george0fthejungle Posted December 18, 2008 Share #1 Posted December 18, 2008 Hi guys! Well the cold weather hit and I went a few too many days without starting my firstgen VR and bought a Black & Decker trickle charger at a local store. Its a sweet little unit that comes with three interchangeable connectors, 1 that you can bolt onto the terminals and leave it on there for quick plugin, a 2nd with alligator clips and a 3rd thats a cigarette lighter plug. I was preparing to pull the false tank cover and bolt on the first when I remembered...Hey, my venture has a cigarette lighter, so I took the easy way and plugged the trickle charger in that way. An hour later and Vroom! Vroom! it started right up. Great news right? Well, yes except for one little thing. I noticed my headlight and the lights on my instrument cluster gauges were not on. Im pretty sure I popped a fuse but before I tear in there I was hoping to find a diagram for the fusebox on the first gens. I would like to know if I can safely replace the blown fuses with fuses that are a little larger...and I mean a LITTLE larger. Im not going to throw 20 amp fuses in there and defeat the whole purpose of having fuses in the first place. Im also not in a huge hurry because having the headlight NOT light up saves a ton of battery and makes these cold winter starts...but I will need to fix it before I take the bike back out in the spring. Another crazy idea I had that Im inviting comments on.... I know you legally MUST have a working headlight on a motorcycle, but has anyone considered putting a switch in...maybe out of the way...opposite the hazards switch, expressly for cold starts? I just keep thinking what an advantage it would be to have one when your bike battery is giving its all and its not quite enough....wouldnt it be great to shut off the headlight and have that extra power for starting? Feedback is welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydoc_17 Posted December 18, 2008 Share #2 Posted December 18, 2008 Hey Paul, First off let me say that electric wires are like VOODOO to me but I can share some of the wisdom George S. and Lonestarmedic have shared with me and that is upping the fuse size on 25 plus year old Jap copper wire might not be a good Idea! It's much easier to change the fuse than rewire the bike. Next, having just installed a battery tender myself, if you use the plug that connects directly to the battery all of your fuse problems will be gone. Lastly, I am not positive that the MK1 is the same as the MK2 but on my 87' VR when I press the starter switch to engage the starter motor, it cuts the headlight off during the start. It's hard to tell while sitting on the bike but on my 87' thats what happens. You might try a set of larger battery cables that are offered in the classified section on this site. I found them to be a great addon for the starting problems with these bikes. plus the battery charged better and lasted longer. These are my thoughts, I'm sure there will be more. Start Safe, Earl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george0fthejungle Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted December 18, 2008 Thanks Earl, I did have that thought....burning up a wiring harness doesnt sound good to me either. But the trickle charger is only 1 or 2 amps (there is a selector switch). I dunno, I know you are right though, the direct to the battery terminals connector is probably by far the safest. I think Im really just very curious to know what the fuses are especially since Im going to have to replace them now anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george0fthejungle Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share #4 Posted December 18, 2008 One more thing Earl....I really dont think that the headlight cuts out when I hit my starter. I dont know if thats standard to the MK1's or a quirk thats limited to my bike. Thats entirely possible. I have owned other Yamaha's and they definitely did cut the headlight when the starter was engaged. I was watching this one closely the other night when it wouldnt start and the reflection of the headlight in the paint of the freezer in my garage did not seem to dim at all. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93 venture Posted December 18, 2008 Share #5 Posted December 18, 2008 You may just have a sticking starter button,this happen to mine and i just spayed it with wd-40 and worked the starter button a few times and my headlight worked again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil86 Posted December 18, 2008 Share #6 Posted December 18, 2008 (edited) If the battery charged with the key off.....the cigarette lighter is probably wired direct to battery. The headlight should go off when cranking a 1st gen (83-93) Venture. Try freeing up the button as mentioned above... If that doesn't fix it...the headlight fuse has a brown wire on one side, red/yellow on the other end and is 10 Amp. Check voltage on the red/yellow side with key on...if you have battery voltage, fuse is fine. Also look for corrosion on the fuse clips...they tend to oxidize, heat up and lose tension. Edited December 18, 2008 by Neil86 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydoc_17 Posted December 18, 2008 Share #7 Posted December 18, 2008 Hey Paul, Here is the fuse list from the lid of my MK2 Hope this helps. Front 10A ACC 15A HEAD 15A IGNITION 20A SIGNAL 10A TAIL Earl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeS Posted December 18, 2008 Share #8 Posted December 18, 2008 Common sence, ( from an electricians standpoint ) method of hooking up any Battery Charger, is Hook it Directly to the Battery Terminals. Most chargers, ( trickle ) come with a set of leads, that hook directly to the battery terminals. Run these two wires to somplace that give easy access to the Plug in Point. A trickle charger will usually have #12 or #14 wires, included to make the hook up. If not, make up cableing useing that size wire. Put studs, on wire ends, to mount to battery, and Crimp, and Solder the new studs. Install a 2 wire Pull Apart Plug, avialable at any auto parts store, if the Unit did not include this set up. Hooking a charger to any other point , on Any vehical, is just asking for trouble !! ( It could manifest itself, in many forms !!! none of which will make you happy ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydoc_17 Posted December 19, 2008 Share #9 Posted December 19, 2008 Hey Paul, I knew George S. would know what to do!! This man is a GOD!!!:bowdown: Earl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeS Posted December 19, 2008 Share #10 Posted December 19, 2008 Don't claim to be that, just an Aviation Avionics Tech. Spent my whole life working with electricity, made a liveing at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george0fthejungle Posted December 22, 2008 Author Share #11 Posted December 22, 2008 Can I just echo a sentiment I have read on here more than once? I love this website! I love that I can ask a stupid question and get patient civil answers from good people here. YES! its fixed! It was the headlight cut-off on the starter button. It was cold enough in my garage that it was sticking. I sprayed a little WD-40 in there, wiggled it around a bit, and Presto! I do thank everyone for their input and info about the fusebox, I will copy it down and save it for later. Thanks for setting the tone on this website....hopefully as I become less clueless and learn some valuable information about my machine I will be able to pass it along to other newcomers. Merry Christmas everyone! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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