XS650 starter relay Gremlin. Little help?

diesel450

"Fast with a past"
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Hi Guys,

I'm putting a bike back together here and have the wiring just about sorted but have a weird gremlin hanging me up with the starter relay.

Harness and electrics are out of a 78 special. right side handle bar switch is new from MikesXS, reg/rec is also new from mikesXS, rest of harness and components are original.

Yesterday after I got the bulk of the components back in place and connected I tested the lights etc. and everything checked fine including the relay. I did not have the line from the relay to the starter motor connected but when I hit the button the relay clicked like it should. I stopped at that point. Today when I got back at it. I turned the ignition on but got no lights. Blown main fuse. replaced that it blew again after a little fiddling. I went back around rechecked all connections and grounds and replaced the fuse again. No more fuse problems. I hooked up a new cable from the relay to the starter but when I try the button, nothing. I messed around with different connections, checking grounds etc. (spitballing really), nothing. When do the old "jump the relay studs with a screw driver" trick, nothing. Figured I had fried the relay which was why the fuse blew. I had a new relay on hand and replaced it. Still, nothing. I have not tried jumping it.

can't figure out what I am overlooking. I haven't really changed any thing since I was able to trigger the relay other than checking connections. There does not appear to be black ground wire from the right side switch.

Also, the red/white wire out of the relay goes to the safety relay, what is the blue/white wire for?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
A solenoid is an electromagnetic switch.
One low volt lead should go to ground, the other to power. The thumb button switch either completes the power side or the ground side, depending on how your harness works.
The high amp lugs are simply connected to each other or not, depending on the state of the low volt side.

Some get a touch tricky by having the ground low volt connect to the solenoid mounting bracket, thereby grounding through the frame.
Some also take a low volt tap from the high amp terminal that connects to the battery side. (effectively connecting directly to the battery)

A multimeter is your friend here, so you can tell what is happening where.

Some solenoids can be disassembled and have the contacts cleaned/rebuilt. (the high amp contacts carbon up over time from all the arcing)

So, the ol' screwdriver trick bypasses the solenoid and jumps the battery positive straight to the starter positive.
(if this doesn't work to spin things, double check both the battery ground strap and the engine case to frame strap, as the starter motor grounds through the engine cases)

Remember in DC electrics you need both a positive AND a ground, so the presence of voltage only works if the grounds are solid and contiguous with each other. Fresh paint/powder can make for a hard time getting good grounds.

Take your time, it's all logical once you break it down...
 
I think I'm missing the frame to cases strap! I'll recheck it all tomorrow. Thanks for chiming in.

I made sure to clear paint and get good ground to the main harness same with Battery strap.

the low voltage leads are Red/White which is power and Blue/white, this should be ground, no? I should be able to test that by directly grounding that wire, correct?
 
Disconnect the red/white and see what kind of resistance you have from one to the other.
(I suspect you are right, and it should go to ground, but double check)
Also, is your thumb switch providing voltage or ground? (check via meter)
(again, I suspect you are correct, but always check before you bow a fuse or worse)

And yes, those damn grounds can be a PITA...
 
Appears to have been a bad safety relay. When I bypassed it everything works fine. I do have good ground on handlebars.

I do have a wiring diagram. weird thing, that blue black wire has power in it without being connected to anything. Not sure whats up with all that but everything works now.

Still need to figure out why the starters not cranking though, digging in to that next.
 
You have the clutch pulled in and the sidestand up?
Later XS had too many extra 'features' I just bypass them
 
Funny you mention that. I had thought of the clutch issue but not the side stand issue. have to check on that later.
 
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