still wont start out of ideas

ok guys so i did everything you guys are tellling me to do. cleaned carbs TWICE. check petcock WORKING. but she still wont start. just keeps turning over sounding like there is nothing happening.

this is what ive done.

cleaned carbs twice made sure i spend at least a day on each carb making sure i didnt miss anything.

changed and gapped the plugs.

clean air filter.

oil and filter.

battery charged.

made sure floats were right 3mm below the gasket line.

checked for spark. bright

check for compression. good.

i am out of ideas help?

 

Ether. I'd give it a small squirt into the air box. If it starts with that, it's still a fuel problem. If it doesn't then who knows. Make sure it isn't idled down too far, and the enrither is pulled... if you open the throttle with the enritcher pulled, you are defeating the purpose of the enritcher working like a choke.
Did you bench sync the carbs?

 

A couple of questions to check:

Is fuel flowing into the cylinder? After trying to start, pull the plugs one at a time and using a long handled bar-q lighter, apply flame at the opening of each cylinder. There should be a brief flash/jet of flame from it showing that the fuel ignited.

Is the air flowing through the carbs? Not sure how to check that ...

Is the choke fully open? Is the choke working properly?

Mike

 

If it is really cold out, I have found either warming the engine block up with a heater or jumping it from a stronger battery (cold crank amps) to get mine to fire up.

 

yeah i bench synced ill go check the flame idea right now. and maybe raise the idel screw abit. i wont be able to see if it works tonight because my battery is dead from getting pissed and just holding it lol. not good for the started i know.

the choke is working because i just cleaned that to. and the choke switch is pulled to the max.

and as far as the either goes doenst work tryed it.

 

you don't even get a stumble with ether?... are you squirting it into the airbox while you're cranking?

 

flame on all four. im even tryd starting it off my truck battery. ran that dead to.

 

yep filter off spraying it while cranking not even a studder. the only time is studered was the first time i tried cranking it over with the choke and no either.

 

BikeRanger, if its Peeing you off that much, give it a nights rest & get away from it. Voice of experience speaking. Sometimes these old girls just get the better of us (like most women) & we just need a break from it to clear our minds. When I was working on getting my 650 started, it took a while & mutipul carb pulls & clean, I used a spare car battery to assist the battery in the bike. Better crankning amps & less wear & tear on the bike's battery. When you cleaned your carbs did you get carb fluid to spray out of the enrichment circuit in the float bowls? It still sounds like you have a problem there. Don't give up cause when you get it running its one of the best feelings of accomplishment you will have. Take my word for it, when mine finally turn over & fired up I was like a kid at Christmas & I aint been a kid for a long time. Keep after it.
Gregg

 

well see originaly i could get it to fire up with either but it would die if i took off the choke or reved it passed 2 grand now it doesnt evern start. and as far as getting it running i know that feeling ive accomplished that before. and ive run my truck battery down to so now i have to reset all my properly tuned deck AGAIN lol. and i just sound madder then i really am. that why i left it from last night. ill try some more. any more suggestions on what the problem is would be great guys.

and as far as praying out yes there was plenty of carb cleaner in my face forgot to look away even though

 

Just another thought, if I remember right there is a small tube that goes down into the well for the enrichment circuit in the float bowl, if that is plugged it will not pull fuel from the well & engine will not start. Just something else to clean if you haven't already.

 

Go back to the basics. Thats what I always do when I run into a problem like this.
Well If you have Spark, Fuel, Compression & Timing it should run. Sometimes if you flood an engine the gas washes down the cylinder walls. Hence low or no compression. That could be part of the problem. Check compression and give it a little squirt of oil so the rings seal good. Take a propane tourch and heat up the plugs and make sure the insulators are white when done. Let cool down and put them back in and try it. See what happens.

 

ive cleaned that well like i said ive recleaned these carbs spending an hour to two hours on EACH on lol i know it sounds like alot of time per carbs but i wanted to do it right.

can you repeat that propane touch to the plugs idea im not quiet understanding it. are you using the plugs when they are hot? and do you apply the flame directly to the plug its self? im thinking im floading it everytime i pull the choke. because the barbq lighter idea working and it went pretty large in flame. im not sure though i think i might just push it down my steep driveway and kick it in gear. if she starts then YEAH.

what are you taking about the insulators bein white? not the part the spark is grabbing to?

 

next question is lets say im not getting enough gas in the floats should i try starting it in prime possition or would you not recommend this? i think im going to let it sit for the night and tomorow im going to try warming the block cleaning the plugs and starting it without choke and see if thats my problem. maybe im floading it right off the bat. maybe no choke and some either.

 

If the plugs got wet due to flooding, I have been told you'll have a 50% chance of getting them to work again by "cooking" them with a propane torch. If they got wet, your best bet will be to replace them.

You can put it to "prime" to start it, but be certain you don't leave it there for long.

 

ok yeah i thought that i put it one prime for 10 seconds to get the floats up to pair and then turned it to on. the propane tourch idea should work i dont think i flooded it for them to get wet. maybe enough to dampen them but they still produce a bright spark so they should still work. im just going to give it a couple of days ill be busy the next few so maybe it will just be kinda the next time i try to start it

 

ok guys so i got her running today. tried something different and didnt apply any choke then slowly worked the choke on as it wouls studder. guess what she start in a giff now that i got the choke position correct. and let me tell you she takes off like a bat out of hell. i was not expecting the pepe that this little bike has. reason being as i have little experience riding and two i didnt think that little old engine would rev like that.

next problem is some times it will hang about 3-4 grand and take a while to get baack down. im thinking that this is the plunger or vacum seal. i cleaned the carbs and made sure that was an area that was spotless. as i have read this was a problem area.

is there any suggestion other then taking them off again for a nice new cleaning?

