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[Alan R]

Hi guys--------Yesterday I did some basic electrical repairs and general tidying - up then went on a great little run about town with no probs at all.....This morning I had the Bullet'65 idling over whilst prepping and checking it for the 30 mile run to Kinver and my 5" gauge train duties.......As usual I checked the lights / horn / indicators etc but when I applied the front brake....the engine stopped and the lights went out !!!.............In fact EVERYTHING was dead !!..........There's only 3 things I can think of which would give that scenario viz.}--- Ammeter dis-connected, battery terminal undone, main fuse blown....In order of easy access}----1) Battery terminals were clean and tight..2) Bike still had the plastic pouch with the glass-type fuses..One cap was loose and the fuse blown...I found a mini-blade holder in my "General Stores" and 20 mins. later the job was done......Not very Glamorous or Sexy as jobs go but if that had happened 30 mins later when overtaking ( add a suitable slow object in here !! ) it might have proved serious....

[Creaky45]

I have had the same problem with a front brake switch from India. Quite cheap but it shorted out to ground. A replacement one worked ok. It was a while back and I can't remember any more details, sorry but that would be the first place to look. You know the trick to save wasting fuses while looking for a short. Temporarily replace the fuse with a 12 volt lamp and if it glows full brightness there is a short. Another trick I have on my bike is a 12 volt led fitted via a hole in the left toolbox connected in parallel (across) with the fuse. If ever the led is on you know the fuse is cactus.

[Alan R]

Hi Matey !!---------- years ago when I was in the Automotive trade ( Royal Mail Commercials and HGVs' ) I used a small bike horn as well as the bulb that you mentioned...Given that the tractor unit was at one end and I might be at the far end of the trailer looking for the fault, it gave a good, audible indication.....Trouble was that it also told the other technicians that I still hadn't found the full answer !!.......Great guys--good fun !!

[steveW]

Hi, a bit late from your op, but I am having a similar problem with my Electra X. Trying to get it back on the road- getting the engine to fire up seems to have been the easy part! I got a new front brake light switch from our hosting ( ordered yesterday and here this morning- very impressed!) Sadly the problem wasn't solved, both front and rear brake light switches would blow the fuse now it takes the power from the tail light so there's clearly a short somewhere. Do I need to undo the harness to find it, the wiring diagram shows the horn and brakes all come from the ignition switch.....oh, the other thing to mention is that I've had to take a power supply for the rear brake as there is nowhere to connect the switch to! I'm sure it was OK when I stopped using the bike 5 years ago!

[AndyMc]

You can now buy blade fuses with an integral LED that glows when the fuse has blown. Very useful in modern cars with dozens of fuses.