All XB models Ground wire Anomaly and Solution

[njloco]

I did as suggested here for my electrical problem, and cleaned the grounds, I missed the grounds behind the head lamp, and got stuck again but did figure it out, since cleaning the all off, no problems !

[34nineteen]

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.

Please report back and let us know the outcome.

[mtg]

I think the battery is the problem. It's always on a tender as mentioned, and I've checked voltage with the ignition off (and tender unplugged), which is around 13v, so I didn't suspect the battery had any issue.

However, leaving the volt meter on the battery, then turning on the key, voltage drops to about 6v, then turning on the fuel pump drops it to 4v.

I'll borrow the battery from my other motorcycle to confirm it before dropping coin on a new battery.

[Silverrider]

Have your battery load tested at a reputable battery shop. or a handy load tester will tell all good tool to have in the shop.

[mtg]

The battery was the problem on my bike. The load test with leaving multi meter on it while turning on the key was conclusive.
However, I still removed the known good battery from my other motorcycle, hooked it up to the Buell, and it was completely fixed.

Sometimes the solution is right under your nose. Don't forget to check the simple stuff. Thanks 34nineteen for reminding me to look at the battery.

[34nineteen]

Awesome you found the problem! Some people have bikes with electrical gremlins they can never find!

I'll be checking and re-doing the ground at the lower tree this week and will try to take some pics (if I remember).

[midway]

Awesome you found the problem! Some people have bikes with electrical gremlins they can never find!

I'll be checking and re-doing the ground at the lower tree this week and will try to take some pics (if I remember).

Here is one possible location for the ground on Buell. It's not going to be accessible without some tear down. I don't have any electrical issues but the next time I have the front end off I will rework this connection as preventative maintenance and replace the screw with a hex head making it much easier to access and clean up that ground connection in the future.

[12R_FIRE]

Had a similar issue with my 2004 XB12R starting recently. Engine cranks, but doesn't light (everytime), then white smoke billows out from under the seat (smells like electrical). This is after replacing spark plugs and battery, and I've always kept my bike on a battery tender. I traced the negative back to frame under the seat and looks like there was some arcing there (nut has black soot where it connects to bolt). Anyways, that particular bolt free spins in the frame, any ideas on how to get that (partially soldered/fried) nut off before I cut it off with a dremel. Might as well do the preventative electrical maintenance that lunatic recommends while I'm at it. Thanks in advance for the help.

[midway]

Might as well do the preventative electrical maintenance that lunatic recommends while I'm at it.

If you have the connections behind the forks to clean up get ready for tricky access. I managed without taking things apart this time but I'm thinking to remove the T27 star drive for a standard hex head to make things much easier in the future.

[34nineteen]

Since we are talking about ground anomalies, I'll throw one into the mix.

I've taken my XB12SS front end completely apart and in the process of putting everything back together again, I noticed the turn signals stopped working. Fuse checked out ok, and there was solid power to the circuit. I realized that the relay grounds through the relay mounting bracket, through the cluster. So, if you are having an issue with either of those circuits, you may want to run an independent ground wire from the "leg" of the cluster that the relay attaches to and find a more substantial ground on the module. Since the cluster is insulated from the module through those grommets, the cluster is going to need to use that one of those wires for its ground as well.

I haven't personally tried this, as my bike is not having an electrical issue and I am not sure if this will cause a ground loop situation.... but if you are having an issue and are out of ideas, you may want to give this a spin.


The bolt that hold the brake hose to the back of the module may be a good point for a ground. I believe there is a separate hole below that point, that you could run a bolt and nut through for that as well. Food for thought.