1982 Yamaha XZ550 Vision: Much Needed Electrical Upgrade

"Luc - The Acadian Oppo" (luc5)
04/26/2016 at 11:28 • Filed to: Yamaha Vision, organ donor

My headlight wasn’t working when I got the bike so I started looking around and found the source of the problem. The old style glass fuses. The problem wasn’t the fuses itself but the fuse box. The box wasn’t holding the fuses tight so as they would vibrate they would connect/disconnect until it would eventually pop the fuse.

Here you can see the burnt fuse.

I had some spare fuses so I tried to bend the tabs to make it hold tighter but that didn’t work since the tabs snapped the second I touched it.

No worries and since this is the weakest point in the entire electrical system may as well upgrade it to modern standards.

I went to the part stores looking to find a small blade style fuse block but couldn’t find one in the 3 local stores I went to so I did the next best thing. I got 4 individual inline fuse holders.

here is all the stuff I got to complete this project.

4 inline fuse holders: $16 bucks

2 packs of fuses(10a & 30a): $10 bucks

1 pack of heat shrink tube: $8 bucks

total cost: $34 bucks

It was pretty easy to do and should be a MUST DO maintenance upgrade on an old bike like this. There is only 4 fuses on the entire bike so this really is something anyone should be able to accomplish with very basic tools.

It’s definitely not the prettiest setup in the world. But it gets the bike on the road. I’ll eventually order a fuse block and make this look a bit better but that can wait.

But now my headlight works and should continue to work for a long time.

DISCUSSION (12)

jimz > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/26/2016 at 10:40

yep. remember my buddy’s XJ650 I mentioned? that was one of the things we had to fix to get it running. we wired in a generic 4-fuse-holder from the electronics parts store, soldered on new terminals on the wires, and made a new cover.

the inline holders you used are perfectly fine (they’re what my XV250 have from the factory) just so long as you secure them so they don’t rub through on anything metal.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > jimz
04/26/2016 at 10:46

I have them zip tied to the main wiring loom. nothing moves and nothing rubs anywhere.

jminer > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/26/2016 at 11:08

Nicely done.

Be careful to not use blade fuses much larger (in amperage) than the stock fuses. Most bike wiring is fairly small and you want a short to pop the fuse and not start a fire.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > jminer
04/26/2016 at 11:10

everything is still the same as stock. 30a for the main fuse and 10a for the 3 others.

jminer > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/26/2016 at 11:17

That’s good. I’ve seen people just throw 30 amp fuses in all circuits on a bike because they kept popping fuses...

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > jminer
04/26/2016 at 11:23

If you keep popping fuses there is a reason for that. That is when you start looking for a short somewhere down the line. If the wiring is all in good shape you should never have to replace any fuses.

That’s the thing with me I like to do everything right. the fuse is there for a reason. If you are just gonna throw a much bigger fuse in there you may as well just wire the wires together and not bother with a fuse at all.

If something shorts you want the fuse to pop and not melt the entire wiring harness.

uofime-2 > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/26/2016 at 11:38

Where’d you hide the labels?

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > uofime-2
04/26/2016 at 11:46

no labels. I like living life on the wild side. not very hard to check 4 fuses if I need to. As long as I keep the one 30a fuse marked so I know that one is 30A then I’m good.

shop-teacher > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/26/2016 at 11:47

Good work!

uofime-2 > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/26/2016 at 13:02

Dude, just label them! When something weird inevitably happens, its one less variable to trip you up.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > uofime-2
04/26/2016 at 13:27

yes mom I will.

uofime-2 > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/26/2016 at 13:33

You’ll thank me later!