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Hi all, new to this having picked up an 08 XL 1200C early summer.
Done a 1000 miles or so without an issue, but had a couple over the last day or two which Im unsure about.
When about 300 miles from home I noticed the wire (earth/ground?) bolted on the top left of the engine case - a couple of inches in front of the battery cover was cut- just the connector left:
It didnt seem to have any issue all the way back home - but obviously its not normal. I cant see the rest of the wire or where it goes - can someone help me identify it and were it should go?
Took it in to town the other day and on the way back I have the yellow engine warning light for 20 seconds after start (didnt notice it before). It also wouldnt start in Neutral with the side stand down and flashed up 'side stand' which it hasnt done before. Had to get on it and bring the stand up to start. Then on the ride back the power would die for half a second then recover. The speedo dropped to 0, shot up to 100 and back to my speed (60ish) as the power dropped. Could it all be related to the wire?
As an aside - in case its related - the relay that has to do with the fuel pump priming when you start the bike failed a couple weeks back - so the bike had no fuel to start and just turned over. A new relay sorted that.
Sorry for the long post, any info would be much appreciated!
The export bikes have a side stand safety switch. Do not start the engine till after the engine light goes out. The ECM is doing its checks while its on. And fix that wire.
Great, thanks for the replys. Can you say where the other end of the ground wire runs from so I can find it to repair?
I've spent time looking all around in there and the rest of it is not to be seen - I cant see where it should run from other photos online.
Thanks again.
The clue is where the broken end is pointing! The rest of the wire is either close by or has fallen away, but as most wiring on a new bike is tied at frequent intervals it must be there, waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately it is probably in a black sleeve, camouflaged amongst all the other black stuff! I would start by cutting through nearby ties so you can pull wiring etc away from each other, which should reveal it's hiding place.
I wonder if the po had something grounded there and when they got rid of the bike, cut the wire off instead of removing it....just a thought if you don't find the other end of it
I think you're right scooter, having just managed to speak to a mate up north, his has a wire running to an in line fuse and to the + bat terminal for a GPS power supply. Thanks for that. Took it for a run the other night without issue-then today it started fine with the side stand down in N as it should, but as I got on the road I had the eng management yellow light and the red battery light. Came back checked all terminals etc, and tried again. It kept dieing as described before and 4 times completely died - an I spent a good bit of time at the side of the road trying to get home. Wouldn't start with the stand down in N again. Tax runs out today and it'll be off the road for winter, unless redundancy forces me to sell it and the house, so I was hoping to have a decent last ride out!
I think you're right scooter, having just managed to speak to a mate up north, his has a wire running to an in line fuse and to the + bat terminal for a GPS power supply. Thanks for that. Took it for a run the other night without issue-then today it started fine with the side stand down in N as it should, but as I got on the road I had the eng management yellow light and the red battery light. Came back checked all terminals etc, and tried again. It kept dieing as described before and 4 times completely died - an I spent a good bit of time at the side of the road trying to get home. Wouldn't start with the stand down in N again. Tax runs out today and it'll be off the road for winter, unless redundancy forces me to sell it and the house, so I was hoping to have a decent last ride out!
Those 2 lights together indicate a Low voltage condition. This shows up most often when the charging system (stator and/or regulator) have failed.
But in your case, since you haven't mentioned anything about a dead battery, I would look first at BOTH ends of BOTH battery cables, and make sure you have clean and tight connections there.
Next remove all fuses and the 2 relays, clean their contacts, coat the contacts with a thin layer of dielectric grease, and reinstall.
If that doesn't fix it, you may have an ignition switch going bad.
Read "The How To DTC" Sticky thread at the top of this section, follow the instructions and report back on what you find.
You also need to measure your battery voltage using a digital volt meter with the bike at a fast idle (~2000 RPM)
cHarley, Thanks for that.
Going throught the fuses and checking both ends of the batt cables seem to have sorted it. I had already had a look at the tightness of the cables but after another look and the fuses it seems to be all good. Thanks again for your help with it-its taken so long due to life issues taking over, but got back at it now!
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XL 1200C issue
