Author Topic: CB400F wiring info HELP!  (Read 561 times)

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Offline Gentlemanjim

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CB400F wiring info HELP!
« on: January 02, 2015, 02:40:54 PM »
I'm having issues with my 1976 CB400F wiring.  I have a black w/red stipe wire with nothing to connect it and I'd like to see a diagram of fuse panel.  Before I stripped it down to bare frame for a restoration It fired right up now the starter button is dead.  Only two fuses have power, but all terminals out of the ignition switch are hot.  I can short the solenoid to get it to crank, but not from the starter button.  I also have a brown and black hot wire n the head light nacele where do they go?

Offline Bodi

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Re: CB400F wiring info HELP!
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2015, 04:57:56 PM »
Use this wiring diagram http://manuals.sohc4.net/CB350_CB400/WD_CB400_77.jpg not any simplified one. Take the time to understand the layout and the switching diagrams.

The red/white wire should go from the solenoid connector to the rectifier connector, this is the charge power from the alternator to the battery.

The fusebox wiring is a bit odd but not super complex.
The sleeved red wire from the solenoid is +12V battery power, it goes to fusebox connector and to the MAIN fuse. The extra insulating sleeve is because if the insulation on this unfused battery power wire gets worn through and metal touches metal, you have a melted wire at minimum... and probably a fire.
After the MAIN fuse the fused power is also a red wire, but without the extra insulating sleeve - it goes only to the ignition switch.
Key on power is the black wire: this goes to may components directly, and to the starter button switch. The starter button, when "off", sends power to the headlight switch on the black/red wire to power the headlight and front marker lights through the switch.
Ahh but the "TAIL" fuse... some bikes had a lights OFF function, this would connect black to brown/black which powers the TAIL fuse, with its fused power coming back to the ignition switch on the brown/white wire. If yours has no OFF position on the headlight dimmer switch, the black wire is spliced to the brown/black wire somewhere: usually the spliced wires are stuck in the sleeving with the switchpod wires but if the pod was replaced (replacement ones don't have the spliced wires) you will need to add the jumper at the harness junction by the steering stem - or the tail light will come on in P but not in ON (there has been plenty of confusion and hair pulling about this).
This is all for the parking lights. In "P", the tail light is powered from the MAIN fuse directly. In "ON", it's powered though the TAIL fuse.
The extra brown wire in the headlight shell is for a front parking light, you may see some headlights with an extra tiny bulb, that is the front parking light. This was never used in North America because the DOT headlight rules did not allow it, but was used in other markets.
This makes the ignition switch wiring a bit confusing, the brown wire connects to two terminals. It makes sense if you look at the ignition switch connection diagram.
A black wire in the headlight shell could be for the horn or the front brakelight switch. Or just an extra?
Connect the green ground wire to the spade terminals at the bucket mounting bolts. This carries the headlight (etc) ground current around the steering stem bearings. Without this connection the bearings will be destroyed pretty quickly by the electricity going through them.

Offline Gentlemanjim

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Re: CB400F wiring info HELP!
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2015, 03:36:03 AM »
Thanks

1. Before I tor the bike down for restoring It started right up using the starter button.  It is now dead. 
2. There is no black/red stripe wire to plug into the main harness.  Where should that wire come from?
3. With the ignition on only two fuses are live.  Shouldn't they all be live?
4. Is there a legend available to identify which circuits are serving which fuses.

Offline Gentlemanjim

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Re: CB400F wiring info HELP!
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2015, 04:51:11 AM »
Thanks all I'll give it a go today.  Just for clarification the black/red stipe leaves the fuse panel and heads to the front, what plugs into it at that point, just in back of the head stock?  It has a female terminal with no black/red stripe to plug into it.  Where should that wire be coming from?

Offline Bodi

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Re: CB400F wiring info HELP!
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2015, 12:20:22 PM »
black/red is power to the HEAD fuse, if it's not connected that explains why only two fuses are powered. It gets power from the original start button - that switches the headlight off when the electric start is activated. If you don't have the original switchpods or the start switch has been "fixed" and no longer has the headlight (HL) black/red wire... just connect the black/red to any open black connector. It should simply plug in (male bullet on black/red, black wire ends are always female) if an unused black connector is within reach.
As a rule, any harness wire bullet connector with power coming out will be female, any load wire bullet will be male. The green ground wires sorta break this rule, but touching a green return wire to metal won't blow a fuse or melt a wire.