Diagnosing electric start Yamaha XS400

[42ford]

When I started my project the electric start worked fine. Fast forward to now, the electric start does not work. I checked all the connections, they looked good. I'm guessing its the starter relay? Is there a good way to test it? Thanks

 

[Out]

Test for a power signal into the relay, small red/white wire with the key on . If there, test for constant power in, big red wire. Power should flow out the big black cable when pressing the start button. You can briefly test the starter itself by crossing the 2 big terminals with something conductive. Crossing the 2 big wires should spin the starter. The ground could be an issue too, small blue / white should have ground when the start button is pressed if I remember correctly. Good luck.

 

[Out]

found this to illustrate....

 

[42ford]

Thanks! Electrical is far from my specialty.

 

[Out]

Same here my man. Anyone whom likes electrical work is suspicious to me!

 

[ex119x]

Depending on the year and model, Yamaha put a safety relay in the starter circuit and that relay can fail. On my 81 XS650, I had to take the relay apart and clean the points. You can also bypass the relay with a jumper between 2 of the pins. I think it is the bl/w and the b/y wires, but you will need to double check the wiring diagram to be sure.

 

[42ford]

Just as an update, I bypassed the relay just to test the starter, it turned. So I ordered up a relay. Hopefully that resolves my issue. Thanks everyone for the help

 

[Out]

XScellent. Could not resist the Yamaha pun.