After running aftermarket lights on the rear of my 71 T250, I painted and installed OEM turn signals. After installing my right rear signal, I had light to the right front, but none to the right rear. Thinking I had a bad light, I tried a test light which barely glowed and then I lost all electrics and I mean everything. No headlight, no spark nothing. I checked the fuse under the left side cover and it appears fine. Just to be sure, I directly connected the fuse wires and still nothing. There was no smoking, nothing. One minute I had power and the next I had nothing. What am I missing?
My first thought was a dead rectifier. Should be a diode check described somewhere online.
What I was thinking, but every time I had a rectifier go it went with at least a puff of smoke.
You could go further up the chain to the stator (I assume this is a stator & separate R/R bike) and if that checks good then check the R/R and then check for voltage in reference to chassis ground at various connectors until you don't have a nice amount of power available. Not many other ways to start skinning this cat is there?
In reply to pres589:
It looks like It is the rectifier. I have power going in, but nothing coming out.
In reply to pres589:
I used a test light on the rectifier, when I touch the power in to power out, it lights up, but jumping does not provide any power to the the bike.
Can you be more verbose? I don't know what "jumping" means here. Another vehicle used? Bypassing something?
Additional: I was checking the bullet connectors with the test light and when I hit one of the lines I had lights. So I buttoned it up and I had no electric. I then checked the bullet connectors again and boom, I had electric. Again, I buttoned things up. I had electric then I didn't. Now nothing will get the power back. Here is something funny: I connected the test light to positive batter terminal with the ignition off and the test light lights. I turn the key on and the light will not light off the positive battery terminal.
Short, rectifier? I don't know.
OK, now the losing power at the battery when the ignition is on problem has now stopped, but still no electrics. Bike was running perfectly until I installed OEM lights.
Have you checked all the grounds?
I have a gy6 powered scooter, when I got it had a bad pick up coil in the stator. I'm 99% sure that the cause was that the engine case ground cable was missing from the factory. Gy6's are sort of rubber mounted, probably not an issue with this bike, but good grounds need to be confirmed.
Another thing to consider, some old school bikes, as well as bikes that are clones of retro machines and scooters have AC lighting systems. The power for the lights doesn't go through the rectifier. This may be the case with this old 'zuki. Did you hook something up to unrectified power that wasn't supposed to be, or vice versa?
In reply to HappyAndy:
All I did was remove after market turn signals and install OEM signals, no more, no less. I have no power, not just to lights. No spank, no nothing. Bad ground might be, but dk where. Power comes from battery or stator and into the rectifier then out to ignition switch. From switch it goes to lights, spark, etc. The T250 does not have a regulator. The battery is the regulator.
OK, I went and cleaned all connections and ground and still nothing. Then I played with the connection by the fuse and the lights would come on and if you moved the wire it would go out then come on and go off. Logically, I put all new wire and connections. Still behaved the same way. When I got the lights to come on, I left it on and the lights would dim until they went off. Now the won't come on and the battery is definitely good. The latest is that a problem I had yesterday has resurfaced.
I get power in the red wire from the rectifier to the fuse. When I turn the key to "on" the power to that wire (from the rectifier to the fuse) goes off. When I turn the key to off, the power comes back. I have power going to the key. I am thinking either ignition switch or rectifier. What is puzzling is that how turning the key on turns the power off from the rectifier to the fuse. I am thinking that either teh rectifier diodes are working in reverse or the ignition switch is shorting. I am lost here.
