1989 XJ600

[gary301161]

Hi,

Hope someone can point me in the right direction. Rode off on my XJ600 this morning and 300 yards down the road the bike stopped, all the lights went out, had absolutley no power anywere.

Anyone got any ideas?.

Gary

[chris66]

i would start with the fuses, is it like you have taken the key out?

[gary301161]

Hi,

Yes just like I pulled the key out, as it was at 0330 in the morning and I'm going to work, didn't have time to check anything. As I'm new to bikes I was wondering if it was any sort of known bike problem.

Cheers.

Gary

[mike1949]

Hi,

Yes just like I pulled the key out, as it was at 0330 in the morning and I'm going to work,

Chill out Gary, Chris is only trying to help.

Could it be the kill switch malfunctioning?

[wild foamy]

Take your seat off and have a look for a box labeled "fuses", open the lid and you will find the fuse labeled "main" is most probably blown, it is a 30amp constant rated fuse.

happened to me last night

[chris66]

what i ment was when you turn the key on, is it as if the ignition is off ie no dash lights etc. chris

[gary301161]

Hi,

Sorry Chris, didn't mean to sound like it did. Yes it was just like someone had pulled the key out, no ignition lights or anything. If it is the main fuse anybody got any clues as to why it might have blown, is there a known electrical problem with this bike. Still havn't had the chance to have a look as at work again, but will have a look tomorrow (Tuesday). Back in the car for M25, M1 commute, lovely extra 1.5 hrs on the road.

Thanks again.

Gary

[wild foamy]

Could be anything along the main loom, on mine it was the Regulator/rectifier unit which went bang, blew the fuse the first time, then melted the plug and earthed out the battery on the second time

follow the cable back from the positive on your battery and check all the plugs for corrosion e.t.c, if a plug wont disconnect it is probably either corroded or melted on.

[gary301161]

Cheers Foamy,

Put a new battery on today, still no joy, will try tracing the cables tomorrow. Honestly could really do with any help anyone could give me.

Thanks.

Gary

[gary301161]

Hi,

Just one more thing, when I checked the old battery, it was bone dry. Does that point in any direction?.

Gary

[chris66]

bone dry battery indicates regulator rectifier, it turns hi voltage into around 13 volts then sends in to your battery to keep it charged.

if your battery has boiled dry probably means its knackered. chris

[wild foamy]

as above, if its boiled dry its more than likely to be fucked, best to change it for the sake of £20 and knowing that new battery will give you (hopefully) years of reliable service .

as for the fault, check your regulator/rectifier unit for any signs of burning, shorting e.t.c, its a metal box mounted onto a metal plate with a plastic cover over the front connected by a four pin plug (1 red wire, 3 white wires), pay particular attention to the plug which connects it to the bike as this may have been damaged (such as in my case...).

now for the long winded bit...

The regulator/rectifier turns the high voltage (around 60v AC at 4000-5000 rpm) into a usable 13v DC output which can be sent to your battery to charge it, it does this by using a "diode pack" (think of it as a series of one way valves) to create a constant DC voltage, with the excess being sent to earth through a heatsink, if one of these diodes fails it will allow AC voltage output, to test this disconnect the red wire from the reg/rec and put an AC voltmeter from the red wire connection on the reg/rec to an earthing point, if it is displaying an AC voltage the unit has failed and requires replacing (mine was showing about 1.5v AC at idle, and hence mine is f*cked)

[wild foamy]

as above, if its boiled dry its more than likely to be fucked, best to change it for the sake of £20 and knowing that new battery will give you (hopefully) years of reliable service .

as for the fault, check your regulator/rectifier unit for any signs of burning, shorting e.t.c, its a metal box mounted onto a metal plate with a plastic cover over the front connected by a four pin plug (1 red wire, 3 white wires), pay particular attention to the plug which connects it to the bike as this may have been damaged (such as in my case...)

[gary301161]

Hi,

OK great now were getting somewere, were's the best/cheapest place to buy a reg/rectfierer from?.

Thanks again for your help.

Gary

[wild foamy]

cheapest place is ebay, search "XJ600 rectifier" and theres a used one on there for £22 posted, and a new one for £36, there was a new one for £33 but i had that

[gary301161]

Hi,

Would a fried rectifier mean that you don't get any lights or ignition lights, even with a new battery thats got 12.5 V?.

Gary

[chris66]

it probably blew the main fuse

[gary301161]

Hi,

nope fuse is OK, as long as it's the fuse box under the saddle. I'm going to do some serious wire tracing tomorrow, and post what i find. Hopefully find the prob, and may save some other bemused owner some time!!!!!!. Got 3 days before have to do the M25 M1 commute again!!!!!.

Gary

[wild foamy]

get your voltmeter out and start tracing the loom back from the battery, do a continuity test on the main fuse just to check it hasnt blown, sometimes they can look fine but infact be broken

(multimeter set to ohms measuring across the fuse, if it shows an open line then the use is f*cked

[gary301161]

Hi,

Been through the wiring today, and found a corroded connection at the next plug going to the ignition (Thicker than usual, red and yellow wire). Gave it a wriggle and the bike turned over and lights now work, so will get a new connection block tomorrow. Only thing wrong now is no neutral light.

Gary