Author Topic: What do the "ON" & "P" positions on the ignition exactly power?  (Read 1454 times)

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Meet The Twins

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Im not getting any power to any fuse but the MAIN in my fuse block when the key is "ON". Do the head, tail, and other fuses only get power when the bike is actually running?  Or do I have a problem with my ignition switch?

Its also odd that when the keyis in the "ON" position the lights in the gauges work and the neutral light works and theres no power to any other fuses but the main fuse.

Am I still looking at the ignition itself? 

76 CB500T.

Thanks guys! 
« Last Edit: August 12, 2007, 04:37:32 PM by Meet The Twins »

Offline 333

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Re: What do the "ON" & "P" positions on the ignition exactly power?
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2007, 08:05:01 PM »
I'm not too familiar with the 500T, so I'm only guessing.  But what do the other fuses go to?  Sometimes the fuses only have power when the thing they are for is turned on.

And "P" is Park.  It turns on the tail( and maybe front marker) lights.  And the key probably is removable, so be careful.
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Offline Bodi

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Re: What do the "ON" & "P" positions on the ignition exactly power?
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2007, 05:32:22 PM »
Typical Honda system has the MAIN fuse before the ignition switch (you don't want unfused power in the harness, the main power feed comes from the battery or solenoid directly to the MAIN fuse); usually it's a red wire from the MAIN fuse (fused side) to the ignition switch.
Check the wiring in the back of the fuse block, the connections should be solid and the fuse clips tight. Even fuses that look fine can be dead from overheating, the solder in one end melts leaving no connection although the fuse wire looks fine through the glass.
The ignition switch provides ignition ON power to the black wire, this is on the 15A main fuse only. The indicator lights are powered from this black wire and don't involve the other fuses.
The headlight fuse is powered from the black wire, either directly or through the starter switch (shutting off the headlight while electric starting). From the starter switch usually it's a black wire with red stripe to the headlight fuse, then black with a yellow stripe to the headlight dimmer switch.
The tail light is complicated. The tail fuse should be powered whenever the ignition switch is ON, this is through the lighting ON/OFF switch if one exists, many bikes without this switch (always-on lighting) have a spliced wire in one of the handlebar switch cables to bypass the (missing) switch - usually a black wire spliced to a brown/blue wire that goes to the fuse. If you install a new handlebar switch unit without a ON/OFF switch or this spliced wire you will have no tail light power with ignition ON. The fused side of the tail fuse is brown/white wire that feeds the instrument lighting and goes to the ignition switch again, connected to the brown tail light power wire when the ignition switch is ON.
With the tail light in PARK, the brown tail light power wire gets power directly from the red wire from the main fuse, giving you a parking light with nothing else.
I would look for a problem with the starter switch if your headlight won't work, the switch can be jumpered or bypassed to leave your headlights on when you're doing electric starts with little or no problems. Check that there's no unconnected brown/blue wire where the handlebar controls plug into the main harness with no matching wire to connect it to, you can connect it to a black wire to power the tail lights if it's there.
It's possible that you have a bad ignition switch or broken wires nearby. You can try jumpering the red wire to the black wire and also the brown/white wire to the brown wire: this simulates the switch in ON.