First ever 'issue' with the bike - would love some electrical help (lights fuse)

Buellxb Forum

Help Support Buellxb Forum:

I'm still at a dead end. After waiting 6 days and no relay in the mail, I drove to the HD dealership in Roanoke and bought one.

I brought it home tonight, plugged it in, and....same thing. Lights fuse pops when trying to crank the motor.

Kind of at a loss at this point.
 
Then lets start a real diagnosis before you waste any more time and money on guesses:)

Find the .pdf service manual download at Buellmods.com or Buelltooth.com

Open the wiring diagram and follow the wire from the battery to the lights fuse and all the way around. Those are the ONLY components that can be causing your issue. It's most likely a short to ground in a component or wiring, causing the fuse to blow.

Got a meter or test light? It will save you from blowing 1000 fuses checking the system. A power probe would be best though, you can remove the fuse and energize the circuit checking to see if you found the problem without blowing fuses.

OR:
Go totally old school...

Pull the fuse, unplug everything in the wiring diagram on that circuit and power it up. Put the fuse in. If the fuse still blows, it's a wiring short to ground somewhere. If the fuse doesn't blow, plug in every component one at a time starting from the closest to the battery on the diagram. When it blows, thats it.

Report back and we'll get to the next step. Don't worry Vincenzajay, it's just a path. Go down the path without jumping around and you WILL find the problem.

Here to help ya bro:up:
 
I've got a service manual - pdf and the full paper version...have used it often over the last two years for the minor preventative stuff/oil changes/suspension tuning/etc. I'm able to do.

It will turn out to be something simple - I know that. The problem is time...don't have it...won't have it until mid-January at the earliest to do anything other than try quick "suggestions" like I've tried so far following John's advice. Full time, active duty Navy XO at the 3rd largest NROTC unit in the country coupled with being a PhD student and concurrently finishing a second master's...the very little free time I get needs to be stress-mitigating time (i.e. riding), not electrical troubleshooting - which for me is *not stress-relieving.

If it's not candy corn easy (I think I'll try to check the solenoid and that wire/connection - several posts to that effect over on Badweb), I'll just have to wait until I can carry this to John's to let him fix it.

Thanks in any case...
 
Last edited:
Dang. Hard workin' dude...

Ok, lets see how lucky we can get to get you back on the road:) here's a couple 30 second checks...

Take the small wires off the starter solenoid (not the battery wires) and try to start it (it won't crank). If the fuse still pops, thats not it, move on. If it doesn't pop, leave the small wires off and jump the big wires with the shaft of a screwdriver (it should crank). If it pops buy a starter, if it cranks and doesn't pop buy a starter solonoid.

When you replaced the switch housing with the one you got from Paul, remember where it plugged in? I would unplug that connector, and jump the wires that have 12V and the one that goes to the starter solonoid with a jumper wire. If the fuse pops, it's not in the right switch housing at all and you can eliminate that as a cause.
 
Last edited:
Okay - still need help on "how" to pull the wire(s) from solenoid. Any description would be helpful. I'm looking at a small green wire going into a plastic housing that then is inserted into the starter assembly. Does the housing come out? Does only the wire come out? Is there a way to do either of those that doesn't involve damaging them further?

Following that - I need help on 'how' to jump the big wires - what do I unplug and where to get at them?

Thanks...
 
Kevin Drum (the Drummer creator) gave me the info I needed to get the solenoid plug out. For those searching this thread in the future - there is a plastic tab on the bottom of the white plastic housing for the signal (green) wire. That tab has to be pushed up - then the entire plastic assembly can be taken out. It is a pain in the a$$ to make work - it took getting a pair of bent hooknose pliers in there (which was a feat in and of itself) to simultaneously squeeze the tab and pull the housing out.

Would have been SUPER great to have had that information yesterday.

Fuse will not pop now, so it's either the solenoid or the starter itself. If someone can tell me (step by step) how to get to the "large wires" so as to jump them, I can do the second thing on the troubleshooting list later this week.
 
Hey man, sorry. I've been working all weekend.

So, with the wire disconnected, you can turn on the ignition and try to start it with the fuse in and the fuse doesn't pop, right? It's not trying to crank either, right?

If thats all true, the you can 'jump' the large wires on that solenoid together. This WILL crank the bike regardless of the key position, so make sure you are in neutral! So, key on, fuse in, take a metal screw driver shaft and touch both screw terminals WITHOUT touching anything else. If the bike cranks (and maybe starts) then the starter solonoid is bad. If it doesn't crank and the fuse pops when you do that, the starter is bad.
 
All correct - wire disconnected - ignition on - try to start with fuse in and it doesn't crank or try to start...

