Motorcycle Repair: headlight trouble, honda ascot vt500, starter button

Question
QUESTION: My headlight went out recently.  I replaced the bulb: no luck.  Checked the
fuses, all OK.  all the wires appear intact and connected, although when I
stripped off some of the tape binding them together, there was quite a bit of
moisture inside.  Any suggestions?

ANSWER: Hi Peter..

I'd love to help ya out, but I need to know the make, model and year of the bike you have. Can ya resend that info and I'll do what I can to get you "all lit up"!! Thanks Peter.

Jack

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hey Jack,
It's an 84 Honda Ascot VT500.  But I think I've got even more trouble now.  
Someone said to check my starter button.  I had noticed this week that it was
sticking on, and I had to manually pull it back.  Last night I opened the
assembly, and sure enough, the starter button  fell right out and seems to
have a small piece of plastic broken off the top.  Here's the really stupid part.  
It was really nice here today, and I wanted to take a little ride in the beautiful
Green Mountains.  I screwed the headlight back on and figured I'd risk the
cops stopping me for that.  I jump started the bike by inserting a screwdriver
into the ignition switch.  Vrrooommm!!! She started right up! (Still no
headlight though...)  I shut it down and went in to change my clothes & get
my helmet.  I came back and tried the screwdriver trick again, and ZAP!  Big
sparks flew out, and I lost all electrical power- no horn, no directional, no
instrument panel, nothing... ( I am a boob, I know...) I checked the fuses, and
they're OK, so I must've fried something else somewhere else.  Any ideas
what I might've done and what damage I might've caused?  Anything I can do
now? I just bought a new right hand assembly on eBay tonight, which should
arrive in a few days, and I just bid on a wiring harness from an 82 Ascot.  I'm
rather a novice at this, but have two riding buddies who know their way
around a bike.  Does this sound like a project we should undertake, or am I
better off trucking her to a Honda dealership?
Any advice you can give would be much appreciated.
Peter

Answer
PETER!!!! Oh man... Sorry to hear the extra troubles. The reason I needed to know what bike you had was cuz my first thought was the starter button. On a lot of bikes, the starter button actually performs two functions. One is to energize the starter solenoid, and the other is to control the headlight circuit. When you press the start button, the headlight circuit is interrupted as long as the button is pressed. When you release the starter button, the lights come back on. So yeah, I guess you figured that all out and being as how you say you have a new handlebar switch assembly on the way, well... that problem will prolly be fixed.... BUT... as for your new problem... sounds simple enough. If you start at the battery (positive terminal) and follow the fat wire, you will come to the starter solenoid. On most Hondas, the starter solenoid also houses the main 30 amp fuse. Your bike has a component fuse block that houses individual fuses for lights, horn, blinkers, etc. but the bikes main fuse is located at the starter solenoid... check that and I think your problem will be solved. Let me know if this helps Peter, and thanks for the funny story!!!

Jack