Quick question about the headlight power.

[dustbeard]

Hey! I've nearly completed my new mini-apes install and decided to route my cables through the bars to clean it up. Everything is working now that it's soldered and plugged back in EXCEPT I have no headlight. However, I'm not able to run the bike at this moment (gas tank is off.) My question is this: does the engine need to be turning for the headlight to be on? I'm racking my brain trying to remember if the lights would turn on when I turned the key, or if they stayed dark until the engine was running. Can someone confirm? I'm hoping I don't have to tear open my heatshrink and figure this out.

I'm gonna make a thread on this project soon. I found some really cool brake lines that allowed me run those internally with the electrics. Looks good.

[tomm]

The engine doesn't need to be turning but you do need to bump the starter.

Originally Posted by dustbeard

Hey! I've nearly completed my new mini-apes install and decided to route my cables through the bars to clean it up. Everything is working now that it's soldered and plugged back in EXCEPT I have no headlight. However, I'm not able to run the bike at this moment (gas tank is off.) My question is this: does the engine need to be turning for the headlight to be on? I'm racking my brain trying to remember if the lights would turn on when I turned the key, or if they stayed dark until the engine was running. Can someone confirm? I'm hoping I don't have to tear open my heatshrink and figure this out.

I'm gonna make a thread on this project soon. I found some really cool brake lines that allowed me run those internally with the electrics. Looks good.

[dustbeard]

Originally Posted by tomm

The engine doesn't need to be turning but you do need to bump the starter.

I was afraid of this. I did pump the starter once or twice (I had to check that it was wired correctly, too) and had no response from the lights. Signals, horn, brake light are all in good order. Guess I'll tear down my headlight cabling once everything else is back together.

[Ipse_Dixit]

None of my bikes have had a headlight turn on while the starter is turning over. They turn off and then turn back on when the bike has started to reduce the load on the battery.

[tomm]

I didn't say the headlight turned on while the starter is turning over. I said you had to bump the starter.

The headlight does not turn on when the ignition switch is first turned on, nor does it turn on while the starter button is pressed. It does light up as soon as the button is released however, regardless of whether the engine starts or not, and will stay on even if a running engine stalls. Once on, it will go out only when the ignition switch is turned off.

Originally Posted by Ipse_Dixit

None of my bikes have had a headlight turn on while the starter is turning over. They turn off and then turn back on when the bike has started to reduce the load on the battery.

[Ipse_Dixit]

Thank you for elaborating. I misunderstood what you meant by bumping the starter.

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by Ipse_Dixit

Thank you for elaborating. I misunderstood what you meant by bumping the starter.

Its a relay thing.....

[dustbeard]

One more question - what about my passing lamp power? I don't think I'm reading my wiring diagram incorrectly - I've never been able to find their power source without pulling my wiring harness. In my Clymer manual I see the headlight wiring, and turn signal/positioning light power, but they're the same and obviously my passing lamps weren't blinking in the past. Do they turn on with engine power? I got my headlight working with the bump of the starter. I believe I had my wiring crossed badly when I ran through the handlebars, but it seems good now.

Thanks for all your help.

[dustbeard]

Well, nevermind about the headlight working. I need help. Here's what's gone on so far:

-Cut/extended existing wiring from left and right handlebar controls
-Fed cables through handlebars, soldered to like-colored cable at the plug, heat shrunk bare wire.
-Upon first test (key turned on) turn signals light up and blink when commanded, horn works, engine kill switch works, start workers, brake lever works its light. No headlight/passing lights.
-Pop start once or twice (no gas tank to run) and find headlight fuse blown.

Whereupon I contact you all. I clipped my cables, unfed them through the bars and made certain everything was clean, no bare cable inside handlebars, etc. Fed back through handlebars.

-Temporarily setup bars and using only five cables (following my manual) I setup the clutch lever switch cables, the headlight power and its high beam and low beam cables. I twisted these together and made sure they were touching nothing else. Popped the starter and the headlight came on, the passing lights did not. Thrilled.

I just finished re-soldering everything and plugged all the wiring in where it should be...headlight fuse blown. I know it's not a short of some kind from the handlebars seeing as it worked already. Any ideas why it might be dying now that I have the signals and horn plugged in as well? WTF?

[plumber63]

If it worked with just some of the wires hooked up, then blows when the rest of them are hooked up, you must have a wire crossed/hooked up wrong in the last set you hooked up. Maybe one of the colors are so close you cant tell the apart? A little color blinded? Had a tech that would cross thermostat wires if the shade of red and green was just right and he couldn't tell them apart. Just a thought. Or maybe you have a wire pinched is the horn or signal circuit? Check the controls them self for shorting to ground.

[tomm]

Suggest you disconnect the horn and the signals to see if the fuse still blows. If so, keep disconnecting things one at a time until it works.

Just a thought . . . the horn always has power, and the switch connects the horn to ground, which is backwards from everything else where the switch connects the load to power. Did you wire this correctly?

[dustbeard]

So, I'm kinda dumb. While I did find some bare copper which was exposed when the heat shrink got rubbed up while I was forcing it through the bars, I realized all too late that my labeling was the fault. Turns out, when you have a Yellow/Blue wire and a Yellow/Black wire, you shouldn't label them both Y/B because you're bound to get them backwards.

Sigh. If a mod wants to delete this thread feel free. Or maybe people can learn from my mistakes. Thanks for all your help!

[plumber63]

glad to see you got it fixed.

[dustbeard]

I'm not done apparently. My positioning lights aren't working. From what I can tell, they're wired with the same constant power as my running lights and those work. High/low beam doesn't do anything and the switch on the right side of the lightbar to turn them off doesn't do anything either. Thoughts?

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by dustbeard

I'm not done apparently. My positioning lights aren't working. From what I can tell, they're wired with the same constant power as my running lights and those work. High/low beam doesn't do anything and the switch on the right side of the lightbar to turn them off doesn't do anything either. Thoughts?

The wiring schmatic in your repair manual is your friend....