Why don't I have power on my lighting circuit, but the bike still runs?

[1tontj]

So, I was trying to figure out why my GPS power cable hard wired to the bike was not working.

Turns out the yellow and black wires when tested have no power. Checked the wires, they are nice clean and tight.

Question one:
Why does the bike still run? Are there two seperate circuits for lighting and ignition? My FSM is not really clear on this.

How do I test the thing easily, and determine what needs replacing? FSM goes on about only using kawi special tools...

Any tips from you guys out there?

Thanks,
Phil

 

[adam728]

The lighting and ignition coil are indeed seperate. There's really not much to it at all, I am guessing you have a broken wire in it. The only "special tool" you'll need to check is a flywheel puller (I got one for like $7 from the dealer). Once you see it it's pretty self explanitory.

 

[canyncarvr]

You are going to plug in a GPS to an AC power source?

You might want to reconsider that.

The KDX is NOT DC..it is AC.

Well, howabout you check it, anyway. I'm referring to US bikes..and that's probably not what you have.

How are you 'checking it'? If you are connecting a voltmeter set to measure DC to the black and yellow wires...and read nothing, it's because you are trying to read an AC voltage.

Put your meter on AC. Try it again.

I can't imagine plugging your GPS into an AC power source is going to do it any favors.....if it doesn't just plain blow it up.

Note the yellow wire is straight from the coil. It will NOT be regulated. It is switched to the regulator only AFTER it goes thru the switch (the red wire). If the light switch is 'on', the yellow wire will appear regulated. But...switch the lights off...have something hardwired to the yellow wire...and you're going to blow it up for SURE!

 

[03KDXHOPPER]

If Mr. AC/DC is correct, you'll need to make a DC power supply. That means building a converter (simple circuit to build from radio shack parts). You're objective is to make the current flow in only one direction. Research power supply schematics. That should give you a general introduction to how to control the flow of electricity.
I typically depend on batteries for GPS power, although I've considered tackling the power from the Lighting coil of the bike.

 

[89kdx200rdr]

tip if you go to radio shack to get parts buy batteries instead