Electrics nightmare
 

Hi all, i need som ehelp please#
I have a 97 XTZ660 tenere. I know this is a an XT600 forum but thought someone may know from here as they are pretty similar.

I was out all weekend in the rain in Wales. Main fuse went, so changed that but now the bike wont start, none of the electrics apart from the neutral light wont work unless the stand is up. If i start the bike with the stand up and put it down, the whole electrics go haywire, it tries to stall, and is a complete pig.

I have traced wiring back from the stand to the neutral light to the clutch without finding any problems, have pulled the rest of the wiring out on the bike and can find nothing.

Any body experianced anything similar. I'm supposed to be going on a trip within the month and this happens. Please help

thanks for any replies.

Well, certainly seems to be the infamous sidestand switch. Remove it, connect the two wires going to it from the harness (make sure that you make a solid connection and tape it off!), take the switch out into the woods and have it shot.
Second, strip all tanks, fairing etc from your bike. Pull all connectors apart, spay them with contact spray. Let dry. Then spray with 'spray petroleum jelly' and reassemble. This is a good point of yearly maintenance.

If problem persists, come back to us with more specifics on the problem.

Auke

hey knobbly.

yes the sidestand switch ...

I had the same problem before my journey, apart from maybe ten other bigger problems with the bike that I had primerly chosen for my RTW trip - a TT600E. In 1999 this forum did not exisit, so I sold the TT600E again and bought a XT600Z Tenere for my journey. Just six weeks before I left. The first thing I did was to remove the sidestand switch ...

... now, after the journey the Tenere got 271.000km on the clock. Also thanks to this forum and the help I got thru people like Klaus Mechelke (the moderator) and others here.

One more advise for your journey. Service the bike regularly and service it yourself.

Enjoy riding.

mika

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well this site has done it again.

First thing after work i went out into the garage, snipped the sidestand switch and tied off and hey presto, turn the ignition on and everything is back to normal....

I had taken it off yesterday night and thought to myself 'i wonder what would happen if i.....' but didn't really want to go snipping left right and centre if i didn't know the exact fault. But all is well now, only after i have stripped down the whole wiring loom but i know it intimatley now so wasn't a bad excercise overall.

I presume these are a common fault with XT's?

Anyway thanks to all.

Knobbly

I presume these are a common fault with XT's?

Not really, but its a common fault on all bikes that have it equipped and are exposed to moisture and dust.. pretty much all bikes i guess.
Heard people even disable the clutch cut out switch to prevent the same problem there

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Laromo '04 TT600RE

Only me again.

I thought i had the prolem sorted but when i got the bike back toigether again and tried her out as soon as i popped it in to 1st it tries to stall again and doesn't want to know.

The electrics are all good now so everything comes on when it is in start on the ignition and starts fine, but still wants to stall when i knock it into 1st?????????????/

I am supposed to be leaving the country in a weweek or so on her so need to get this sorted once and for all.

Hope someone can help.

Thanks

Knobbly

Well, now it get a bit more complicated. The 3AJ also has a switch on the clutch lever. The original protection against pulling off with extended side stand is that you can only engage a gear when the sidestand is extended with the clutch disengaged (=pulled the handle towards you). This switch can also be eliminated. Cut the wires leading to this switch and, as far as I remember, connect them. If that does not work, disconnect them again.
If this does not solve the problem, check out the relay under the seat, it is next to the CDI. In this relay the 'signals' from the sidestand and clutch switch are processed giving a signal to the CDI to produce sparks or not. You can remove this relay but to explain what connections to make to be able to do without this item I do not remember anymore.

Succes!
Auke

Ok have tried the clutch switch and it makes no difference.

the CDI is under the tail panel, and no relay is evident near it, or anywhere else on the bike for that matter. No sign of it in the wiring diagram.

What next???

A S U M E
 

We are all asumeing that the fault is electrical - primary.

Your description is not good .. does the engine die only when under load ... or just by engaging first gear? Choke? Engine warm or cold?

There are a number of possiblities -

The spark plug lead or spark plug cap could have moisture in them ... How old are they? Spray them with WD40 and see if the problem goes away.

Water in carby?

When you snipped the 2 wires to the sidestand switch, you did connect them together? The circuit must be complete and goes to earth (the black wire from the switch).
If you left the 2 wires separate, there lies your problem.
Twist them together and fasten with a blob of solder, then insulate them and tuck them out of the way. Job done.

The bike can be ticking over without a problem and on or off choke, warm or cold, and as soon as you engage 1st, it tries to stall, without quite making it.

I have propperly connected the two wires that i took from the side stand switch, and the bike starts without any effort, but when i disconnect those two wires from the saidestand switch it tries to cut out exactly the same as when i engage 1st.

Definatley not the plug, have changed it with a brand new one, and back again so no moisture in it.

knobbly

I don't know anything about the wiring on a 660, just wanted to mention this. When I first put my 600 into gear it lunges foward and somtimes stalls, now this happens because the clutch plates are sticking together, this only happens when oil is cold and bike is first started, I think it is normal for most bikes. Is it possible this is what causing your trouble? just want to rule this out, from what I've heard the electrics are a know problem with 660.

Well
 

Sorry for confusing you, I was referring to the electrical system of the 600 Tenere, which is similar to the 660's, but with a few differences.
Let's do the following check: you have the neutra switch, it is screwed into the gearbox, there's a wire going there. Disconnect the wire from the switch and connect it to earth somewhere. Switch on ignition? -> neutral light comes on -> proceed. Start engine (in neutral). Engine ticks over -> now disconnect neutral switch wire from earth -> engine stalls? -> your problem is somewhere there. Engin does not stall -> your problem is somewhere else.

Let us know!
Auke