So - what/where are the screw terminals? I can certainly try this tomorrow afternoon once I know where to touch the screwdriver shaft on the solenoid housing...
 
Last edited:
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Thank you.

That said - isn't this the starter that Cooter and Teabag discussed a year or so ago? The one that didn't have the correct seal isolating the primary oil from the starter motor?
 
vicenzajay said:
Well, I'll ask another question and see how that goes. Is this starter a good fit?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Terry-Comp...%3A23f98cad1600aa47a51f8b09fff28559%7Ciid%3A1

If not - can someone point me to one that is proven to be a good replacement....

My bike is a 2009 XB12R
Click to expand...
Be careful buying new starter. Some of them may not have clutch bearing to housing seal and will leak like hell. I had bad experience with leaking starter I bought on Amazon to replace original Buell starter with bad clutch. I ended up buying new allballs clutch and installed it in the original Buell starter. Also Buell starter clutch has output shaft seal, allballs clutch does not have output shaft seal, but my original starter does not leak with this clutch at all.

Here is the thread with details.

http://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?51401-Buell-XB-starter-problems
 
Last edited:
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Lord.... No. Don't buy a starter yet. You don't even know if you need one.

The problem that TPEHAK and I had was with the brand "Rare Electric". The seal in the nose cone wasn't right and would leak primary oil through the starter when ridden hard. My fix was similar to his by replacing the starter clutch assy (I used OEM) inside the nosecone of the starter.

If you are unsure of jumping the two big solenoid terminals together to test the starter, try this:
Use at least a 8 gauge wire and go from the one and only terminal on the starter (you can see it in those pics) to the battery (+)...
And check that stock wire from the starter to the solenoid for fraying or touching metal (it would totally cause this issue as well).

You're so close Vincenzajay! don't give up yet!
 
You don't need to replace starter clutch if it is OK. Bad clutch makes winding sound slipping on the output shaft, I believe you have another symptoms and another problem. I'm just saying that you have a risk to buy bad starter. I would contact with seller and ask if the starter they sell has o-ring seal around clutch bearing and seal on the clutch output shaft. And before stick the new starter in the place I would take the starter front cover off and check if the clutch actually has those seals, if not just return it back because it will leak.

If you think you have problem with starter you can test it first https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+test+starter

Slipping clutch symptoms







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K43XsZfh15k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DMsk3CdGTw
 
Last edited:
Okay - copy what the "terminal" is....if I were jumping it with a screwdriver it would be from the green wire to that terminal, correct?

I'm tracking that the other way would be the larger gauge wire from battery positive direct to terminal....

Okay - here's the bigger question. Talking to Kevin Drum, who's been absolutely awesome through this, if we have to work on the solenoid, we'll need to take the whole unit off anyway. If that's the case, then why not replace the whole thing? I'm trying to avoid *ever* having to mess with this problem again.

Or is there a way to 'fix' the solenoid without the whole starter unit uninstall/reinstall?
 
no idea where this thread is headed but here's what you need to know:
1-the entire starter assembly interchanges with 96-2005 chrysler mini-van starter assemblies. most are mitsubishi brand.
2-you don't need to replace the entire assembly. dealer list is $369 last i checked. ebay ones typically 1/4th that price and chinese garbage units.
2-the starter assembly consists of 3 components: the starter case and drive motor....the clutch drive hub....the solenoid.
3-DO NOT run the starter motor with the primary cover removed as in the one vid posted on this thread.
4-remove starter motor and simply replace the solenoid. this popped fuse you've been chasing? told you the simple test and you've performed same. that test shows a shorted solenoid. factory part # 31603-91 STARTER SOLENOID REPAIR KIT still over 7500 in dealer system last i checked. simply remove and replace. the solenoid activates the starter assembly. it is the big gizmo mounted atop the starter assembly and attach with 2 very long screws.
5-an XB starter assembly virtually identical to H-D sporster repair and replace procedure and is very challenging for a novice. here's the schematic.
5820_20100806150009_L.jpg
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

R
2009 XB12R -Wiring Issue? Need Help
Replies
5
Views
8K
Barrett
Barrett
U
XB9R Crank No Start
Replies
3
Views
3K
Unknowned
U
S
HELP!!!!! XB9 Start issues, won't turn over
Replies
2
Views
2K
Cooter
Cooter
B
2001 Buell Blast - starts and idles fine BUT sputters/backfires/dies when on throttle
Replies
4
Views
11K
DLiss
D
Miami78
09 xb12ss electrical issue
Replies
17
Views
3K
rb70383
rb70383

Latest posts

Back
Top