Service Manual

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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Z Service Manual 5 - 3
5. Disconnect voltage and multimeter leads from
relay terminals (Figure 79).
Figure 79
xlrelay
Solenoid
Purpose
The solenoid’s purpose is simply to connect the battery
to the starter motor on the engine when the ignition
switch is turned to “START”. The solenoid is used to
protect the ignition switch from the high current drawn
by the starter motor.
Location
The solenoid is located on the frame in front of the
engine (Figure 80).
Figure 80
mvc-191
How it Works
The solenoid has two primary parts. One, a coil of wire
wrapped around an iron core. Whenever 12 volts is
applied to the coil, it becomes a magnet. The other
part is a bar type switch. Because it has a large
contact area with the contact terminals, it can easily
handle the high current loads required by the starter
motor of the engine.
When 12 volts is applied to the coil, it becomes an
electromagnet. This quickly pulls the cbar toward the
contacts and closes the switch. When power is
removed from the coil, the spring loaded bar returns to
its “normally open” position. The solenoid closes and
opens the switch very quickly. This minimizes the
“arcing” that can damage other type of switches.
The ignition switch is protected because only a small
amount of current is needed to activate the coil.
Figure 81
xl solenoid
Testing
1. Disconnect the solenoid from the wiring harness.
2. With a multimeter (ohms setting), check to ensure
that terminals “c” and “d” are open (no continuity).
3. Apply +12 VDC to terminal “a” and ground
terminal “b”. Terminals “c” and “d” should now be
closed (continuity) (Figure 81).
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