Electrical questions

Just a couple questions....

1. Ok, I'm sure I'm the one who broke this....but...

I replaced the bulb for the speedometer. At the same time, I took the headlight apart because it just hasn't been giving me much light on the road and my night vision was a little scary. I wanted to see if the bulb was old and if there were any adjustments I could make. I put it all back together and was happy to see that the instrument cluster was fully lit. I made adjustments that I thought would help me to have better light at night. Tonight, when I got on it to ride and set the headlight alignment, the headlight didn't work anymore. I have the headlight as well as the little auxiliary light below it - the aux. light works but the main headlight doesn't. [It may be worth noting that the aux. light will flicker when messing with the jumble of wires in the headlight...I don't think the plug works well). It's not the bulb (both filaments look in tact and both high/low beams both do not work - I also have the HEAD warning indicator light on). I tried making sure the plug is working well and tracked the wire back to the base of the instrument cluster and it doesn't appear to be pulled apart anywhere. What else can I check?

2. The battery indicator light won't turn off. Everything works just fine, in searching I think it's due to the battery in the bike being newer and not having a plug to tell the bike the status of the battery? I'm sure there's a way to make this still work...if not, how can I turn it off?

 

What bike? I would guess the head warning light means you blew the head fuse. On my bike the fusebox is under the indicator lights right by the ignition. The head fuse on my bike came with a spare but I have no idea what might be on yours.

 

OK so you have a 750 (either a Seca or a Maxim). First thigs first, check the headlight fuse (it is under the seat). Then check for 12v at the headlight socket. If you have voltage at the socket then you have a bad headlight (just because the filiments look good does not mean that they are good). The flickering fog light suggests that you have a loose connection in the harness behind the headlight, or you have corroded switchgear that needs to be disassembled and cleaned.

The battery indicator is indeed on because of a lack of a sensor for the battery. You can do this:
Battery Bypass Kit which Chacal sells,

or you can make one with a 2.2k ohm 1/2 watt resistor and the appropriate hardware (and skills).

 

k-moe to the rescue again! Thank you, I'll try those tonight!

And switerthanu - sorry I forgot to mention the bike style...I'm new to this forum and forget the basics still sometimes.

 

If you set up your signature to include your bike's model and year, no one will ever have to ask!

 

Will do.

How do I tell the letters after the CC? I have an 81 XJ 750 Maxim (which I've been told doesn't exist?). So it would be an 81 XJ750??

 

Letters after CC indicate year of production and special model designation.
'81=H
'82=J
There's a detailed listing somewhere here... gimmee a minute...

 

Ok got it:
http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/tech-topic-model-id-and-vins.14577/
Tons of info there... what you desire is about 1/6th of the way down, but heres the goods:
F = 1979
G = 1980
H = 1981
J = 1982
K = 1983
L = 1984

to distinguish between a regular Maxim model and a Seca (or other) model, Yamaha also used other suffixes:

nothing = a regular base model (Maxim is the base model in the USA and Canada)
R = Seca
C = could mean Canadian, or could mean California. Nice, huh?
M = Midnight version of a Maxim, if it's an XJ750, but "L" if it's an XJ650 model, unless, of course, it's a 1982 or 1983 XJ650 model, in which case "L" refers to the Turbo Seca model, and..........
L = any one of a number of different things....

Confused yet? Wait til you read the linked posting!

 

There is (maybe was on your bike) a sticker on the left side of the headstock that lists the build date, VIN, as well as some other useful information. The engine has the short version of the VIN cast into the upper case near the clutch cover. There is also a VIN stamped into the right side of the headstock if your sticker is missing. You have been told correctly that there was no Maxim 750 in 1981 (they came out as an 1982 model), but the title may show it as an '81 if it was an early '82 (built in '81 ((depending on what state it was originally registered in)).

 

Good to know, thank you!