I have encountered a strange problem which I was wondering if anyone can help me with. I am on a RTW trip and am currently in Mocoa, Colombia.

On my way here I stopped on the side of the road and noticed that I had no neutral light, so I figured it was the bulb, but when I tried to start the bike there was no power to the starter. The battery is new and has over 13 volts. The lights and hooter work fine with the ignition switch on, but no neutral light.

I checked the bulb but it's fine and swapped it with the high beam bulb just to make sure. The main fuse on the starter relay is fine. When I had the relay out I tested the block connector that comes out of the relay. There are 3 wires. One of them gave me 13 volts and the two parallel ones gave me 5.5 volts. That might be a problem. I also cleaned the lead by the gear shift which I think is for the neutral light but that didn't help.

As a last resort (I was about 50 km's from Mocoa, my destination) I tried to push start it and was surprised to find that it ran perfectly. But then when I put down the kickstand it switched off. With the kickstand up I still had no starter motor or neutral light. The guys that were helping me and I pushed the bike back up the hill, push started it again, and I rode straight to this hostel.

It was dark by then so I haven't delved into it, but if anyone has any ideas I can try I'd be most grateful.

No worries Steve ... it's got to be something with the two safety cut-out switches, one for the kick stand, the other for neutral. Both will disable starter if:
Bike is not in neutral or kick stand is down.

Some bikes (like my DR650) also have a cut out safety switch at the clutch.
Clutch must be pulled IN for starter to crank. All of them are a PITA ... but there it is!

Mine is same as yours ... will bump start but won't go using the button.

Probably there is a break in one of the wires or connections for one of these
pesky safety cut out switches.

Take your time, clean all the oil and crap off and have a close look when your in a good mood and working in the shade! These systems can be tricky ... and typically the wires go all the way back to the CDI or main wiring loom. A wiring diagram can help.

Many riders disable these cut outs. If you do so ... be sure to do it properly so it doesn't act up down the road.

Your bike may have a Neutral sending switch ... which senses when the bike is in neutral and lets current pass so starter can operate and of course, lights the neutral light on your dash. It may have come loose or broken?
On my DR, it's stuck in by the clutch under engine side case, with two wires coming out of it. I've retained mine but many disable it.

There are tons of XT guys here who know this bike WAY better than I do. I'm sure someone will speak up.
All the best! The good news is ... at least she's firing up!

I was just having a fag and a and came to the conclusion that my bike thinks it's in gear, even though it's in neutral. So, if I disable the kickstand switch and pull in the clutch, since there's also a switch there, it should start. At least I could be back on the road, but why does it think it's in gear? There is one wire coming out of the gearbox near the gear shift lever which I think sends the message. It might be a problem inside the gearbox, the sender. Or it might be further down that wire. I'll follow it when the sun comes up, even if I have to take the side cover off the engine, which means draining the oil. A bit of a pain, but . . .

Thanks for your reply, it'll give me something to go on in the morning. I'll try to keep you updated.

The neutral switch/ sending unit on the xt is on the left side near where the shift shaft comes out of the engine. It has a single wire going to a post with a screw on the end if it. THUMPTHUMP

Sounds similar to my DR650. On the DR the 2 bolts that hold the NSU (neutral sending unit) in place sometimes FALL OUT ... and end up ruining the trans.

A common fix (preventative) in the DR crowd is to Loc-Tite those bolts in place.

The first symptom on the DR that the NSU has come loose .... is ...
the neutral dash light goes OUT! On the DR if that happens ... pull over, and find the errant bolt before it ruins something ... many have found a bolt in the sump or on their magnetic drain bolt.

I doubt the XT is the same ... but worth a look.
Good luck tracking down the problem!

I am looking at a 600E schematic. The neutral switch should have a sky blue colored wire attached. When the transmission is in neutral a ground it applied to the sky blue wire. To test the circuit, remove the wire from the neutral switch and touch to a good ground. With ignition on you should see a neutral light. If you do, then reconnect to the neutral switch and in neutral if you still do not see a light you have a defective switch. A temp fix is to permanently ground the sky blue wire and see if that allows the starter to function.

If you do not light the neutral light when the sky blue wire is grounded then the problem is most likely a disconnected or broken wire. The wire goes two places, one is the starter cutoff relay and the other is the plug going to the speedo where the neutral light is. Look for a relay that has the sky blue wire, unplug the plug and check for corrosion and or a broken wire. Try and add a jumper wire to the sky blue wire in the plug and ground it, see if the neutral light turns on with ignition on. If it does, then the problem is between the relay and the neutral switch. Try and start with the temp jumper at the relay.

There is one other place the neutral wire goes but I do not know where it is. It connects to a diode then ties into a black/white stripe wire. Probably inside the loom somewhere. The wire could be broken at that point too.

Hopefully by now you will have found the problem.

Please lets us know how it goes.

Steve

__________________
'84 XT600 is now bored to 2nd oversize and new OEM pistons and rings installed. No more smoking.

Hi guys,this is Steve, the one with the problem. Sorry I haven´t given you an update sooner, but getting a connection has been a problem. And then when I DID get to an internet shop I couldn´t remember my HU password! I am now in Baeza, Ecuador. I tried earthing the neutral switch wire, like you suggested, Steve, but the light didn´t go on, so it must be in the wire. That was in Mocoa, Colombia. Unfortunately I have an appointment in Cusco, Peru, on the 9th of July, about 4000 km´s from Mocoa. My brother and my best friend are coming to rent bikes for 15 days and ride with me. Since my bike starts with the kickstand up and the clutch pulled in I decided to just hit the road, and the bike´s been running like a bomb, so "no worries". When my life settles down I´ll start following wires and peeling tape off. As it is now, not really that much of a problem.

Thanks for all of your input guys. When I was stranded on the side of the road, in the rain, 50 km´s short of Mocoa, I kept thinking: If I can only get to an internet connection, I´ll be fine. You can always count on the HU community!

Steve.

Thats great news Steve. Wow, what a trip of a lifetime.

It is not a problem until either ;

the clutch switch fails
OR
the side stand switch fails.

IF either of those fail .. simply short the switch concerned (remove the two wires from the switch and connect them together , insulate the connection so it does not touch something else).