Because Yamaha didn't put one there. On an OEM switch there is no ground wire... it's grounded as I described above, through the handlebars and out the black wire on the left switch housing.
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Starter
- Thread starter notmoving
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notmoving
XS650 Addict
I grounded it and it worked and I shouted for joy.
BUT...I jury-rigged it. How should I ground it proper?
BUT...I jury-rigged it. How should I ground it proper?
notmoving
XS650 Addict
notmoving
XS650 Addict
Ok, I see this now. Thank you. I'm more of a visual guy. You provided me a photo of the larger tab. Now would you show the silver tab, how the whole thing should look? And I don't know what the headlight bucket is.
"Thr starter button... Both switch housings need bare metal on the bars to work.
Starter button ground path is... right switch housing to handlebars.... across the bars... into the left switch housing..... out the black wire in the left housing and into the headlight bucket where it connects to the black ground wire in the harness."
P.S
The headlamp and tail light are still dark, blinkers do not blink.
"Thr starter button... Both switch housings need bare metal on the bars to work.
Starter button ground path is... right switch housing to handlebars.... across the bars... into the left switch housing..... out the black wire in the left housing and into the headlight bucket where it connects to the black ground wire in the harness."
P.S
The headlamp and tail light are still dark, blinkers do not blink.
What silver tab?? The tab I pointed to with the red arrow is the one used for the ground. Just make sure it's slightly proud of the housing so it touches the bars.
Headlight bucket= the housing the headlight is installed in. It's where the spaghetti monster lives.
notmoving
XS650 Addict
This silver tab, circled in blue.
When I removed the housing, I removed both tabs. The gold, larger tab on the side with the button. The silver tab on the side with the kill switch. Careless me did not take a photo of it when I took it apart.
As you can see, I connected the ground wire to that large, golden tab.
When I removed the housing, I removed both tabs. The gold, larger tab on the side with the button. The silver tab on the side with the kill switch. Careless me did not take a photo of it when I took it apart.
As you can see, I connected the ground wire to that large, golden tab.
Attachments
notmoving
XS650 Addict
Ah, I see. Right now the housing isn't on the bar. So it's not grounded! Right?
Does that silver tab serve a purpose? Or does it just help to tuck the wires out of the way?
Does that silver tab serve a purpose? Or does it just help to tuck the wires out of the way?
notmoving
XS650 Addict
Nope, that didn't work. I just removed my makeshift ground and held that tab against the handlebar (which is not painted there) when I pressed the start button. I got a tiny click each time from the engine area. No noise at all when I removed the tab from the handlebar.
The left housing also needs the same treatment. Did you remove some paint from the left side?
Just going from memory....
Rotate that tab 90° (red lines) and run the wires under it (yellow arrow). It's there to hold those wires in correct position.
notmoving
XS650 Addict
I'll try this when I'm back home. May I take a moment to ask a humiliating question? Why won't the switch work without grounding? Like I said, I've done electrical work in my home. Lots of it. The house was built in 1932 and I had to deal with a ton of knob-and-tube. There were no grounds and everything worked.
So... What basic principle of how electricy works am I missing here?
So... What basic principle of how electricy works am I missing here?
Path to ground. Without a good contact from the switch things won’t work. You said it clicked when you pressed the switch against your handlebars so perhaps your handlebars are not grounded properly. Try running a separate ground wire to the handlebar/clamps and see if anything improves.
Houses use A/C... bikes use D/C. Apples to oranges. Your house wiring had a hot and a neutral... right? You just added grounds?
In house A/C, the neutral "is" the ground for all practical purposes. Adding the ground wire is just for added safety.
In your bike, the ground is the only return path... no neutral, just the ground wires.
Domestic wiring has a live and neutral return. The earth or ground wire is a safety in case of a short somewhere.
Bikes operate with a live through a function switch and return is ground or earth often via the frame components.
notmoving
XS650 Addict
notmoving
XS650 Addict
Awesome! Thanks! Like I said, basic and yet was unknown to me.
notmoving
XS650 Addict
Thanks.
I did. I ran a ground wire from the the plug behind the headlamp - where there was no ground wire on the right plug. I shoved a bare 15 gauge into the back of the right plug so it went all the way through to the ground connector on the left plug. And tied off that 15 gauge to the headlamp bracket. Just to see if that would work. And it did!
But, like I said: the head and tail lights still don't work... and the blinkers don't blink.
notmoving
XS650 Addict
Great idea!
notmoving
XS650 Addict
I have those tools but there were no free/unused connectors in the headlight casing. None that I noticed. I wrote elsewhere that I shoved a 15-gauge into the connector and tied it off to the headlamp bracket? Will that work as a permanent solution?
notmoving
XS650 Addict
Excellent. Thanks!!
