headlight and spedo/tach lights went out.

[Guest]

recently I went to turn my lights on and my headlight, and sedo/tach did not illuminate. when i turn the key, the neutral light and oil pressure light turns on but nothing else. the bike runs fine.. has a little trouble strarting with the electric start but other than that runs great. I checked fuses, the bulb, and loose wiring and nothing really has came up. Im still trying to learn the electrical on the bike so Im not by any means the best mechanic but Im trying to learn. I had a few people suggest either the battery or a bad ground. i think i can handle replacing the battery but if it is a bad ground how would you look for it and fix it? or any thoughts on what it could be? really appreciate any help!

[posplayr]

If you think you have an electrical problem the follow the quick test (see my signature) and report the results.

[cowboyup3371]

What bike are we talking about? This will help us know more about your specific issue but here are some basic thoughts.

If you still have the glass tube fuses, use a test light or multimeter to verify if they are still good since they can break under the caps and not in the middle sometimes.
Check your grounds by placing your negative on the ground in question and checking at the battery and/or solenoid. I found when I had a bad ground that my voltages were different at the solenoid at the bad ground compared to the battery negative post.
Check your connector in the headlight bucket and make sure you are getting power there from the harness
One thing I did was to take a wire with a terminal on it and test the individual lights straight from the battery. This will rule out the end device but may not rule out the connector and harness. It will at least give you a starting point

[Mikey Talovic]

my bike is a 1979 gs 850