Battery charged yet nothing works!!!

[1986vmonster]

Just finished an engine swap on my 86 and I hooked all the harness up and when I turn the key to ON the bike does nothing. Battery is fresh off the charger. Engine has fresh oil in it. No coolant or gas as I just wanted to turn it over a few times to prime the oil pump. No lights anywhere and everything is dead quiet. Before I did the engine swap everything worked on the electrical end.

I checked all the fuses under the seat and the fuse box. All 30 amp and 10 amp were fine.

Its like the battery is completely dead. But its freshly charged and a very high quality battery.

Does anyone have a any idea where my issue may be??? :ummm:

I have double and triple checked all the wires and they are all hooked up.

Never had this issues out of all the many projects I have done.

 

[Traumahawk]

I believe there is an ignition fuse there in the fuse box. Check that. I believe that its under the seat.

 

[Joken]

Yep Under seat by left side coil...30amp main fuse

 

[Miles Long]

If ABSOLUTELY dead in the water - could be only a few things.
- Poor battery connections.
- not grounded at battery (could be that the main ground wire is broken internally - use a heavy jumper wire from the neg. post to a good frame ground to check)
- That main fuse- maybe corroded terminals? Again , jump across the trminals to check.
- Power not reaching ignition switch - the three-wire ignition switch connector under the steering head is NOTORIOUS for failures. Disconnect, jump across the red (from battery) to the brown (to fuse box), on the loom side. This bypasses the ignition switch. If the bike powers up, it's either the connector or the switch itself.
- if none of the above works check for continuity of the the red wire itself, both from the + battery post to the main fuse, and from the main fuse to the three-wire connector. Could be a break, but unlikely.
Cheers!

 

[blaxmax]

Mine did the same thing- no power anywhere and it was the 30 amp main fuse under the front seat.

 

[MaxMidnight]

We could offer suggestions (all valid) but the easiest and quickest way is to get a wiring diagram and check with a voltmeter.
Start at the battery and check for power at each component.

My money is somewhere between the battery and ignition switch or a disconnected earth.

 

[Damon]

Did you connect the ground cable on the RT-side of the new engine? Located @ the 6MM case bolt just behind/to the right of the oil fill cap?

 

[1986vmonster]

Did you connect the ground cable on the RT-side of the new engine? Located @ the 6MM case bolt just behind/to the right of the oil fill cap?

Yes that is definitely connected. I actually un bolted it and cleaned the connection and bolted it down tight. I have an 86 so there are three 30 amp fuses. They all looked good, no signs that they has blown. The same goes for the four 10 amp fuses. They all looked good.

I am thinking that it may be a bad ground wire or something simple but not obvious.

Thank you all for your fantastic suggestions. I have high hopes to have the issues resolved before Sunday.

Who knows though... This project is now past the year marker...:bang head:

 

[Fire-medic]

Appearances are deceiving, check the continuity w/your voltmeter for the fuses. "Looking good" and "working good" are sometimes exclusive of one-another: the former does in no-way mean that the latter is happening!

Since you have an elderly bike, relatively-speaking, it would not be uncommon to have a crimped wire connector close-to failure, held-on by only a few strands, and the connection green with corrosion. The only way you are going to know is to physically examine your connectors, including all those in the molded plugs. Some quality contact cleaner from CRC or another similar spray will help to put things right. However, a spritz of CRC is not a way to fix a failed wire connection, but it is helpful to clean corrosion. If the connector is intact but the wire is broken, you may be able to carefully solder the wire back to the connector once you remove the connector from the nylon plug. Doing the removal usually requires something like a jeweler's screwdriver inserted from the side where the M-F connectors join, to depress a small 'finger' of the brass connector so the thing can be removed from the nylon block. Then solder it and re-insert it. Sometimes you have to bend-up the brass tang so it will 'capture' the molded tab inside the nylon plug to hold-secure the brass connector once-again. If the wire falls-out of the nylon connector when you try to plug-together the male & female nylon plugs, then you have to bend that connector tang up so the connector is secure in the nylon plug, and so the male and female brass connectors will 'mate.'

This is very basic stuff, and when you solder be-sure to use some electrical resin flux (not acid flux, used for plumbing connections) and to work with shiny brass metal and a shiny copper wire where you are attempting to make your solder connection.

I have successfully re-used the brass connectors and you can too if you take a bit of time to plan things and to execute them. You may be able to un-crimp the factory connection if you have the patience and take your time.

I have a Dremel tool and using a brass or stainless-steel wheel to polish connectors before soldering is a quick way to go. A pair of hemostats is useful for holding small stamped parts like connectors while using a wire wheel on them.

Also the use of dielectric grease will help to stop corrosion if you apply it to both mating parts before plugging things back-together.

Yes that is definitely connected. I actually un bolted it and cleaned the connection and bolted it down tight. I have an 86 so there are three 30 amp fuses. [B]They all looked good, [/B]no signs that they has blown. The same goes for the four 10 amp fuses. They all looked good.

I am thinking that it may be a bad ground wire or something simple but not obvious.

Thank you all for your fantastic suggestions. I have high hopes to have the issues resolved before Sunday.

Who knows though... This project is now past the year marker...:bang head:

 

[one2dmax]

Yes that is definitely connected. I actually un bolted it and cleaned the connection and bolted it down tight. I have an 86 so there are three 30 amp fuses. They all looked good, no signs that they has blown. The same goes for the four 10 amp fuses. They all looked good.

I am thinking that it may be a bad ground wire or something simple but not obvious.

Thank you all for your fantastic suggestions. I have high hopes to have the issues resolved before Sunday.

Who knows though... This project is now past the year marker...:bang head:

You should only have one 30A fuse and one "spare" (though it will look like two sometimes. These will be located above the positive connection on the left side of the bike over the battery (under the seat).

There will be one 15A fuse (for the fan) and three 10A fuses for the other stuff with 2 "spares" in the end of the rubber. These will be in the fuse block under the faux tank cover on the left side.

So, the next thing can be measuring power at the ignition switch. Under the right neck plastic is where the three wire junction for the switch is. A red, brown, and blue if I remember correctly. Tracing this stuff can be done easily enough.

 

[1986vmonster]

I figured it out!!! Turns over real nice. All lights work. Everything is golden just need coolant and gas. Oil level went down slightly so the engine is now primed. unk:

Took only 45mins after work. Still in my business attire. Didn't even put my gloves on... :hmmm:

It turned out to be 2 wires connected incorrectly. The wire that hooks off the positive battery terminal to the solenoid was hooked up to the wrong connection. They have the same connector head so WTF. I swapped the 2 over and turned the key forward and god made light!:clapping:

Again. I really appreciate everyone giving me their advice on the matter. I should have taken better pictures during dis-assembly. That may have been my :bang head:

Happy Friday! Real Happy Friday! :eusa_dance: