Electrical Overhaul: Unraveling a 1982 Yamaha XT200’s Wiring Nightmare

Electrical Overhaul: Unraveling a 1982 Yamaha XT200’s Wiring Nightmare #motorcyclerewind #vintagemotorcycles #xt200
In this episode of Motorcycle Rewind, join me in the garage as I tackle the chaotic wiring harness of a 1982 Yamaha XT200. It seems the previous owner took a rather… creative approach to electrical work, leaving us with a bit of a puzzle. I’ll take you step-by-step through the process of diagnosing the issues, stripping back the madness, and restoring proper function with precision and care. Whether you’re a seasoned mechanic or just starting out, you’ll gain insights and tips on handling wiring challenges in vintage bikes. So grab your tools, and let’s get this classic running smooth again!
🛠️ Subscribe to Motorcycle Rewind for more adventures, tips, and stories from the garage. Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below-we love hearing from our community of motorcycle enthusiasts and DIY heroes.
Solder connectors
amzn.to/3QRxalT
⬇️Get your Motorcycle Rewind Gear Here ⬇️
be40a4-4.myshopify.com
Check out our great sponsors:
Rabaconda Street Tire Changer
rabaconda.com
Website link: tinyurl.com/Mukkpetninja
Exclusive discount code: EM80
VEVOR Tough Tools, Half Price
s.vevor.com/bfQUyH
5% off code for your viewers: DISCOUNT23 (Valid for all the items)
The DigiSync
tinyurl.com/thedigisync
Use Promo Code "MotorcycleRewind" for $10 off your purchase
Buy ANPUDS Torque Wrench
tinyurl.com/33nf8kh2
F40 Jump Pack
www.jfegwo.com/products/f40-4...
Use Coupon Code - REWIND and save 10%
Join us on our social media channels:
Facebook: motorcyclerewind
Instagram: motorcyclerewind
Sponsorships opportunities: If you would like to sponsor our channel on contact us at [e-mail] and put the word "Sponsorship" in the subject line.
All music by Bensound
For Aftermarket Parts
www.speedmotoco.com
For OEM parts for your Vintage Motorcycle
www.cmsnl.com

[@MaryK4242]

Oops Almost forgot! A Dolla a Day for a Video a Day in May! ($2 at a time lol) Thanks Eric for all the great content!

[@motorcyclerewind]

Thanks so much for all your support.

[@NoremacOktik]

Just liked and subbed from my alternate account. Great lesson.

[@motorcyclerewind]

Welcome. Thanks so much.

[@dannyjamison8337]

Addendum to my previous comment.. green wire and white wire to the CDI unit come from the pickup or pulse coil. So, red, Brown from stator power the CDI unit. Green, White send trigger signal to CDI unit. Orange from CDI sends power signal to ignition (spark plug) coil. With only those wires connected, you should have spark. After that is sorted out, the rest are all battery peripherals which originate from the charging coil on the stator and are not needed to run the bike.

[@motorcyclerewind]

So tempted to start snipping wires. Two things could happen. 1. We have spark, winning. 2. We have no spark and it confirms original diagnosis, winning. Doesn’t look like we can go wrong. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@DoItYourselfDoItRight]

You're a better man than I. Great work but that bike will forever have electrical gremlins. I woulda just sourced a new harness and saved all my environmental splices!

[@motorcyclerewind]

We did decide to get a new harness thanks for watching.

[@donnydenfeld2394]

I own a service manual for all my bikes and your doing it exactly like I do. One wire at a time. And before you know it your done.

[@motorcyclerewind]

It’s tedious work but someone has to do it!🤣😂🤣

[@dannyjamison8337]

The orange wire coming out of the CDI unit is not showing power because the engine is not turning. If you isolate the two coils of the stator, you'll see that the one with a red and a brown wire coming off it feed power to the CDI unit. The orange wire coming from the CDI unit goes to the ignition (spark plug) coil. That coil must be mounted to the frame for its ground. The other four wires coming out of the CDI unit are grounding wires.. Brown goes to the key switch, black / White goes to engine stop switch, the other two go to kickstand switch and neutral switch (your bike may or may not have a kickstand switch). Essentially, if you cut the brown wire where it exits the CDI unit, you could kick it over and get spark. But don't do this.. because you will bypass all of the safety stop switches as well as the key switch and kill switch. The other coil on the stator is the charging coil. It charges the battery and connects to all the peripherals, lights, horn, turn signals, etc. so remember.. on the CDI unit, red and brown feed power from the stator ignition coil. Orange sends signal to the ignition coil for spark plug. All of the other wires are grounding wires which kill the CDI unit by grounding it.

