Idiot with an electrical question

[maxpower3]

Hi all,

I'm trying to wire up my xs650. It's a 1982 xs with TCI ignition, and I'm only running a headlight and brake light. Kick start too. So it should be really basic wiring.

So I've hooked up the charging harness and the ignition harness. I haven't yet even messed with splicing in the headlight and brake light. As it stands, I've only got two leftover wires (red on the ignition harness, brown on the charging harness) not connected to something, and the diagram I've got says that these two wires should both be connected to the switched(+) side of the ignition switch. Well, I don't have one yet, so i just hooked them together for the time being.

My question -- shouldn't this very, very rudimentary setup be enough to start the bike? Because I'm getting no indication that it is. Any help?

 

[jayel]

yes but they connect THRU the key switch, red is battery + brown is the feed to everything else, kill switch ok? clutch and kickstand switches ok?

 

[maxpower3]

Hey jayel, thanks for the response. Not sure I understand you though. i don't yet have a kill switch rigged up...and not sure about clutch/kickstand switches. My ignorance is shining through.

 

[crazyazsredneck]

if u haven got a kill switch yet just get cheap universal at parts house, i got the same set up. or just hook them straight to battery and see if it runs

 

[jayel]

Hey jayel, thanks for the response. Not sure I understand you though. i don't yet have a kill switch rigged up...and not sure about clutch/kickstand switches. My ignorance is shining through.

red in brown out of the keyed switch

 

[maxpower3]

if u haven got a kill switch yet just get cheap universal at parts house, i got the same set up. or just hook them straight to battery and see if it runs

Ok, so you're saying to put the red and brown loose wires on the battery terminal? Which one (+ or -)?

Thanks for the help.

 

[xjwmx]

Twist the brown one and the red one together and connect the red one to 12v. Your key switch will eventually go in place of the twist.

 

[maxpower3]

Shit guys, I swear I'm not this retarded in real life....what's a 12v? are we talking about the battery?

 

[xjwmx]

It could go directly to the battery or it could go someplace else where there's 12v. I didn't want to say exactly connect it to the battery, but you can if you choose.

 

[maxpower3]

Ok cool....So do normal key switches have a 12v built into them? And if I was to connect the loose wires to the battery (just to test it), which terminal?

 

[xjwmx]

Did you ever jump start a car?

 

[maxpower3]

Yeah. Sorry, like i said, I'm a retard.

 

[xjwmx]

red to red, black to black, ashes to ashes.

 

[maxpower3]

Repost deleted.

 

[jayel]

the red is the wire to the + side of the battery (12v=12 volts) the brown SHOULD be connected to what you are trying to supply 12v to, coil, lights, horn ect.

 

[Nooovie]

Maybe this will help to clarify some stuff. The battery provides a current of 12V. Sometimes people refer to the positive (+) terminal as 12V or hot or a positive terminal. And to the (-) on the battery as the negative terminal or ground.

If you were to ever join those two terminals together without something that is meant to consume and utilize the current is some way, like connecting them with a wire, you get lots of sparks and smoke. So I would suggest that you run at least one fuse (a 20A should be the max) on the (+) terminal and then hook the wires up to that. The (-) terminal should be connected to your frame.

Go from there. If the bike is dead... it means the circuit is incomplete somewhere.

 

[crazyazsredneck]

yea noovie explaned it right . just remember ur bike is a 12v system. iam on my second chopper wiring .didnt know anything bout wiring ,just ask questions and read any directions and u will get it done.

 

[XSLeo]

Make sure it's wired like in Jayels diagram. If you just want to hear it run just hook up the section "Electronic Ignition". Where it says Kill switch is where the 12 volts from the battery hook up. You will have to use the kick start, but that will make it run. I hok up a bike that way to test if it runs.
If you want you can google "Basic 12 volt Electricity" Should lead you to a description of how basic 12 volt circuits work.