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Anyone know why my electrical system cut out? The bike ran last week, not perfect but it ran. Now it won’t even turn on. No lights will turn on. Nothing happens when you turn the key or push the starter button. Not even when I put it on a charger or even when I try to jump it. I’ve already checked my connections, grounds and fuses. Let me know your thoughts on this please and thank you.


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Make, model, and year? I'll assume this is your XS triple.

Ignition switch might be a problem.

Time to break out the multimeter.

Set the meter to read 20V DC and then put the positive probe onto the red wire leading into the ignition switch and then the negative probe to bare metal on the bike. You should see about 12.5V. If not, trace back to the main fuse and check resistance between either side of the fuse. You should get close to zero Ohms. If you're getting an Open Line, then the fuse is bad or isn't seated well. If the fuse is good, check resistance between the positive terminal of the battery and the terminal for the red wire on your ignition switch. Again, you should get pretty close to zero Ohms. Open Line here means the wiring has gone bad.

Assuming your resistance measurements have checked out, the next step is to double check your ground. Read resistance between bare metal on the bike (engine is a good spot) and the negative terminal of the battery. Again, you're looking for about zero Ohms. Open line or a reading much over one Ohm means a bad ground.

Finally, lets get back to checking the ignition switch. Unplug the switch from the harness and turn it to the on position. Read resistance between the red wire and the blue wire and then again between the red wire and the brown wire. Both of these checks should also be less than an Ohm. Open line or higher resistance means a bad switch. Time to refurb it or replace it.

Let us know how you get on...

Thank you for the reply. I’ll have to go pick up my multimeter from a friends house as I left it over there . I’ll get back to you on the tests.


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Okay so I did these tests and it came out good on all of them except maybe the ignition switch. With the switch on the ohms went crazy at first and then went down to .01 and then if you moved the prong it would go crazy again and then go back to .01


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Xs7501978 said:

Okay so I did these tests and it came out good on all of them except maybe the ignition switch. With the switch on the ohms went crazy at first and then went down to .01 and then if you moved the prong it would go crazy again and then go back to .01


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Click to expand...

That's often a sign of a bad switch. For giggles, you can temporarily remove the wires from the connector (on the harness side) and join all three of them together. If the bike comes on, then you know the switch was the problem.

Also I forgot to say and this might give it away but. If I change the battery and the percentage of the battery charges to let’s say 50%(because I’ve done it multiple times from different charges) and I turn the key the battery goes to 0% charge. Or if I have the key turned on while it’s charging it will charge up and then I’ll push the starter button and it will go to 0%charge again


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Sounds like a dead battery to me. That shouldn't have an effect on the readings you're seeing on the ignition switch, though.

Also another thing is. If I have the key off the battery reads 1.45V and if I turn the key in they go down to .06 (Ik it’s supposed to read more but if I have it plugged into a charger it does the same thing just with more V


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Yes the battery is dead BUT it does the same thing when it’s on a chargee


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Xs7501978 said:

Also another thing is. If I have the key off the battery reads 1.45V and if I turn the key in they go down to .06 (Ik it’s supposed to read more but if I have it plugged into a charger it does the same thing just with more V


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Click to expand...

You sure you're measuring voltage and not Ohms?

Ohms is like a horse shoe right? Volts is V with a stripped and solid line over it?


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Yes, that's correct.

If you're experiencing a large voltage drop when the ignition switch is on, a short circuit somewhere is also a possibility, but most likely you're still just dealing with a dead battery.

Okay lol. Like a dead dead battery? Like I should just buy a new one? Or try to charge it up over a couple days?


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Probably/definately dead. I just went thru what you are going thru with 3 of my bikes.

Needed to buy new batteries for all three, so far just one, will get the other two this coming weekend.

Xs7501978 said:

Okay lol. Like a dead dead battery? Like I should just buy a new one? Or try to charge it up over a couple days?


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Click to expand...

Take the battery to an auto parts store or a Batteries Plus and have them test it. Sometimes a crapped out battery will 'charge' and show proper voltage but have no actual capacity. A load test at a store will let you know. Eliminate one thing at a time. If the battery is toast then replace it. If the problem persists then it's on to the next thing.

Okay thanks guys I’ll take it to the auto part store and check today. Anyone know of a cheaper battery I can get at a local store . Idk how to make sure the battery will work


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Just tell them what the battery goes to and they'll look it up...........or you can do the same on this thing here called the interweb........or something like that.

Just go to the auto store sites and look it up.

A quick test to eliminate the battery as a problem is to hook up jumper cables from your car.

Sonreir said:

A quick test to eliminate the battery as a problem is to hook up jumper cables from your car.

Click to expand...

Yes I did that to a car battery and it started up fine and ran for about 10 minutes. Then I turned off my bike to talk to a friend and then when I went to turn it back on it blew the fuse(solid red wire) 2 times. and then I did a bunch of tests with the multimeter and then I couldn’t find a short so I got a new fuse and it started up... should I just not worry about it since it works now? Idk what else to test without the fuse blowing again.


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The blown fuse is a definite concern. Was it the main fuse or one of the others?