[3cermak]

Upon closer inspection this weekend I found the source of my headlight issue.

Two wires (Black/Red and Yellow) had been disconnected from the on/off switch during my handlebar swap.

Two questions arise here: There seems to be more posts on the switch than there are wires. I'm not sure where these two were attached before. anybody have a picture or a good description of how these are arranged.

Number two: this is a very cramped space and the wires don't have a whole lot of slack couple that with mediocre soldering skills. Good suggestions for how to make the reconnect as easy and effective as possible?

Is there a way to override this switch and always have the lights on and to simplify the wiring.

Cheers

 

[spuriousgrowth]

I would recommend against soldering -- although inside the bar I doubt that the wire is going to move much, any sort of stress is going to eventually cause the joint to fail and short out against something. I'd suggest some sort of thin crimp-type coupler which gives you the advantage of already having insulation.

SG

 

[66Sprint]

Soldering is fine as it is how they are originally atached, but you need good joints.
It would be helpful to know which bike we are discussing, but I'll try to explain both set-ups......
On the 360, the black wire is incoming power to both the lights and/or the starter switch.....When you depress the starter, it breaks the light contact and transfers the power to the Yellow/red stripe wire which energizes the solenoid which is already grounded.....
On a 175, the black feeds the headlight switch as well.... In the low position, it feeds both the white and the brown with white stripe (taillight) wire... In High position, it feeds the blue wire and the brown/white wire.....HOWEVER, the Yellow/red wire is attached to ONLY the starter button, and it GROUNDS to to the handlebars to complete the solenoid circuit.....

 

[3cermak]

This is in regards to a 75 Cl360.
My main concern here is where these two wires go on the light on/off switch. There are five terminals and only 4 wires. Sitting on the bike and flipping over the top of the switch pod there is a terminal on the extreme left that does not appear to be touched when the switch is moved into the off position. is this an extra?
Based on the schematics I see the sequence of wires but don't know which terminals to attach to since they were loose when I opened the pod and can't really tell where they came from. The two right wires are still attached (brown/ blue and black (don't have the diagram in front of me)) so I have some reference.

As far as crimp connectors is that even possible? The space is so confined and the terminals are so small I can't imagine how I would go about that. This would be a preferable route being that my soldering skills are lacking.

 

[66Sprint]

A continuity check with a Volt-Ohm meter versus switch position will reveal what attaches where...Or maybe a nice 360 owner will post a pic of the connections at the switch....

 

[3cermak]

So, I think i resolved my issues everything seems to be okay, tested and got the wires in the right place despite my ham-handed soldering.

I do however have a technical question for my own knowledge. Electrics and the magic smoke are not my forte but want to learn.

My question is regarding the white/yellow wire that goes into the lights on/off switch. According to the schematics it comes from the alternator. But power is supplied by the "hot" black wire from the battery. How does the wire from the alternator fit in with a on/off switch? What is it doing?

 

[tbpmusic]

So, I think i resolved my issues everything seems to be okay, tested and got the wires in the right place despite my ham-handed soldering.

I do however have a technical question for my own knowledge. Electrics and the magic smoke are not my forte but want to learn.

My question is regarding the white/yellow wire that goes into the lights on/off switch. According to the schematics it comes from the alternator. But power is supplied by the "hot" black wire from the battery. How does the wire from the alternator fit in with a on/off switch? What is it doing?

That wire does indeed come from the alternator. It goes through the headlight switch.
When the lights are on, it switches in a 3'rd charging loop.
Most of us connect the yellow and yellow/white wires together right at the main harness inside the headlight shell. That way the bike is always charging at max. The connectors on those two wires at the main harness are conveniently opposite sex, so they just plug right together.