Wiring my first bike

Snowman96

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I need help. I am currently rewiring this bike for the 5th time. The problem is I bought it in peices so had no idea where anything went. I got it running in 4 days surprisingly. But after issue after issue I'm finally asking for help. The regulator/rectifier has different color wires and after some research I've figured out it is a Ricks motorsport aftermarket regulator. I had almost no hope that this would run so I just cut the plugs on the stator and rectifier and researched which wire was what on both and wired accordingly. Honestly I'm not sure it's right., It charges runs great but no lights work and a couple times I got the tail light to work but the headlight has never worked. Brake light works. And when I'm 2 towns away it randomly dies and will not run Everytime I think it's wired right. I gave up on the electric start because I created alot of problems trying to fix it. Starts first kick every time so not really worried about that I just need to know where the stator wires go and regulator wires.
 

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What year model ?
Any wiring schematic ? Stock ?
Do you have a voltmeter if so please measure voltage across battery revving a bit
should be around 12 V - 14 V
Charging and lights are if stock different circuits
 
2 types of Charging systems on the XS650. A type, (80-83) and B type, (70-79). If the charging system has been changed to a PMA then the Reg/ Rect is different again.

1; need information about your bike. model/year/

2; What has been done to it......... upgrades/changes from factory components

3; A wiring diagram

Would help if you also tell us what you want to achieve with the bike as in the type of build
 
looks like an 83 but these bikes can swap parts from year to year and one never knows what a PO has done to it.
 
As @650Skull stated we will need more info for the reg/rec but as far as the headlight goes are sure the headlight is even any good? have you checked the fuses and grounds?
 
IMG_0053.PNG Re: lights.
On a stock harness the running rear lamp and instrument lights are powered by the blue wires.
The headlamp and stop lamp are powered by yellow. Headlamp is activated either by an on/off switch at the right handlebar control or by starting the engine. These depend on the year of make and model and also if a PO has been fooling around.

Throwing that schematic in for a simplified version.
 
Thank you everyone and it's an 83 so the A type charging system. I went through and fixed the grounds last night and it runs better than ever. The tail light works again but still no headlight. Diagrams haven't been much help because I bought the bike when a guy was halfway done changing the harness. It's a cheap one from eBay so some colors aren't matching. The fuse box is new and I regularly check them and I tested the headlight on a car battery before I put it on a couple weeks ago. This morning Something under the tank clicked and it came on for 2 seconds? So I'm lost again. But the diagram did help me get the wires on the regulator right and it runs ALOT better so thanks!
 
Thank you everyone and it's an 83 so the A type charging system. I went through and fixed the grounds last night and it runs better than ever. The tail light works again but still no headlight. Diagrams haven't been much help because I bought the bike when a guy was halfway done changing the harness. It's a cheap one from eBay so some colors aren't matching. The fuse box is new and I regularly check them and I tested the headlight on a car battery before I put it on a couple weeks ago. This morning Something under the tank clicked and it came on for 2 seconds? So I'm lost again. But the diagram did help me get the wires on the regulator right and it runs ALOT better so thanks!
 
There's a safety device on these called the reserve lighting device. It's located on the frame behind the battery under the seat. Headlight power passes through it on it's way to the hi-lo switch and headlight. Many of us remove it but if you do, you must put a jumper wire in the harness plug to restore headlight power flow. Here's details on how to do it .....

http://www.excess650.co.uk/tips & tricks.htm

If yours has been removed, the headlight won't work unless you install the mentioned jumper wire. If it hasn't been removed, maybe it's gone bad and that's why the headlight isn't working. Take it off and add the jumper wire to see.
 
I'll check that lighting device out. In my way home from work it died and continued to die backfiring a bunch so I think I'm getting too much fuel... Also issues with the sidestand switch I was reading about on here earlier. I really should have joined this and made this post when I got the bike because honestly alot of my issues now are things I messed up having no help and no knowledge about these bikes or motorcycles in general. Petcock valve is another thing I'm looking into today. Took it apart because it was clogged and I don't think I put it together correctly.
 
Have you checked to make sure you're charging? If you're not, the bike will run for a while until the battery gets low then start misfiring and dying, just like what happened to you. There's a simple charging check you can do. Test voltage at the battery terminals with the bike idling and then revved up to around 3K RPMs. At idle you should see around 12 volts but that should raise up to the low 14's when you rev it. If it doesn't change, you're not charging.

There's a headlight safety relay that is triggered by the alternator putting out a charge. No charging and the relay won't trip, headlight won't come on.
 
Yes, that sidestand switch can be troublesome. It's underneath the bike so is subjected to water and any road debris that gets kicked up. Add to that the fact that it's located just below a very oil leak-prone area so it often get coated with oil. Best thing you can do with that thing is eliminate it. You can simply remove it but you must also remove the little relay it connects to. No jumper wires are needed, just unplug and remove the two parts .....

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Headlight works! I really appreciate everyone's time on this. Alot of it I related to cars but alot of it I didn't have a clue. Checking charging system right after I put tank on. While I have it off though here's some of the parts that were new when I bought it. The PO said that it was not getting spark so he decided to completely rewire it because harness was hacked up. Im planning on the Mike's pma and some custom work when it gets too cold to ride but I love the bike and decided I want to try to rid
e through the summer
 
New coil, harness, some kind of d.i.y. ngk plug wires that I had some trouble keeping connected to the boot, ngk plugs pre gapped and lots of extra used relays and sylinoids and that reserve lighting device. New brake lever and master cylinder and new clutch lever. And the wires were different color on the coil and harness does it make a difference connecting them?
 
Brown wire on the coil should get the red or R/W power wire from the harness. The orange wire on the coil will get an orange or gray wire coming from one of the points sets. Stock set-up had the gray wire connected to the upper (right cylinder) set of points and the orange wire to the lower (left cylinder ) points set .....

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