Topic: F2 750 solenoid - Is the polarity reversed from earlier 750s?

[Patrick]

If I am reading the wiring diagrams correctly, somewhere along the line Honda reversed the polarity of the ignition wires to the solenoid, In the early models the ignition button was a ground and the second wire to the solenoid was a black hot wire. In the F2 750, however, it appears that the starter button is hot and the second wire - the green and black - is a ground wire. Is that right?

I have been trying to make the starter turn on my K5 750. It has a 1977 F2 wiring harness. It has a 1972 K2 750 right hand switch. If the wiring harness is looking for a hot starter button it will never find one. But I can always disconnect the gr/b wire from the clutch switch and connect it to a black wire in the headlight bucket to supply power and take out the diode to cut off that part of the electrical system.

I have one other issue with that, though. The B/green wire coming from the solenoid is hot. Why?

Syggestions, please.

Patrick

[Trav-i]

The biggest difference I know of between the left hand switches came in 76 when the ON OFF headlight switch was eleminated.  They changed the wiring to the starter button so the headlight would go out when the bike was started to reduce load on the battery.  Without looking at a wiring diagram right now, it's kinda hard to see if you can make the button work.

[Patrick]

Actually, Trav-i, I did figure this out finally. On the F2 switch the power to the starter button comes from the same live wire that powers the headlight. The starter button moves the power between the two. The starter button supplies the power for the solenoid. On my K2 switch, however, the starter button is the ground. I got the button to work by turning the system around. I disconnected the live wire from the clutch switch - which is the end of the safety circuit in the F2 harness - made a jumper wire and hooked that wire to a black wire in the headlight bucket. I also removed the diode from that circuit to separate it from the neutral light circuit. This provided power to the correct side of the solenoid and allowed the starter button to again serve as the ground. It works now.

Of course this completely defeats the safety circuit, but I do not think it is possible to make an F2 safety circuit work without an F2 right hand control.

Patrick