Headlight staying on.

Need some help from the xj nation. I can't get the headlight to turn off after the bike is off. When it starts, the headlight comes on like it is suppossed to. When I shut it off and turn the key off, it stays on. I have to pull the fuse to get it off. Is there a headlight relay switch that may be bad. I don't think it is a short. Let me know what you guys think.

 

It just might be a "short", as the headlight relay works with an electrical "latch" and something is keeping it energized.

Did you mess around with the wires recently, or did this happen on it's own ??

 

No changes in the wiring. It was that when when I got it.

 

Stuck relay or something is mis-wired.

 

You don't say which bike but I suspect the ones with the relay are all the same.

Headlamp power should pass through the ignition switch, through a fuse, through the headlamp relay to the headlamp. When the alternator produces power it closes the relay turning on the headlamp.

There is a "latch" in the relay that will leave the headlamp on until battery power is cut off. Power is cut off when the key is turned off or the fuse is removed.

So, bottom line is the key isn't turning the power off. The question is why not. A likely answer is that the previous owner wired battery power straight to the fuse without passing through the key switch.

I'd have to check (bike model please) to be sure, but I believe the power from the ignition switch to the headlamp relay is taken off the same pole as ignition power. In other words, if the key shuts the motorcycle off the problem isn't with the switch.

 

what about the possibility that the key switch is broken or corroded inside.

the ignition shuts off but the portion for the headlamp isn't.

isn't there one spot for power but 2 or 3 other spots that connect to that one spot inside the switch.

when i had my 82 650 i had to replace the key switch at some point during my ownership. i took the old one apart for kicks and giggles to see why it failed. that was 25 years ago so i don't remember how the innnerds were setup exactly.

might try disconnecting the plug connecter to the key switch for kicks and giggles and see what happens. but chances are it's a wiring problem like the above posts suggest.

 

I have the feeling someone plugged one of the headlight wires into a circuit into the headlight that has power all the time. I would look there first

 

According to the 650 wiring diagram everything except the tail lamp is supplied by the same connection out of the switch. The tail lamp has to switch separately so you can run the battery dead while parked :wink: .

 

I already replaced the ignition, but will check the connection to make sure it is right. If the headlight was plugged into a circuit that had power all the time, wouldn't it come on when i put the fuse back in? It doesn't come on until the bike is running. It just doesn't turn off when I shut the bike down.

 

I am not sure but doesn't some of the xjs headlights come on after they start if so that would tell me it has some sort of relay that might be sticking

 

Yeah, the headlight, by design, comes on after the bike is running. It is a 1982 xj 650. Someone posted that the key also kills the engine? Not on this bike. I have to use the kill switch to shut the motor down. This is the first bike i've ever owned, so please excuse my ignorance. It still sounds like a relay switch to me.

 

something is back feeding the ignition circuit for sure. Let me look at my wire diagrams see if i can find out what the relay looks like will let you know

 

Thanks cutlass, I appreciate it. It's not time to ride yet in Ohio, but I want to be ready.

 

hey bigdaddy i could not find the relay but it sounds like the problem .When i was looking someone wrote in to another forum. Said their headlamp wouldn't come on they drove it around the block it came on and it wouldn't shut off. See if someone has a picture of it. Or pull the seat start pulling relays till you find the right one. Heck at most you would have to charge the battery. Some of them are the same see if you can find the same relay and swap it out see if it fixes the problem

 

Ok, on the 650 the same wire from the ignition switch powers the ignition (through the kill switch), signals, horn, brake lights and head light. The tail light is the only thing on a separate circuit.

Since the ignition key should kill the power your problem is not with the headlamp relay (which sounds like it works properly anyhow).

Since the ignition switch won't stop the engine or kill the headlamp my bet is all the other stuff works with the key off.

You've either got a bad ignition switch and/or someone has performed some rewiring.

HERE are the wiring diagrams.

 

Everything works with key off except the marker lights and tailight. The turn signals, horn, and headlight all work with the key off. I replaced the ignition and the original wiring harness was intact. I believe there is only one way that they fit together. It was just a matter off unsnapping the old and snapping in the new, but i will check to make sure I didn't put them together wrong or upside down or something silly like that. But the headlight didn't shut off with the old ignition switch either, which is why I originally replaced it.

 

sounds like the bike has been rewired for whatever reason. and it's all wrong. as far as the ignition and headlight.

 

Yep.

In particular, it didn't originally have marker lights. You might start your diagnosis with how they're wired.

 

I dont remember does the early xj have fuses for everything or just a single fuse? If it has multiple fuses pull them out 1 at a time see if any other fuse makes it quit when you pull it. The ignition sw can"t be your problem its 3 wire red hot blue supply power for everything brown should be parking light. Something is back feeding Possibly at the fuse box

 

the 81 650 i recently had. one fuse for main. one for headlight. one for turn signal. and i think the 4th was for ignition.

try disconnecting those marker lights. that might be your electrical feedback issue.