Before I put in a new battery, my very old battery would affect the lights the same as your capacitor. I have no experience using a capacitor instead of a battery but suspect this may be a reason, just not enough capacity for the regulator to function correctly.

I am happy to hear your Zeeltronic CDI is working as expected.

Yep, could be. I shuffled the blinker wires in the rear, no change. Cleaned the blinker switch ,nothing. Possibly not enough juice to get past the blinker relay .I'll check the grounds and re-install a new battery. If that doesn't work I'll give it to a shop. No big deal... I knew going in, buying an older bike I was going to have to replace some parts. Thanks for your help... Mike

threw some card board on the carpet and rolled the xt into the living room. Decided to redo the wire loom, halfway done and things are looking up. Wiring and connectors will all be replaced. Already found a poor connector from the capacitor and a bum turn signal bulb. The question I have is...does a bad light bulb break the electrical circuit to the point that all turn signals fail? Mike

Yes if i dont remember all wrong the circuit is depending on all bulbs to function.

I know the turn signal system is balanced. If you have an incorrect bulb or a bulb that is burned out things will not flash correctly. One side can affect the other, at least on my 86 an incorrect bulb caused an un even flash rate or intermittent flashing. The two sides are tied together thru the indicator in the instruments and this is why there is an interaction between sides. Once I put the correct 27 watt bulb in the one blinker/indicator everything settled down and flashed evenly on each side.

Now the other question would be, I've purchased new rear blinkers , does it matter which way I plug them in? Is it just a matter of completing the circuit to the bulb. Naturally I've put them in the same order as the replaced blinkers, but the color of the wires don't dictate which two wires plug in together to the one wire. Mike

IF the things are electrically isolated then it does not matter which way they are connected (for conventional light globes), provided things never brake.

It is best if the largest metal surface of the globe is connected to the bikes 'earth' (sometimes called 'common' or 'ground') - on your bike this is the batteries negative (that is connected to the frame/engine). If the indicator is ever broken then the probabilities are that the globes largest metal surface will contact the bikes frame, if they miss-wired then you could end up electrically blowing something up.

Thanks for the reply, I am hard wiring the loom, using butt connectors rather than bullet connectors. My goal is to get rid of the rat nest of wires behind the headlight. Things are going well, should be done today. Thanks Mike

Your going to want some connectors for removing things without always have to cut the wires and then end up with more splices. All it takes is new connectors, factory or automotive(I've used several auto connectors for things on quads because they are sealed and high quality).

I also fill the connectors with dielectric grease, both front and in the back where the wires go in and that alone keeps water out and prevents corrosion. I've done that with everything I have owned in the past 20 yrs and have not had one bad connection or failure from corrosion ect... It works, plus then you can disassemble stuff in the future.

The original ones worked for 25-30yrs so starting with new + greasing them =:mchappy:

I hear what your saying,....I left bullet connectors on for the rear blinkers, because I seem to always breaking and replacing them...otherwise all original connectors are now in the waste basket. My goal was to stream-line the loom and rid it of un-needed wiring. I don't use the horn, need the clock lights, neutral light or kick stand safety switch. I know it's not for everybody but I am going for the minimalist approach. When I was 10 years old my mini-bike only had a 2.5 hp brigs&stratton with only a rear brake, which rubbed on the rear tire tread for stopping....I was the coolest kid in the neighborhood....Mike

Worth the effort
 

Finally got the xt reliable again. New wiring, coil and cdi. Fires right up one kick hot or cold. Now it's time to ride :D Mike

Good stuff :clap: