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Buell Forum » Big, Bad & Dirty (Buell XB12X Ulysses Adventure Board) » Archive through July 20, 2015 » Won't start, blowing headlight fuse « Previous Next »

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Portero72
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 03:50 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Howdy guys. Bit of a problem here. Bike has been sitting for about two months while I am in recuperation from surgery. Ran great when I parked it. Now, when I go to start it, I hear the fuel pump whine, engine light goes out(as usual), starter relay clicks, but nothing happens when I hit the button. Except for the headlight fuse blowing, which might be happening sooner. Gone through three so far. Switched relays around to see if one was bad, no difference. Bike has been on charger since parked, so I do not suspect the battery(voltmeter also shows one green when ignition switched on-looks normal to me).
Any ideas where to look? Electrical gremlins are not my speciality.
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Natexlh1000
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 04:46 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

You should probably investigate rodent invasion/vandalism.
Perhaps you have a ball of mouse turds and bare wires instead of insulation.
Mice liked to set up shop under my seat in the tail section.
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Reepicheep
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 05:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

+1. Had a whole little mouse family in there.. Chewed through the tail lamp wires and shorted them out.
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Yo_barry
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 05:36 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Ok, as I understand it, there is a safety feature in the 09 (maybe other years also) that won't allow the engine to turn over if the headlight fuse is "open."

Had the same problem last fall, low beam had burned out a few days earlier and somehow must have developed a short taking out the fuse,

When the bad low beam was removed and a new fuse installed, the Uly fired right up.

Hope it's that simple for you.

Barry
Hollister, CA
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Twisteduly
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 06:21 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

If that's the case, put the switch to high beam and give it a try?
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Yo_barry
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 07:40 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

@twisteduly

No, fuse is for the headlights. If it is gone, neither high nor low beam will work.
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Twisteduly
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 07:49 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I understand, I should have said put in a new fuse but try using the high beam circuit to possibly work around the no start "safety" you posted about.
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Panhead_dan
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 07:51 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Never keep yer bacon under the seat. Good place for a couple of mothballs, however.
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Fotoguzzi
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 10:07 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

UM, leaving it on a charger could have cooked the battery. it depends on what battery and what charger.. it sound just like a dead one to me.. the ONLY way to be sure is get a load test, free at Batteries plus or any good shop.
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Portero72
Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 10:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

About the headlights-I have them modded to both be on when HIGH is activated, and the fuse blows, disabling the high beam, when the starter button is pressed. Low works just fine.


Mice-had the seat off all afternoon, messing with fuses, checking connections, etc. Saw no evidence of vermin.

Pulled the battery. Gonna take to in for a test tmw. Prolly only a year old, but Texas is hard on batteries, it seems.
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Tootal
Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2015 - 02:42 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

If you did the "both lights on" by switching the wires on the connector then the low beam is on the accessory fuse now I believe. Been a while. Point is that they no longer share the same fuse. So your problem is in the lighting circuit.
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Portero72
Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2015 - 04:48 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Tootal-

Do you mind expanding on that? Do you mean chaffed wires in the lighting circuit are preventing the bike from starting?

Also, battery checked out fine at Advance.
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Tootal
Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2015 - 09:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

It could be a grounded wire or one that is burned and causing too much resistance. Use the wiring diagram and trace out the wires on that circuit and see if you find something wrong.
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Ourdee
Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2015 - 11:43 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Had the bike been burning out headlights? This is the thought I have if it had been. Voltage regulator when going bad will let the voltage go too high and blow bulbs. Headlights that burn out early in their life are an indication of this. The same voltage spikes could allow the wires to burn their way through the insulation over time causing a short.
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Lastcyclone
Posted on Friday, June 26, 2015 - 11:02 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Had the same issue. Voltage regulator was bad, not regulating volts and popping bulbs. Now, the VR went bad because the stator was bad. Replaced both 15,000 miles ago. No trouble since.
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Portero72
Posted on Friday, June 26, 2015 - 04:39 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

