Variety of electrical problems/Electric starter won't work

[bikeage]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum. I bought my XS400 a little while ago and I've been plagued with electrical issues ever since. I was hoping someone could give me some insight! I'll tell the story below.

When I bought the bike, the previous owner had to jump it, and it broke down on the way home (my parents had to pick me up lol). I replaced the battery and that seemed to get it going again. But I think that battery was a dud because it died after a short period so I replaced that as well (However during the time it died I had some painted handlebars on the bike. I know that the starter and horn both need to be attached to a metal handlebar to work. Not sure if that had anything to do with the battery dying. The battery loses charge on its own though now.). Put another battery in and pressed the electric start, immediately blew the main fuse. One of the clamps for the main fuse is not connected to the bottom of the fuse box (pictured) and only when I press down on it the electric start works. Today I installed metal drag bars and now the electric start does not work again. At first I heard a little click and the engine started to turn but nothing happened. Then gradually the click got quieter and quieter to the point where its barely audible and the engine doesn't start to turn anymore. I checked the battery and the voltage is correct. The kickstart works. This is giving me a headache!

Additionally, the turn signals have been spotty. Sometimes they work, sometimes they blink a few times and turn solid. And sometimes they go straight to being solid. Also, the headlight doesnt turn on until I start the engine. Is this normal?

Does anyone have an idea of what might be happening here? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Petew]

The first thing I would do is to address the fuse block issue. I would either replace the block, their cheap to buy repro, or I would add a fuse holder in place of the block for the main line fuse. Fuse holders are very cheap and easily installed . Both of mine have at least one installed on them. Once I had that issue isolated you can start other tests of your electrical circuit. It sounds to me like you have a charging issue. Stator or Alternator winding possibly. There is a copy of the Haynes repair manual available here and it details how charging system tests are done. Get yourself a multimeter and start there. Make sure all of your leads are not contacting frame and such where they should not be. That is my guess. There are many others here with much more expertise than me-that is for sure, hopefully they will jump in too. Good luck!

 

[bikeage]

Hey man, thanks for the reply. I actually think I may replace the fuse box with a more modern upgrade since those tube fuses seem to have an issue with slipping out. I'm not sure if it's a stator issue yet because I actually haven't been able to ride enough miles to test that out. But I think that your fuse box idea would be a good place to start. I found this album on reddit that someone made for an '81. https://imgur.com/a/7cMUr#c0oF3SE . I'll try out something like this.