I know somebody out there will give me that Eureka moment that I am obviously missing:

Regarding an 82 LTD 550 (anything KZ from 80-83, 550-1000 should be similar):

Headlight stopped working recently. Bulb is fine. Fuse isn't blown. Everything else electronically is alright on bike. Inspected the wires from headlight back and couldn't find a short (and soldered wires on dimmer switch connections look great). Disconnected 6 pin connector from headlight/dimmer/fuse/ground wires to Reserve Lighting unit. Did a jump by running a wire direct from battery positive to headlight wire on 6 pin connector, and ran a ground wire from ground (black/yellow) on 6 pin connector to engine. HeadLight went on immediately and stayed on. No blinking or flashing or dimming.

Ordered another Reserve lighting device from ebay, top ranked seller who says it came off running bike. Still no headlight.

A. How can I test the reserve lighting device with a multi-meter (which off the 6 pins do I use)?

B. What else can be causing the headlight to not work based on this 'jump' test working?

A pre-thanks to anybody who can help solve this one, and get me on the road after sunset again!

 

WCK-you just proved that by bypassing the harness, you have results. Trace your schematic again.

 

Hey Dragone, I am a bit confused, which may sound naive, but when I did a jump, I wired directly from the battery to the wires (6 pin connector that was feeding reserve lighting relay before i removed it) coming out of the harness, which gave me a working headlight. I don't understand how I bypassed the harness?

It seems that my jump is taking me directly through the harness only leaving the relay (reserve light device) out of the picture.

Could you explain about the schematic tracing again and where might be a good place to go back and double check?

Thank you.

 

yes, by jumpering, you are testing to see what to eliminate or replace. Called Troubleshooting and using the Hopscotch method. Nothing is pure, but you may have narrowed your issues with the ride.

 

Hey again. Well, replacing the reserve lighting unit, cleaning contacts, replacing a connector seems to have things all 'lit' up. BUT...I need some advice here as a new issue has emerged:

My bike was running fine, engine wise, before I began the search for the holy grail...uh, short. I had to cut open the wire harness, go wire by wire and the tank ended up being off the bike for about 10 days or so. I recharged the battery, and Upon starting it up with choke on and primed, the engine sounded really funny, much softer than normal, and would give occasional rev-ups, uninitiated by me, before idling again. I would rev it up, and after about 2-3 minutes it would die out before a few sputters. I would repeat and the same thing would happen, only dying sooner each time. After the third or fourth time the bike wouldn't start. I would wait a bit, and the whole cycle would repeat.

Any idea what I may have done in playing with all the wires, tank removal, that could lead to issues with the bike remaining in a calm idle and staying in running condition? On inspection, all hoses and wires appear connected as they were before the Short Hunt began.

Thanks for any suggestions...