No blown bulbs, just the fuse. VR and Stator were replaced in the past year and have been solid since.
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Arry
Posted on Friday, June 26, 2015 - 09:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Here's a thought, maybe while it sat for 2 months, a wire connector got corroded. There is a small single wire to the starter solenoid (green, but wrapped with black tape), that you can see just behind the upper edge of the drive pulley cover. If you hear the start relay click when you press the start button, and you've swapped the relays around, you should be getting power (thru the green wire) down to that connector, but if it's corroded it might not activate the starter solenoid. try pressing the start button and wiggling that wire.
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Portero72
Posted on Saturday, June 27, 2015 - 11:22 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Arry-

I tried your suggestion without success. However, I now am clear on a few things. This is the order of what happens when I try and start the bike. Understand that this is after i install a fresh 15a fuse in the headlight slot;

1: Key on.
2: Hit starter button.
3: One big click down by the starter.
4: Headlight fuse blows.
5: Next, all I hear is the relay clicking.

The starter click and fuse blowing seem to happen simultaneously.

Any ideas, electrical gurus?
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Arry
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 01:05 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I don't have any great Ideas...? The battery still seems suspicious. I wonder if they (Advance ?) actually did a load test, or if they just checked the voltage.. Do you have a voltage tester? The headlight fuse "shouldn't" effect the starter, but yours is modified so the headlights feed from two different fuses (?). You could try unplugging the head light, at the light bulb (the one that goes out), then see if it still blows a fuse.
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Portero72
Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 - 07:35 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Arry-

Good suggestion, I appreciate it. I will give that a shot as soon as I get a chance.
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Portero72
Posted on Thursday, July 02, 2015 - 03:47 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I might get a chance to dive into the bike this weekend. Aside from the ground at the steering head, anybody have suggestions on which grounds to inspect and clean to try and track this down?
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Mark_weiss
Posted on Thursday, July 02, 2015 - 07:01 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Weak batteries do not blow fuses.
Broken grounds do not blow fuses.
Too much current draw is what blows a fuse. Frequently, this is caused by a downstream component or wire being directly grounded.

I'd check a wiring diagram and see what is downstream of the headlight fuse. Disconnect those components and then re-connect one at a time.
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Uly_man
Posted on Friday, July 03, 2015 - 10:13 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

The power feed to the lighting system runs from the 15 amp lighting fuse (blue wire - BE) through the starter relay. This part of the relay is CLOSED all the time until you hit the start button which then temporarily kills the lights to feed the starter solenoid (wire - GN) to activate the starter motor which has its main power direct from the battery.

If you can (ignition on and not trying to start the bike) switch the lights from low to high without the fuse going then that part of the circuit is ok. If not then you have a wire going to earth on that part of the circuit.

Next unplug the wire AT the starter solenoid (wire color - GN) and try to start the bike. If the fuse blows then the fault is between the relay (maybe the relay) and the solenoid plug. If not then it could be the starter solenoid going to earth IE Burnt out or seized up. Who know you just have to go through the normal checks.

I checked all of this with a 09 XB circuit wiring diagram. Good luck.
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Bluex
Posted on Sunday, July 05, 2015 - 10:22 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

+1 above 2 posts. In my case, it was the leaky starter clutch itself!

Btw, you can use a self reseting fuse instead while doing these tests to save some $. May need to do minor mod to fit it in.
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Con_brio
Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 - 09:44 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Just want to say thanks to all of you who post on this site. Yesterday, went out to the Uly after a long days work, hit the start button...nothing. Did the standard checks, headlight fuse bad. Replaced, tried again, blew fuse, no start. Took a deep breath, went back into the office, pulled up Big, Bad & Dirty. 5 minutes later, replaced fuse, switched on high beam and the voila, she fired up!! Thanks again for sharing your experiences!!
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Marioavelar
Posted on Friday, March 24, 2017 - 03:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Con_brio how exactly did you manage to solve the problem? It was just a matter of replacing the burnt fuse!?
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Marioavelar
Posted on Friday, March 24, 2017 - 03:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Con_brio how exactly did you manage to solve the problem? It was just a matter of replacing the burnt fuse!?
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