74 CL 360K

Hello fellow enthusiasts and experts,

I have "finished" my build to the point where I just love how it looks. However I am having some crazy electrical bugs that I can just not figure out. As others have said usually showering the post on here has always answered my questions, but this I just can not figure out.

I had already replaced my stock massive tail light with the lucas style hooded light (non led) from DCC and had zero issues with it. I then took my rear fender off to trim it and paint it, it had gotten a little mangled prior to my purchase. While I was painting it I got struck by the good idea fairy, since I was cleaning up the rear fender and making everything look more streamlined I decided to ditch the stock turn signals and replace the lucas hood with a more euro feel round tail light. Parts purchased below:

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-electronic-lighting-parts-classic-retro-satin-black-taillight-62-21512-sbpc.html

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-electronic-lighting-parts-mini-aluminum-rectangle-chrome-amber-turn-signals-blinkers-25-8300cm.html

while the paint was still drying I tackled the front lights, once everything was plugged in prior to buttoning it up, everything worked just fine, however once I did that the issues started.

Issues:

Headlight will only come on in bright mode, regular mode blows the head light fuse instantly.
Tail light initially worked in all modes, then just the brake light, now nothing... fuse is fine.

Turn signals work just fine in all modes, I am at a loss.


I have chased everywhere I can with out removing the handle bars and motor and can not find anything. I have an antique ride coming up Sunday and am really hoping I can find the ghost Saturday.


Thank you in advance.

Cheers
Wheaton

Time to break out the multimeter and find where your short is. You'll be pulling the wiring harness apart. I just did the same with my 79 CX650 Street Scrambler. Pulled the harness apart and finally found the broken solder joint that caused my gauge lighting to be out. At least you have a real short, not an intermittent problem. That makes tracing it a LOT easier!

Charles.

For the headlight, you're going to want to trace the white wire from the left switch. It should plug directly into the headlight without diverting anywhere else. There is a white/yellow wire nearby which can easily be confused for the solid white wire you actually want.

The tail light might be a grounding issue if you've lost both the running light and the brake light. Green wires are for ground. Check to make sure you have a low-resistance run from the tail light green wire to the negative battery terminal. If you're getting more than half an Ohm or so, you might have a loose connection or corrosion somewhere. If the ground wire checks out, the green/yellow wire is power for the brake and should have about 12.5V on it with the bike on, brake pressed, and engine not running. Tail light is brown and should have about 12.5V on it when the bike is on and not running.

Thanks for the info, I am going through the tail right now. What I am curious about is that I didn't touch anything with the headlight, I should of mentioned that. I only unplugged the turn signals and put the new ones in.

I would still check the wiring. There's not much else it could be if you're blowing fuses with the low beam but not the high. It might also be worth checking to make sure all of the insulation is in good order. Bare metal from a wire or connector is a very common reason for short circuits on these old machines.