 

When it hangs, see if you can reduce the idle speed by pushing down on the throttle shafts to check to see if something is binding.

If that's not it, check for vacuum leaks. Spray starter fluid around your intake boots and hit all of your throttle shafts.

My idle problems were from worn throttle shaft seals. Sometimes it would run fine. Sometimes it would hit a 2-3K idle and maybe or maybe not come down. I did do a sync before I replaced the seals (after too), and what I saw was that #1 and #2 were way off from #3 and #4. What I found was that is where I had the biggest leaks.

 

Won't sticky sliders cause this too? Are you absolutely sure your carbs passed the clunk test?


Congrats on getting it going! Pretty quick little scamps aren't they? I sure enjoy riding mine!


Wamaxim

 

Use some ScotchBrite Pad. Cut a small strip. Put it to the Bore stroking Up and Down ... removing 25 Years of Aluminum Oxidation.
The Finer you Polish the Bores out too... Makes the Piston react without any hesitation for Increased Performance.

 

Welcome to the XJ550! Once you get it right, these things scream. Rev the bejabbers out of it, it loves it. (Stay out of the upper powerband in first gear though, at least until you're used to the bike.)

You really need to get the carbs RELIGIOUSLY clean, and bench-sync them carefully before reinstallation.

Before you beat your head against the wall too much with carburetor fine-tuning, check your valve clearances. REALLY makes a big difference, especially in low-end torque, on the 550.

 

thanks guys. i did the scotch pad in the cylinder idea and they passed the clunk test for sure. im not overly worried right now about the hanging idle as it wont start again? the other day it just started up. now its back on charge. and going to try it again latter. i wish i would love to have it reliable. but its still a woprk in progress i geuss.

any suggestions? once it was warm it took a split touch of the start button to have it going again. mind you yesterday was a warmer day.

 

Check your enrichment tubes and the indent in the bowl. Could be clogged.

The service manual has a good diagram to show how the carbs draw fuel if you want to see a visual.

 

lol thanks for the info i stuck it back on charge and then. about 10 oclock i turned the key hit the start button and she fired right up. :s go figure i think it might be draining the battery some how. has this happened to anyone else? i dont think i left the key on at any point so im curious as to what this is. i might have to start a probing test to see if its drawing current of any kinda when the key is off. the enrichment has to come up a bit its running just a tad lean

 

If it's a wire short, they can be a bear to run down. When its running, check what output is getting to your battery too. I think it is suppose to be around 13.5 volts. That will at least tell you that you are getting a charge and that is not the problem.

Could be your battery perhaps. Once you check the charge, you can then see if your battery is holding 12 volts or dropping while connected. Then disconnect it and see if it is still dropping. That should give you an idea if you are dealing with a short.

Just a few thoughts...

 

You might want to pull the battery, take it to an auto parts store and have it checked. These bikes are hard on batteries and if it's three or four years old it's probably time for a new one.

A "marginal" battery will make you think you have all sorts of other problems. (Experience speaking. Been there, done that.)

 

battery is brand new walked out of the store with it friday. i think it might be a small short or the alternator isnt charging it properly. for example when i rev it high the head light just brighter.

I figure it cant be that battery as it is like 3 days old. and they checked it before they gave it to me. im really not looking forward to the machanics if its the alternator. is the alternator hard to get at? am i going to have to crank the casing to get at it?

 

If the lights get brighter when you increase the RPM's then the charging circuit is working. At least to some extent. Unfortunately you can't assume that a new battery is a good battery.

Measure your battery voltage. A fully charged battery will measure just over 12 V

Now measure across the positive and negative terminals of the battery with the engine running. Twist the throttle to bring the RPM's to 3000 RPM's and the voltage should be at least(I can't remember if the number is 13.6 v or 14.2 v) but it will be well above 12v.

If the above 2 checks are ok theN shut off the bike, disconnect the positve lead and put your meter on the amp position. Put one lead on the positive terminal of the battery and the other lead on the positive cable. With the key off there should be no current flowing. If there is then you have a short somewhere in the wiring and you will need to track it down and repair it. DO NOT TRY TO START THE BIKE WITH ONE LEAD ON THE BATTERY TERMINAL AND ONE ON THE BATTERY CABLE. YOU WILL SMOKE YOUR METER.

One of the above tests should isolate the problem.

Best oif luck. I'm sure you'll get it.

 

If you think the Battery is being run-down and it's a NEW Battery ... The problem might be that you haven't Fully Charged the Battery.
Take the Battery out of the Bike.
Put it on the Bench.
Take OUT the Filler Caps so you can tend this Battery as you Charge it.
Make sure each Cell is filled-up to the Full Line.
Hook-up a drain hose to drip-off into a plastic container.
It's nice to have a timer but your wristwatch will do.
Cover the Top of the Battery with a Damp Cloth / Rag.
Hook-up the Battery to an Automotive Charger.

(I use a Sears AutoMatic 2-10-50 Set to 10 Amps)
After the Charging Leads are connected ... Plug-in the Charger.
!0 Amps is going to co cause the Electrolyte to Gas.
NO Smoking - NO Sparks!
As the Battery Charges ... and Gasses ... Tap the sides to allow the Bubbles to rise.
Charge the Battery for 20 Minutes.
UNPLUG THE CHARGER from the WALL >>> Leave the Leads alone!
Allow the Battery to Chemically settle-down ... Tapping to release tiny gas bubbles.
Repeat this Process two more times.
Keep the Levels in each Cell on the mark by adding DISTILLED WATER.
Once the Battery is DEEPLY Charged and the Electrolyte at its Optimal Specific Gravity ... Your battery will be hard to Kill.