Newbie to the xs world and bikes

Here is a better pic of the neck stamp
 

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The right handlebar switch on later models than yours had a dedicated ground wire run to it. That's what that extra black wire in your new switch plug is. Your model got it's ground for the right switch through the handlebars, from the left control assembly. It has a ground wire run into the headlight. But I see you have painted handlebars. That may block the ground signal from going through the bars. You may need to clean a little paint off the bars where both switches clamp on. There is a metal clip in the lower half of each control assembly. Besides holding the wiring in, it acts as a transfer point for getting the ground signal into or out of the handlebars .....

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So I sanded down the paint on the switch to make the ground clip ground and nothing happened when I hit the start button. Brand new controls and everything is plugged into the harness in the headlight bucket. (Other than the tach/speedo and turn signals) again I raced the wires to the coil starter solenoid and nothing is frayed or cut. Is there a safety relay or something that I should check?
 
So I sanded down the paint on the switch to make the ground clip ground and nothing happened when I hit the start button. Brand new controls and everything is plugged into the harness in the headlight bucket. (Other than the tach/speedo and turn signals) again I raced the wires to the coil starter solenoid and nothing is frayed or cut. Is there a safety relay or something that I should check?
There needs to be a ground from handlebars to the harness. Some years it was in the harness other years it was a separate black wire
 
The starter issue may not be related to the handlebar ground and start button but might be farther down the line in the starter circuit. In 1981, Yamaha added a clutch switch and relay to prevent the starter from working unless the bike was in neutral or if in gear, the clutch lever was pulled in .....

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If you remove the switch from the handlebar lever, the starter will only work in neutral. If you remove the relay, the starter won't work at all unless you add a jumper wire to the relay plug .....

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Power to the solenoid on the R/W wire runs through the relay. Remove it and you break that path and must restore it with the jumper wire.
 
The starter issue may not be related to the handlebar ground and start button but might be farther down the line in the starter circuit. In 1981, Yamaha added a clutch switch and relay to prevent the starter from working unless the bike was in neutral or if in gear, the clutch lever was pulled in .....

qO7iCqh.jpg


If you remove the switch from the handlebar lever, the starter will only work in neutral. If you remove the relay, the starter won't work at all unless you add a jumper wire to the relay plug .....

bJwJB3o.jpg


Power to the solenoid on the R/W wire runs through the relay. Remove it and you break that path and must restore it with the jumper wire.
Good info I will check this out this weekend. Thank you
 
Yes, if your relay has been removed, jumping the two R/W wires together in the harness plug should get the starter working again. If it's still there, it may have gone bad. I feel one of the best things you can do is remove it and the switch up on the clutch lever, jumper the R/W wires in the harness plug together, and be done with it. These are, after all, 40 year old parts, basically just problems waiting to happen.
 
So I got the bike to start after 9 years of sitting. But the electric start didn’t work. I got it to start by jumping the starter solenoid. Sounds healthy only lasted for a few seconds but it runs. Just have to figure out the start button. I ran a separate ground as suggested bu that didn’t work. But I am happy that it actually fired up.
 
Get yourself a manual. I've got a greasy, dog eared Haynes, some get Clymers and some are available on line.
Run the circuit from the key switch to the fuses, kill switch, solenoid, starter button, starter etc. A voltmeter and a light probe come in handy chasing power. Persistence pays.
 
Ok so I got my meter out and tested the coil. I read that it should have 12v With the key and right hand switch in the on position. I’m getting 11.6v to the coil. Will that .4v be enough for it not to work? On the new switch connector it had four leads and the bike harness only had three. The one that was missing was black so I assumed it was ground so I added a ground wire but still nothing from the switch. Attached is a picture. It still fires at the starter solenoid.
 

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Is there any other relays or fuses I should check? I already put a new fuse box in and replaced all four of the 20amp uses with new ones
 
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