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Tail Light Help

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by swguy270, Oct 13, 2010.

  1. swguy270

    swguy270 Member

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    Ok so for the last couple of weeks I have been customizing my XJ. Among other things it got a HD Fat Bob rear fender and an aftermarket HD cat eye tail light. I finally got around to putting everything back together today, and... POOF! I smoked the yellow wire from the bullet connector all the way back to the light. Now, I'm no expert but I am 30 years old and have been messing around with electronics and wiring since I was about 8, so I'm not a beginner by any stretch of the imagination. This leads me to my question: I have a black, red, and yellow wire coming from the tail light. Is black not ground like on almost every other DC system in the world? and if black is ground, shouldn't the other two be a no-brainer to figure out? Thanks in advance for any help.

    Shawn
     
    swguy270, Oct 13, 2010
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  2. Cmccully04

    Cmccully04 Member

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    yes it should be....But do you know the wires you are connecting them to?
     
    Cmccully04, Oct 13, 2010
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  3. swguy270

    swguy270 Member

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    Yep. The tail light and blinker wires are in the same bundle. Two double connectors for grounds and the hots for tail, brake, and blinker lights, respectively. I have both blinkers hooked up and working, so all I'm left with is one double connector for ground and what SHOULD be the hots for the tail and brake lights.
     
    swguy270, Oct 13, 2010
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  4. Cmccully04

    Cmccully04 Member

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    First it would much help, if you told us the year and model of the bike your working on. then we can tell you the correct color of wires you should be connecting to in the wiring harness.
     
    Cmccully04, Oct 13, 2010
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  5. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

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    prove your wires with a battery charger before you hook them to the bike, you should have poped a fuse before a wire burnt
     
    Polock, Oct 13, 2010
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  6. PainterD

    PainterD Active Member

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    Ya, if I were you' I'd start over. Run new wires and test the tailight first before hooking it to the bike. Run all your wires thru fuses also and you won't be burning wires (or starting any fires!)
     
    PainterD, Oct 13, 2010
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  7. swguy270

    swguy270 Member

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    First of all thanks for all the help. This is what I get for buying "Made in Taiwan" parts. I pulled the light off the bike this morning, took it apart, and guess what: The YELLOW wire is GROUND!!! Insane. Anyway I am replacing the wire right now and I will try again n a few minutes. Thanks guys. BTW, 1982 XJ650 Maxim USA model 13k miles.
     
    swguy270, Oct 14, 2010
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  8. iwingameover

    iwingameover Active Member

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    You got to watch those lights. My new tail lights were two black wires no labels and ground through the stem. Tested with a meter then a battery before they ever went on the bike.
     
    iwingameover, Oct 14, 2010
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  9. swguy270

    swguy270 Member

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    I can guarantee you that if I do this again EVERYTHING will get tested before it goes on the bike. Anyway, problem solved. Been out riding my "taildragger" all day. Light works great now, but my back says to me "Lose the rigid shackles and go back to shocks"!! Thanks for all the help guys.
     
    swguy270, Oct 14, 2010
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  10. Orange-n-Black

    Orange-n-Black Well-Known Member

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    So where are the pics? Does your tail light look like this?
     

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    Orange-n-Black, Oct 14, 2010
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  11. swguy270

    swguy270 Member

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    Will post a couple of pics in another forum
     
    swguy270, Oct 19, 2010
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