Help Needed (on the road) No Power to Lights/Tach and Indicators

[bluevalk1520]

I apologize if this has already been answered but I cant find a solution to my electrical problem.
I am writing this from the computer in a hotel lobby, hoping that I get an answer by morning so I can continue on my road trip with out falling too far behind the rest of our group.

Bike in trouble:
2001 Standard Valk
Very stock (no added electronics)
I have owned it since day-1 and have never had this problem

Today, for  no apparent reason my tach dropped to zero and stayed. The bike kept on purring along so I mumbled to myself that I must have blown a fuse. 20 Minutes later when I stopped for gas, my dad (who had been riding in front of me) informed me that my headlight had quit working awhile back (i would imagine at the same time my tach gave out) after filling up with gas I did a quick fuse check and could not find a blown fuse. I was in neutral but my green "N" light never came on. I started to notice the following were all "shut down"
-TACH
-HEADLIGHT (high & low)
-TAIL LIGHT (running)
-NEUTRAL INDICATOR LIGHT
-SIDE STAND INDICATOR LIGHT
-OIL LIGHT (on start-up)

Tonight we had to stop sooner than expected due to my lack of lights. When we found a hotel, I plugged my multi-meter (which I hardly know how to use) into the "hot" side of all my fuse ports,
and found that the following (as expected)

-Turn / Stop (hot)
-Tail / Meter (dead)
-Headlight (dead)
-Fan (hot)
-Start / Ign. (hot)
-Acc. (dead)

There are a few things I dont have, vast electrical knowledge, good work lighting (in a hotel parking lot) a Wiring Diagram and Time to slowly pick this problem apart. I am hoping that someone out there might be able to help me zero in on the problem faster than I would be able to do on my own. Does anyone out there know where these "dead" wires might mingle or where I should be looking. Like I said, I dont have a diagram and probably could'nt read one if I did. I dont suspect it to be due to a worn starter button, because I put a whole right side switch cluster on it 5k miles ago.

All help and pointers are greatly appreciated.

[B]

I don't have a standard, but I think all the items you mentioned feed in to the fuse block from what Rattlebars refers to (link below) as #two main.  Trace the feed for the fuse block and see if there is a main fuse; also ck to see if that feed has a loose/bad connection if there is no blown fuse


http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/schematics/index.html

[B]

Where are you? If that didn't work, I can look in my Goldbook if you're having trouble finding a dealership... But I will be on the road tomorrow and not on line.

[X Ring]

Replace the fuses.  I had that one blow but where it blew, you couldn't see it.  Put it back in.  Of course nothing changed.  After checking everything I could think of, I changed the fuse and everything came on.  It could very well be a coincidence that they both blew at the same time.  I've started using the more expensive fuses that light up when they go out. 

Marty

[bluevalk1520]

That diagram you attached does help. Because ,Yes all three of my dead wires are red / white.
Thank you. I am gonna get up early in the morning and see what I can find out. Do you know the best way to trace a line, I guess just slice open the harness wrap and re-tape it when im done? Maybe I can pull the keyed ignition and  look for where the red / white wire might tie in. We passed a dealership about ten miles back, so if I cant figure it out sometime tomorrow, I will swing in and get them working on it. Ride safe.

If anyone knows where those 3 red/white wires go once they head toward the ignition, from the fuseblock I'd love to know.

Thanks for the help.

[Gryphon Rider]

I'm quoting my answer to a different member's similar question:

The problem is at the ignition switch (key on/off).  The way you describe which circuits work and which don't is perfectly consistent with how the ignition switch works.  Look at the ignition switch continuity diagram in your service manual's wiring diagram.  The switch has 2 battery terminals.  When the switch is on, one battery terminal connects with IG1 and the fan, while the other one connects with IG2.  Take note what is powered by IG1 and IG2:

IG1:  Fuse B (top fuse) - Turn, Stop, Horn
        Fuse D (5th from top) - Starter, Ignition

IG2:  Fuse A (6th from top) - Acc. Term.
        Fuse C (3rd from top) - Headlight
        Fuse F (2nd from top) - Taillight, Meters

Looks like your IG2 terminal on the starter switch isn't getting power, so this could be either the switch itself, or one of the 2 red wires to the switch is broken.  By the way, I'm just looking at my manual, not taking apart my switch to look at it.  Also note the physical location of the fuses, top to bottom, is B,F,C,E,D,A, so I suspect your bike IS consistent with the diagrams schematically, if not physically.

The member's final message in the thread:

went out today and wiggled the key in the switch and guess what came on. everything worked and when i moved the key again all the lights went off. so i guess this is got to be the problem. thanks to everyone on this site you guys help the mechanical challenged more than you know.

[bluevalk1520]

Thank you all. I really appreciate it. That is exactly what I was after. I will start my efforts this morning at the ignition switch and go from there. I will let you know how it went once we make it to a hotel computer tonight. Thanks again, very useful information.