decided I wanted the starter/battery again.

 

[grizld1]

Be aware that there some variations, folks. On some F model (79) Specials (the one I owned, for example) the on/off switch was present, but nonfunctional; the headlight was controlled only by the Safety Relay. Some (if not all) US versions of the E (78) model had that setup. You may need to do some rewiring, Chris. The multimeter is your friend.

 

[chrisbuckart]

Once my Sparx cap arrives I'm hoping to test everything out. I've not fired the bike up since installing my HHB PMA. Looking forward to getting her back on the road.

 

[5twins]

When my '78 Standard was stock, the headlight on-off switch on the handlebars would only function with the key on, motor not running. As soon as you started the bike, the safety relay would automatically turn the headlight on no matter what position the handlebar switch was in. Basically, it bypassed the switch and made it useless or non-functional. The "fix" was simple. I unplugged the blue/black wire coming out of the relay. Now my headlight is no longer "auto-on" and the handlebar switch works all the time.

 

[chrisbuckart]

5twins, I believe my set up is the exact same as yours was.

 

[5twins]

I'm pretty sure that was the stock configuration in '78. The on-off switch on the handlebar disappeared in '79 but according to Griz, it looks like maybe some early '79s still had it. I'm thinking they were a carry-over, using up the stock of available parts before going to the new twist grip assembly without a headlight on-off switch. Personally, I like having the switch and having the ability to turn the headlight off if I want to.