something has blown
 

my mate has tried to use jumpleads to start his xt600z (1986) but has connected them backwards. The bike has refused to start since and I am guessing he has blown a main fuse. He thinks the same but says he cant find it. Could someone tell me where to tell him to look, or if it could be something wrong other than the main fuse.
thanks
Oz

The batt might be totally fried.
Relays, fuses....?

Maybe try another batt, with leads or not, but bypassing the old one.

Blown fuse
 

Stop. Step away from the motorcycle. Go buy a manual for the motorcycle.

first things first, a bit more info.
the bike refuses to start!!! does the ignition come on, does the starter turn? do the lights work?? or is everything dead.

if everything is dead then it may be the main breaker.
i dont think there is a main fuse but a non fused breaker which can be reset. its a small black box 12mmx5mmx20mm with a little red dot on it.
if the dots popped out you push it back in to reset. it has 2 red wires one from the battery the other to the loom.

if the ignition powers up and you get neutral light horn ect with the key on then its something a lot more serious.
if the starters turning but it isnt firing then youve probably fried the cdi.

get a manual as previous stated.

Like they say, hope it's a breaker else you may have fried the ignition, maybe the voltage reg'/rectifier. Electronic bits don't like reverse polarity too much

Lots of opinions....
 

but about other bikes?
The xt600z does not need battery power to run (CDI ignition).
If you switch on with the key, do the lights come on? If not, there's indeed something wrong with the electrical system.
But highly probable, the ignition system, which is separate, is still ok. If your bike has no kickstarter, you can push start it (ignition must be on).

These bikes have one fuse. On the + terminal of the battery there's two cables connected, one big one to the starter, and a small one to the rest of the system. The fuse is located in this small cable, close to teh battery.

Auke

thanks guys
 

thanks for the advice. he tried using the manual but couldnt find the resetable breaker. thats why i posted for him to see what else it could be. the bike has no power to anything so i will advise to find the fuse on the positive output from the battery or start checking other, more serious components for problems.
Oz

Auke is right about the CDI, it is self contained and needs no power from the bike's other electrics to make it run, in fact the only thing that stops it working is that if you turn the ignition off, or use the kill switch, it connects a wire from the CDI to ground (negative). So, provided the ignition is on, and the kill switch is off, the bike should run regardless of whatever state the rest of the bikes electrics is in, including the fuse. My only concern regarding the health of the CDI stems from the fact that a) the bike won't start and b) the CDI is actually partially connected to the rest of the bikes electrics in two ways, firstly through the ignition coil to ground, and secondly through the kill circuit I've described above. I've no idea if reversing the polarity of the bike (ground becomes positive) could in any way harm the CDI, let's hope not and good luck with the problem. Maybe it just needs a really BIG kick to make it see sense!