Topic: need electrical/carb/airfilter help please ***FIXED***

[the technological J]

Im in desperate need of advice on where to start with my 78 550k.... some how it doesnt have a key the ignition switch is wired to a switch that i have relocated behind the electrical cover (on the left side) for some reason my airfilter is the foam type ive seen for dirt bikes not the paper one from the books... THE BIKE WAS RUNNING FINE UNTIL.. i took out the airfilter and sprayed it clean with carb cleaner.. i put it back in and the bike is backfiring like its running on m80s... some times it will run like a bat out of hell other time it feels like its running on one cylinder and the rest are just popping then for some reason my switch stopped working i check the wires running to it( i was on the side of the road and gonna just bridge them) and it is no longer sending power through them  so i pull the side cover and wire the ignition straight to the last fuse before the spare one(i'll post a pic the fuse is in crappy shape before i wired it)... it gets me home  and ive had it out like twice but the firing issue has gotten so bad i can get it to start im looking for a short... im lost if it wasnt conected to an electrical problem i would believe it if someone said i had holes in my pistons.... so there it is.... i'll be checking this post for the rest of the night... thanks

[the technological J]

the white arrow is the fuse(the setting has looked like that since ive got it) that ive hooked the red lead up to to start the bike normally i would just use the switch(green)

[Spanner 1]

That fuse clip you have arrowed is your problem...it's fried and has heated-up enough to melt the plastic it's mounted in.....it may pass current now and again, enough to start your bike and give you the (false) confidence to use it !! Need to replace the fuse-holder.....

[the technological J]

spanner u are a God send..that was it.. it started right up( with a jump) had i not taken the fuse box apart i never would have found it i probably never would have seen it... in the pic the wires(yellow) were touching when laid as designed(puke color) and the solder had gotten so hot it disentigrated(red) instead of looking like the blue...  i sanded up the connecetions and soldered the new fuse holder into place.. and switched the the screwed up one with the spare...so is there another short that is causing the heat to this fuse? any suggestions? this fuse is a higher rated fuse than 15 but its the one that was in there when i got it...... oh yeah the switch works again

[Spanner 1]

Well fixed, sorta !!...while I'm glad your bike is functional again, I think you really need to get a separate 15A fuse between the two red wires for safe operation...fuse clips will corrode/form a coating over time and will heat-up trying to pass the current for the lights, ignition, etc.....lots of posts about replacing the fuse-block on this Forum is good reading....