I had to hitch a lift home last night after the XT stopped dead about 100m into my journey. The main fuse had disintegrated (corrosion) and stopped the show - engine, lights, everything. Easily fixed with a new one, but ...

If that failure had happened half a mile further on, I would have been on a narrow twisting A-road in heavy traffic, in the dark and pouring rain. I think I would have been in some danger, as I wouldn't even have been able to see enough to get off the road, and with no lights I would have been a sitting target for the next car/van/truck to come round the corner.

Given the simplicity of the wiring (and simplicity is what I like about the bike), is there a simple way to build in a bit of redundancy into the system? I had this happen in a car once, but the hazard lights worked and gave me enough light to get round a corner and off the road safely. Given the wealth of experience on this forum, I would bet that someone has found a simple modification that would make a blown fuse a bit less of a drama.

Or am I worrying about nothing?

Hey there, check your electrics... you got something short-circuiting!!


Vando

Well, sir, that was very clever of you! When I took the fuse out, it came out in two pieces and was very rusty, so I assumed it had died of old age. I tried a new fuse this morning and it started fine. So I got a lift back for it tonight (I've had to leave it at my workplace). It started fine again, but when I put the lights on - pop. Or rather - the headlight came on very dim, so I revved the engine. The headlight went brighter, and then the fuse blew again.

Would I be right in guessing it's a short somewhere? If so, where's the best place to start looking? If I have to rip it apart and check everything, I will, but if there are any well-known failure points it would save me a lot of time.

Thanks Vando.

Well, you should go to the most important first...

I would check:

the battery contacts
the e-starter(aka starter clutch) conn
the CDI connection
the regulator rectifier conn
the headlight conn
the blinkers (aka turn signals) conn
the lights switch and the turn signal switch

and do check the cables where they come through triple clamps and the fuel tank.. Some people have found that the wires were too stretched and they just teared....

one more difficult thing to check is the alternator....

If you could take the whole wiring out it would be easier to check if any insulation is worn and therefore shorting out...


Keep us posted!

Vando

Hi Vando,

I would suggest that you get a few more fuses and find our for sure if you only have a problem when you turn the lights on. Also check if it happens with just side light on, this would suggest a problem with tail light wiring, not headlight wiring (though could still be pilot bulb wiring or the switch)

I would then concentrate on looking for chaffed through insulation on these wires first, and the connections inside the light switch.

You haven't fitted a 100W headlight bulb and spot lights have you?

Good Luck

Mark

Firstly, do what eveyone else is saying and find the problem. My bike had a few mods before I got it, one of which was the elimination of the fuse. Since everything goes through a protection relay anyway, if there's an overcurrent situation (short, bad earth, flat battery) then the relay chatters and I'm saved the hassle of having to change the fuse. This tends to result in less drastic failures as the lights alone don't normally trip the relay, even if there's a problem.

If you put the supply to your hazards in before the fuse and relay then a fault in the indicators could drain or damage your battery, I'd suggest this would cause more problems than it would solve. Just my 2p worth.

Thanks for all the input. (And by the way, Vando is Bacardi, and I am Richard.)

All components are totally standard, and no obvious frayed wires, either. I checked all the obvious connections when I had it all apart for a full service last weekend. I know what you are thinking, and so am I - trapped a wire putting the tank back on? That's the first thing I'll check. Good idea about the tail and headlight - I put them all on at once, so I'm not sure which circuit was the faulty one. I'll get a pocket full of fuses and a couple of days off work, so I'll let you know. And the bike doesn't have hazard lights - that was a car I was driving.

Great forum, thanks all.

Hi Richard...

what I meant of the wires passing through the triple clamps is that if the cables are too stretched when you turn the handlebars left/right sometimes that brakes the wiring... there should be a tougher tubing on the wires where they go through the triple clamps to help avoid the friction of the rubbing against the triple clamps from taking the insulation of the wires...


I hope you understand what I just said lol


Vando

Yes, I did understand, thanks! The wires there have a heavy-duty cover which seems to be all OK, but that's only on a casual inspection. I'll get the bike home tomorrow and have a good look.

I've spent the last two afternoons stripping everything down and testing. It turns out (I think) to have been a wire shorting on the headlamp mounting. All the wiring looked good, and with the headlamp cowl off the problem went away, but the clue was than when I put the cowl back, the problem returned. The wires come from below the headstock and up either side of the headlamp, where they rub against the metal of the headlamp mounting. There was clear signs of rubbing on both sides, although even after half an hour with a probe I couldn't find any bare wires. But I have wrapped the wires with a good protective layer of electrical tape, fitted everything back, and it seems to be fine. It looks like it must have been a tiny little short, although even now I don't know where.

It's been a good opportunity to check all the wiring and spray some ACF50 into all the connectors - and I have treated all the hidden bits of the frame while I was at it, so it wasn't a total waste of time.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and suggestions, and a prize to Vando for geting closest. Give the man a coconut.

Lol thanks for the coconut I'll PM my address LOL just kidding!

I'm just glad I could help!


Just do me a favor... Have fun riding that bike!


Vando

Oh yes, I have great fun riding it. Every time I get on it, I think what a great bike it is. Not very fast, not very comfy, not very smart, but I love it.

And now that it's running again, I love it even more

Thanks for the help.

Do Paypal accept coconuts?