Not to sound Dumb but how do you tell right from left?

[kshansen]

Okay, I do know my right from left, Mom marked the back of my hands with R &L years ago! Now that I think back on it she could have just marked one but she didn't want to take any chances!

My real question is in relation to wiring of my 1978 XS650. The signals, the coils and contact breakers are my current points of interest.

Signals have Dark Green and Chocolate(Brown) wires.

Coils and breakers have Orange and Grey wires.

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the Right Signals get the Dark Green wires and the Right Coil and Contacts get the Orange wires.

 

[Jim]

OK... if you assume left and right from the diagram (they don't specify), Dark Green is the left....

Again... if you assume left and right.... Orange goes from the left points... to the right coil. Sounds weird so I'm not sure about that one...

 

[kshansen]

I've been trying to understand the drawing of the signal switch in my diagram.

Looking at that I was thinking the Dark Green was being shown going to the "R" side and the Chocolate(brown) going to the "L" side of the switch.

 

[Beags64]

Same here, looks like Dg-Br/W = Right, Ch-Br/w = Left

 

[Jim]

Looks like you're right. Here's the Yamaha version of the switch...

 

[650Skull]

Some of those diagrams the colors don't quite match the intended color, and the wires don't go to their intended space, just to the switch in general

That Blue'ish wire is DG.

That is off the 78SE diagram ????

 

[5twins]

There are mistakes in the wiring diagrams and the pic in post #3 is an example of that. The "Ch" and "Br/W" labels are switched. It should be as shown in post #4.

The points plate has an "R" stamped in it near the top set of points, indicating they are for the right cylinder, and an "L" stamped by the lower set, indicating it is for the left cylinder. A gray wire runs from the top (right cylinder) set to the right coil. An orange wire runs from the bottom (left cylinder) set to the left coil .....

The coils both have a brown and an orange wire coming out of them. The brown wire connects to the red or red/white coming out of the harness and is switched power from the key (through the kill switch). The orange wire connects to the orange or gray from one of the points sets, depending on which cylinder the coil is for.

 

[kshansen]

Well I think I have the right and left figured out but will hold off on it a bit till I put electricity to it.

I was having a big problem trying to figure out the wiring at the coils and condensers. It just was not making any sense. I then took a look athe wiring diagram in the service manual instead of the nice colored on I got off this site. While they both agreed what wires went where I notice that the one from the "mother ship" had a little detail that let you know if the end of a wire had a male or female end on it.

Well as it turned out the wires in the "new" MarksXS I had had female ends for all four wires that would hook to the coils. Where the coils have one male and one female end on those wires! After doing a "sex change" operation the two wires that were wrong everything fell in to place.

Now I'm just left with all those wires in the headlight! Kind of like trying to stuff one of those joke cans with the spring loaded "worms" back together using one hand! I have a feeling I will be rearranging them a few time before I get the head light to fit back on there!