Lights blink on and off....

[Max Fan]

I was wondering if anyone ever had this happen before........ Start the sled and the lights are on for a minute, then they randomly go on and off. Rev up the engine, and it makes no difference. All the lights are bright and normal when they are on. Tach, speedo, headlamp, taillight, brake light, temp gauge light are all on for a few seconds then they all go off together. Maybe a loose wire ? Lighting coil is good because they do come on once in a while. Voltage regulator ? Bad ground on voltage regulator ? I will do more investigating. Any clues or hints would be great ! Thanks for the help. - Tony.

[chrisrider63]

Mine is doing the same thing but the light goes bright when i rev it up and then blinks and isnt bright. I got it working amasing now and this is the only thing thats wrong with it.

[Joe]

If the regulator wiring is loose the lights get really bright and then burn out. That is not your problem.

Anywhere the yellow wire goes is suspect. If it touches ground anywhere, it will cause all the lights to go out. If it is broken, it may make some or all of the lights go out.

Here is the troubleshooting technique I used recently on my VMAX wiring problem:

-Disconnect the yellow wire at the stator connection on the front right of the engine.
-Connect a 12 volt battery to the yellow wire male connector on the wiring harness at the front right of the engine using a 10 amp circuit breaker. Other side of battery to ground.
-Wiggle the wiring harness to make the lights blink.
-If the circuit breaker opens, the problem is a short to ground. Not a broken wire.
-If the lights go out without the circuit breaker opening, the problem is an open in the wiring harness. Not a short.
-Diagnose an open by noting which lights go out and inspecting the wiring that they share. A T-pin and a test light is useful for probing into each wire to see if it has voltage present.
-Diagnose a short by disconnecting the various wires until the problem is isolated to a single wire.
-A short to ground can be found by using a headlight (instead of the circuit breaker) in a dark room and looking for the spark that occurs along the wire as the headlight flickers.

If the problem is outside the stator, this technique should find your problem.

If you hook the headlight circuit to the stator (yellow female connector), the light should glow dimly.
If it comes on bright, you have a shorted stator.
If it does not come on, you have an open stator.
If it flickers bright/dim as you move the wire, you have an intermittent short in the stator.
If it flickers off/dim as you move the wire, you have an intermittent open in the stator.

I hope this helps you find the problem soon.

It took me about an hour to figure out that 1) all my light bulbs were burned out, 2) my regulator was disconnected, and 3) my stator was open.

[Vmax540]

Joe, Excellant post ! Three stars !

[chrisrider63]

Do i just take the recoil asembly off to get at the stator??

[Vmax540]

Do i just take the recoil asembly off to get at the stator??

Chris, to check the resistance (ohms) of the stator coils disconnect, the wiring harness on the right front of the engine below the oil tank. Pull apart all the connections at the engine/wiring harness connector then clean and tighten, these tend to get corroded or oily.

From the Articles section......

Headlight/ Taillight/ Meter light Ratings 12v 60-55w/ 12v 23-8w/ 12v 3.4w
Lighting Coil Color Code/ Resistance/ Output Yellow~ Black/ 0.25 Ohms� +/-10% NA
Handlebar Heater Coil Color Code/ Resistance Yellow-Black~ Blk/ 0.77 Ohm� +/-10%

[chrisrider63]

Ill do that today because I wanna go riding tonight... Have you guys been riding at night in the cold weather?? Im scared to go by myself and had no one to ride with last night. I want the lights fixed cause I love ridin at night time. I was out by myself last saturday and saw some other guys out and started ridin with them....They all had 800 v-maxs and mach-z 800's and I kept up just fine with them. I had the old 86' v-max going about 95mph yesterday in about a 1/4 of a mile down the side of my road. I dont see the need to buy a new machine when I have this. Oh and did i mention I bought it for $300 out of michigan. lol.

[Vmax540]

Rode last night until 11:00 and it was 2 degress F. when we got back But, yes we ride with 3-5 others, keep your face well covered and limit the W.O.T. runs to short bursts in these lean temps !