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Won't Start/No Headlight-All Else Good

WesternKid

WesternKid

Member
1st Post (except for the new member)
I am going to try to explain all and see if anybody can help.

Problem: The headlight will not come on. Low beam or High beam and when I click Start... Nothing at all.

Everything else works: All other lights, the fuel injector noise, horn, and etc... all good there.

What I did: I installed 14in Ape Hangers so I switched/extended cables.

I dont know if the headlight and the actual Start of the bike have anything incommon. I did noticed that I did not unplug or mess with the headlight for it to not work.

I searched all day for an answer but I didn't see anything that has my exact problem. everything seemed to have diff answers or diff problems that did not match. I am going nuts!

Right this second we have checked the fuses and have it on a charger over night just incase but it hasnt been that long for the battery to dead. (I dont think)

I have an 08 EFI 883c.

Please please help or guidance.
Thank you in advance for your help or read!
 
I would say it's time to recheck the wire extensions you installed. Something either came apart or is connected wrong or making a poor connection like a pin backed out in a connector. Check your ground leads around the bars and trees, maybe furnish another temp ground to the bars themselves from the battery and see if it makes any difference.
 
Sounds like you have some crossed wires in one of the harnesses. Do you have a service manual w/diagrams to trace?
 
I am willing to bet that you have a lose, unconnected, or wrong connected hand control wire or wires. Sounds like the run switch is hooked up but not the start button. And the wires going to the high beam/low beam.

If it were me, I would disassemble and reassembly carefully checking each connection that its the right wire and not lose.
 
I was afraid of that. I am going to try it tomorrow and see if that is it. Its just wird that all other wires in the same harness works fine. Oh and i never unconnected the headlight since it was a seperate harness and not part of the handlebars... Idk if that would make a diff?
 
WesternKid said:
I was afraid of that. I am going to try it tomorrow and see if that is it. Its just wird that all other wires in the same harness works fine.
Click to expand...


It only takes one bad connection to cause a few faults, especially if it is a ground connection.

By any chance did you forget to reconnect the ground wire at the triple tree for the bars?

Also check all the fuses too.
 
glider said:
It only takes one bad connection to cause a few faults, especially if it is a ground connection.

By any chance did you forget to reconnect the ground wire at the triple tree for the bars?

Also check all the fuses too.
Click to expand...

Ground wire at the triple tree? I am almost sure i didn't. how would i know?
 
All of the above, but if you run out of things to check, pull all the harness back out of the frame neck and try moving the wires ever so slightly while the ignition is on and see if you lights come on, or lite up intermittently. If so you either have a broken wire, a shorted wire, or even a faulty AMP connector that hopefully you can track down by moving different wires to trace it down OR with a volt tester.

If you have some small paper clips you can rig up some back probes to test the voltage (with ignition on) at the back of the AMPs. This will enable you to trace back up the circuit to eliminate at least some of the length OR NOT.

You really have to wind the paper clips tight (on your tester probe) or it will not conduct sometimes. But I have used them this way. I finally bought me a set of good back probes on Amazon.

Hopefully you have a manual with a wiring diagram, if not you can probably find it here on this forum. But buy a manual if you don't have one, best investment you can make. Hope you can track it down, know how you feel.
 
Have you checked for blown fuse? When I changed my bars, I pinched a wire in the right side switch housing. Blew the fuse - and no start. I had to take switch housing apart and repair the wire that had shorted between housing and the bars.
 
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