All XB models Ground wire Anomaly and Solution

[user_deleted]

Great write up. I found out that my horn didn't work when I tried to pass inspection for my registration renewal. There was a loose ground wire exactly where you said it would be. Thanks!

my pleasure and happy the info resolved your problem. over time on many XB models the small wiring harness that feeds the 2 horn blade-style connectors will rub thru on the actual horn bracket. there was a TSB issued by buell back in the day on the repair/prevention of this. in the future if your horn stops working again check this harness. simple to check...simple to repair....simple to prevent.

[LJIvasiv82]

Lunatic I have some questions regarding the Grounding points you described "large braided T-bone wire....the negative battery cable to frame lug...and the elusive bottom triple clamp grounding point."

Negative battery to frame is near the battery, I've figured out the triple clamp location but I'm confused about the large braided t-bone wire ground location. Can you elaborate pls?

I've also read people putting a 10 guage wire ground from batteries negative straight to the starter. Where would I connect the wire to the starter?

Thanks
Lyu

[user_deleted]

Lunatic I have some questions regarding the Grounding points you described "large braided T-bone wire....the negative battery cable to frame lug...and the elusive bottom triple clamp grounding point."

Negative battery to frame is near the battery, I've figured out the triple clamp location but I'm confused about the large braided t-bone wire ground location. Can you elaborate pls?

I've also read people putting a 10 guage wire ground from batteries negative straight to the starter. Where would I connect the wire to the starter?

Thanks
Lyu

lyu: i would NOT run a dedicated wire from the battery negative post to the starter motor area. it serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever and is just another point of contention for a potential loose battery terminal connection. many XB owners DO install a dedicated ground wire in reasonable guage size from the rear-most ignition coil mounting bolt to the negative battery cable frame attachment point. contrary to internet BS it is NOT a coil ground.....as the factory coil is NOT grounded.....but rather just another grounding point for the motor in general.
see attached pic. this is the rear motor dog-bone isometric mount....the braided unshielded wire is a major ground....both components under airbox base plate. plate removed for this pic as can be seen by the 2 small threaded holes appearing in frame. if you delve into checking this ground assembly do NOT just look at it....remove both 7/16th inch hex bolts, clean everything well, dob of blue loctite on each bolt and reinstall. ALSO always put a dob of blue loctite on the 4 airbox baseplate torx screws when reinstalling.14731_20121017020350_L.jpg

[Chewie]

after reading this post i was sure that this was my issue. i haven't had headlights for about 2 weeks. so i looked at the grounding spot and couldnt believe what i saw. then began to take off the wind screen and the headlight. This is what ive found.

image-1.jpg

why arent my grounding wires here? the lights worked fine for weeks after owning my bike. then, my running light went out and a few days later my high beam went out

thanks for yalls help!

[Chicknstripn]

Check the white connector that your headlights were connected to. It's the one to the right in you photo that runs through the bracket. I had my headlight go out and it was due to the ground wire inside that connector burning up.
Also check your fuses and the grounds in your tail section, near your fuse/relay box.

Let us know what you discover.

Good luck

[joey944]

Having repaired yet another one of these electrical gremlins over the weekend thought i'd mention a common source of electrical anomalies and an easy fix for same. XB models have multiple grounding points for current flow including the large braided T-bone wire....the negative battery cable to frame lug...and the elusive bottom triple clamp grounding point. Here's something to keep in mind and as of saturday this is probably the 20th-something XB i've done this repair on. Symptoms: handlebar switch gear controls inconsistent....one or both headlights randomly turn off....turn signals decide not to flash or even illuminate....dash cluster lights and gauges acting up....horn failure....one or both headlights normal then dim then back to normal. The likely culprit?The 4-wire ground cluster. Location? Front of bottom triple clamp. How is it attached? One torx screw. Where is it attached? Front middle of bottom triple clamp. What does it look like? 4 black wires attached to 2 round wiring eyelets. Proven repair? On Ulysses and Lightning models remove the flyscreen(4 screws), remove the headlight bucket(3 torx screws-1 per side and 1 on bottom),look at bottom triple clamp and there's the torx screw and the 4-wire ground cluster. Those 4 wires have a tendency over time to dislodge themselves from the 2 small wire terminals causing one or more of the above problems. Fix? Pull firmly on the wires and you'll gain a bit of slack in them. snip off the 2 crappy factory terminal ends. strip approx. 1/2 inch of insulation from each wire...bundle the 4 ends together...solder together....then install in 1 top quality terminal and reattach. You'll be surprised how more consistent the bikes' lights and controls are with this simple fix.

Great post lunatic.....I hope that this solves my problem. For the past month, I have gone through 3 low beam bulbs (the last 2 only lasting 1 day). My mechanic checked out the voltage on my 2006 xb12ss and it reads 14.2 volts whereas the replacement bulbs are 12.8 or 12.6. He isn't sure why the bulbs keep burning out. I will transmit the info and hope that it does the trick.
Thanx

[user_deleted]

Great post lunatic.....I hope that this solves my problem. For the past month, I have gone through 3 low beam bulbs (the last 2 only lasting 1 day). My mechanic checked out the voltage on my 2006 xb12ss and it reads 14.2 volts whereas the replacement bulbs are 12.8 or 12.6. He isn't sure why the bulbs keep burning out. I will transmit the info and hope that it does the trick.
Thanx

Joey: thanks for the kind words. your excessive blown bulb scenario classic sign of either a battery with a dead shorted cell....in which case you'll have immediate "no start" issues....or a voltage regulator)VR) headed to death row. VR's just before they completely fail have a consistent tendency to over-charge the battery which also results in battery problems, burned out tail and headlight bulbs, and a blown battery fuse inside the fusebox. your 14 .2 volts mentioned is fine at any given operating rpm. the problem is that a faulty VR will often times spike into the 15.5 and above DC voltage range. this is when the above problems arise.

[mtg]

I have recently had an electrical issue similar to most described here, but not exactly the same.

I went to start my XB9R after sitting for probably a month during December, and all was normal until I pressed the starter button. Insta dead.
Turning it off and back on, the accessories were getting weak and intermittent power.
Reading this thread, I cleaned all of the ground connections (I think). It's a little better now, but the problem still exists.
The symptom now is if I turn on the key with the engine kill not powering the fuel pump, it seems normal. Switching the engine kill button to turn on the fuel pump makes the relay start buzzing (it is rapidly turning on and off). I switched the relays around to see if that was it, but they all do the same thing.
I have not yet soldered the ground connections at the head tube, but wiggling them around makes no noticeable difference.

Any thoughts on what I should check next?

[34nineteen]

Have your battery load tested at a reputable battery shop.

. A bad battery can and will hold a surface charge of just enough energy to barely run accessories, but not have enough juice to turn over the engine. When you push the button, the hi current demand of the starter is more than the battery can handle and it goes flat. Chances are also, if you let the battery sit awhile, you can flip the key back on and everything seems okay again, until you hit the starter.

You could also have a bad ground, but I'd get the battery load tested first before you spend hours looking for a problem, that may not even be there.

That said, it looks like I will be looking for ground connection on my fork this weekend.

[mtg]

Good call, will do. The battery has always been on a tender, but it is at least a few years old. I'll pull it out and have it tested.