Electrical Issue

Lately, I've been having an electrical issue that's been affecting my headlamp and dash lighting. Every so often, all of the front lights (except the turn signal operation) won't illuminate. I've pulled the headlight when this happens and all the lights come back on. I'm figuring it's a wiring issue. I'm guessing it's a ground, due to it affecting multiple lights in the front and not the back. I've pulled all the connectors to check for corrosion and cleanliness. All connections appear to be good. I'm also going to assume that my problem might be with the main harness (if it is the ground wire) I just can't seem to find the wire(s) that's causing my lighting issues. Has any one else had this problem with their XJ? Am I going about this issue the right way? Or am I dismissing a possible power issue?

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

Check the fuses? Original fuse box? Turn signal is on it's own fused circuit.

Since it's an intermittent fault and will be hard to troubleshoot, I'd make careful note of EXACTLY what isn't working when it happens, then take that list and compare it to the wiring diagram to see where the circuits intersect and systematically look for a short or large resistance in the circuit.

And make sure to rule out the circuits that aren't being affected. Even do some voltage drop testing to confirm that other loads are getting 12 V, For instance, some lights can light with less than 12V while others won't.

 

when it happens, it's mainly the headlamp and the dash illumination. bike still runs, rear lamps and brake light works, and turn signals still work.

yes, i still have the original fuse panel. All the fuses still look good.

I will have to do more troubleshooting tomorrow. time to break out the multi-meter to check the power circuits.

thanks,


edit:

I think I found the common POWER source for all my issues. On the wiring diagram, the red/yellow wire goes directly into the headlight relay assembly. from there, the relay powers all the lights I've been having intermittant issues with. Now to find the darn thing on my bike. I'm guessing it's under the tank.

 

Hey there,
My 80 xj650 maxim just did this same thing this morning. Did you find the solution?

 

I had a similar problem and it ended up being a wire inside of one of the bundles that had flex until it cracked. The only way I tracked it down was testing for continuity on each related wire and moving the bundle by hand.

 

It was the connector to my headlamp relay.