[@motorcyclerewind]

Thanks. 🙏 knew someone would have the answers. I tried another coil with the same result. I might try cutting the brown wire just to see if I can get spark. One more cut wire can’t hurt. 🤣 We are replacing the CDI and he ordered a replacement harness.

[@rsc68er]

Haha Yes humans are worse than mice when it comes to motorcycle wiring. You cleaned her up nicely.

[@motorcyclerewind]

This was a war of attrition. Every one I repaired was one step closer. We are going to replace the harness. Just seems like the right thing to do. It only has 1,900 miles on it.

[@Jnike8715]

Disconnect every plug, throw away all cut wires and start point to point Wiring with new wire. Colors to match OEM drawings.

[@motorcyclerewind]

That sounds like a great idea. If you really wanted to make it fun for the next guy. Just use one color wire. 🤣🤣

[@yomommaahotoo264]

Those are some nifty connectors.

[@motorcyclerewind]

They are really cool and so affordable. Here is the link amzn.to/3QRxalT

[@yomommaahotoo264]

​@@motorcyclerewind Thanks! Just put those in my next Amazon order cart.

[@motorcyclerewind]

Awesome.

[@shaunhardie6077]

Some folk need to leave well alone and walk away, 😱🤣.

[@motorcyclerewind]

Agreed. They went mad!

[@shaunhardie6077]

@@motorcyclerewind thing is with mice they are just after something nice to chew on, whereas us humans, we just like to pull things apart, and ultimately destroy them . Hope you manage to sort out a CDI for the bike and get it running, 🤞.

[@MrAmartin8]

Worse than mice if they don't know what they are doing ... LOL

[@motorcyclerewind]

Agreed. Thanks for watching.

[@yomommaahotoo264]

Just saw a wiring harness on fleabay for under $120 shipped. Expensive for sure.

[@motorcyclerewind]

My buddy found one with the CDI so we will replace it. This one would be fine but I would feel better with another one. He is going ride this bike.

[@motorcyclerewind]

This was such a mess. Wish I knew what they were trying to do.

[@yomommaahotoo264]

​​@@motorcyclerewind Probably a dirty carb.😊

[@MaryK4242]

That's a Hot Mess! I'm Learning something new every video! What size wire is typically on a motorcycle? 14-16 awg? Love that wire stripper!! Old school

[@michaelmccann4706]

Honda's ain't like this😂, Congratulations 👍

[@motorcyclerewind]

🤣🤣🤣

[@motorcyclerewind]

Definitely a Hot Mess. The stripper is awesome.

[@dannyjamison8337]

@maryk4242. Most of the wiring is 22 awg. It's all stranded, no solid core.

[@MaryK4242]

@@dannyjamison8337 Thank you Danny.

[@yomommaahotoo264]

So a bad cdi instigated all this. Good to know before making spheghett.

[@motorcyclerewind]

Not sure if the CDI started them cutting wires or was a result of them cutting the wires.

[@MainelyMoto207]

Sometimes you just need to start from scratch. I had a CM400 that had no spark last year, and it turned out to be that some clown messed with the wiring and didn't know what they were doing. After some troubleshooting, I had it running and sold it. Wiring is something that requires attention and patience, which some people just don't have.

[@motorcyclerewind]

I agree. Thanks for watching.

[@RobertAdams-wd6pt]

I think that they are worst than mice

[@motorcyclerewind]

Not all people but these definitely were. Thanks for watching.

[@yomommaahotoo264]

Lesson learned. Don't smoke weed while trying to troubleshoot wiring. Most shops wouldn't touch it.

[@motorcyclerewind]

🤣so true