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Humidity problems.

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by ColtonS3290, Jun 7, 2015.

  1. ColtonS3290

    ColtonS3290 Member

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    Ok, my 83 maxim has a weird issue that I can a not find a fix for. On hot dry days it'll fire up, run fine all day for hours no problem. On days cooler than 70 degrees the spark plugs won't fire and on days after it rains and it's a bit more humid than others I'll be riding it and it will kill as if I hit the kill switch and it will not start back up for about 20 minutes. As if the sparks aren't firing again like on the days under 70 degrees. It so frustrating riding on the highway and having it kill. I have no idea what the problem is or where to evan start looking. All the connections are fine and all the rules are good. Is this a common problem among the maxims?
     
  2. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    You probably have cracked plug wires, or cracked coil housings. To confirm you can start the bike in a dark garage, or at night. If you see a lightshow, well...that's your problem.
     
  3. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    a quick mist with a spray bottle on a good day may replacate the problem. I would try the dark garage first.
     
  4. ColtonS3290

    ColtonS3290 Member

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    I have called a electrical guy about this problem and he was saying it could be multiple things, but wants me to look into the stator, he said they go bad commonly with the older xjs (His words) or possibly that there might be flooding in the carbs. I'm not to sure about the stator because i still have power to the lights, horn and turn signals. Doesn't the stator charge the battery? I'm not to familiar with the stator.
     
  5. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    the stator is part of the alternator
     
  6. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    start by ohming out your charging system info on how is in the

    The Information Overload Hour


    do the same for your ignition system

    what maxim do you have??
     
  7. ColtonS3290

    ColtonS3290 Member

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    Vin says it's a mid max 750.
     
  8. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    No they don't.

    Carbs flooding won't keep the plugs from firing, and you would have wet plugs, and it wouldn't be related to the humidity, and it wouldn't suddenly happen while you're already riding.

    Your electrical guy does not sound like good source of help for this problem.


    What were the results of checking the plug wires and coils for cracking?
     
  9. ColtonS3290

    ColtonS3290 Member

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    I started it at night as well as sprayed around the coils and plugs with mist. However I did not see any light show or have it recreate the bike dying. However it did die on its own without the mist and struggled to start again for a few hours this time. I am going to check the ohms as XJ550H as suggested as well.
     
  10. MN-Maxims

    MN-Maxims St. Paul Minnesota

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    Ok let's look at a few things. Go ahead and check the ohms. These bikes came with the cheapest electrical connectors made by mankind. You need to inspect all of your electrical connections from the tail light all the way up to inside the headlight.
    Unplug every connector and inspect the terminals inside to see if they are green or black with corrosion. Treat every good connection with Dielectric Grease or Tune Up Grease as it may be called. All auto parts stores carry it. If you still have the original fuse block replace it with a modern blade fuse style fuse block.
    When you have your tank off, inspect the coils for hairline cracks and check the wires for any damage, cracks or weather checking. There is a central grounding point under the tank also. Inspect the wires and clean all of the connectors and treat with the tune up grease when you put them back on the stud.
    Lastly pop the cover off of your TCI and inspect the soldier joints for cracks. Temperature can effect those connections if there are cracked joints.
    Check your charging voltage at idle, and at 2500 RPM. If you are not getting the proper voltage at 25K you may need to look at the brushes in the alternator cover. I like to see anything over 14 volts at higher RPM's but I have a cheap analog meter.
    I also suggest to look at the three wire connector from the alternator to the regulator to see if has any burning connections. If its an electrical issue going through and checking your connectors is always a good maintenance thing to do on these older bikes.
     
  11. boomerangg22

    boomerangg22 Member

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    sounds like a bad coil to me.
     
  12. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    I had a problem very similar to what you are discribing when bike finially died and would not start anymore I had a bad pickup coil and the resistors in the plug caps had failed one had blown apart the other was measuring 25 k ohms and all carboned up. it was plugs 2 and 3 and the bottom pick up.
    I would get 10 miles out and stall I kept checking for an air bubble in my fuel line took out the filter. then near the end 5 miles and would stall at the same place in my test ride loop 30 to 40 min later it would start.
    not saying this is your problem but that is why I suggested ohming the ignition system
     
  13. mlew

    mlew Well-Known Member

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    Side stand safety relays are going bad and intermintly cutting ignition.
     
  14. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    Possible, but in that vein it's more likely that the sidestand switch is sticking and being activated when going over a bump. Relays generally fail, and then don't return to working order without being serviced.
     
  15. MN-Maxims

    MN-Maxims St. Paul Minnesota

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    Temperature and humidity related no start condition, my money is on crappy connections and or bad coils.
     
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  16. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    or possibly the clutch safety switch is on the way out.
    jump it out in the head light bucket at the connector as well as the

    Sidestand (kickstand) relay:
    - unplug the safety relay which disables the whole bloody mess but DO NOT leave it that way, fix it right!
    Clutch hand lever position switch:
    - jumper the wires (on the main harness) to each other, the circuit will think the hand lever is pulled in.

    try this to eliminate them as possible problems
    simple to do and 2 less things to chase in finding your problems

    when you are sure it is not the problem put them back the way they are supposed to be

    when the bike dies is the time to check plug wires ohms and pick up coil ohms plus coil primary ohms .
    pick up and primary can be done from tci connectors.
    if the resistors are cracked they may be going full open with the heat and arcing across the gap reducing your plug spark intensity
     
  17. Steve M.

    Steve M. Member

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    Obviously wicked witches have put devils in your TCI.(I apologize inside joke):DNow seriously
    awesome trouble shooting guys. The only thing I could offer is possibly there is short at the ignition switch. on the run side of the switch Either at the harness connection or in the bottom of the switch itself.honda has a small board the wires hook to.so far I haven't taken a Yamaha switch apart. So it might be different.anyway if it's not something already covered in the thread ....well when all else fails maybe an exorcism IS worth a try.

    .
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2016
  18. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    GO slow. Test one thing at a time. That really is the only way to be sure of finding the problem and fixing it. Be methodical.
     
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  19. ColtonS3290

    ColtonS3290 Member

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    Update: Today I changed the oil and checked the wires and plugs for spark. They did not have any. When I was finished with the oil, I hit the switch and it fired up. So I shut it down, checked the wire for spark with a screwdriver. It didn't have spark at first, then after a couple cranks it sparked at the wire. So I got it running and took it down the street and just as I figured it killed about 30 feet from my house. I took the wire out again and checked and no spark. So it's killing the spark at the coil whatever the problem is. I am going to look into all the relays before I check the coils. Still have to buy an ohm meter. All this troubleshooting is extremely helpful.
     
  20. ColtonS3290

    ColtonS3290 Member

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    This is exactly what it seems is happening. I haven't checked the pickup coil yet. I'm not to familiar with the setup of it yet. Gonna have a look I'm the manual.
     

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