All of a sudden, bike won't start.

Ever since I got the bike I had started it and let it run for at least a few minutes every day. Well work got real busy this past week so it stayed in the shop (out of the rain) for several days and when I tried to start it today all i hear is a grinding/spinning noise coming from the starter.

I'm almost positive it is the battery, but the battery is new. How could it lose charge already? I was told by my friend (who sold me the bike) that he put a new battery in it just a few months ago.

I'm new to bikes, but I'm guessing that they need to be started often to keep the battery to a full charge? Or is it possible there is something else wrong?

 

Idling for a few minutes a day would likely do more harm than good in the long run.

I've heard that at idle, the XJs (At least the 550s?) don't produce a whole lot of power, and run off the battery heavily at low RPM. I can see starting it often and just idling it slowly draining the battery if that is the case.
Put it on a charger and see what happens.

 

To get a charge to the battery you need to be running around 2Krpm or higher+

 

Ah, dang.. I wasn't revving it much at all, didn't realize it had to be over 2k rpm to get a charge..

My grandfather has a battery charger, he said I could bring the battery over to his house to charge it.

At least it is an easy fix, thanks everyone!

 

Screaming, a screaming or growling starter is in need of a cleaning. Open that sucker up and clean it out well. Check the brushes and replace as necessary. Re-grease the gears and you should be good to go.

 

Well, it only did the noise after a while of trying, (when the battery seemed completely dead). I'm going to try and bring the battery to my grandparent's house and recharge it and give it a shot.

 

Okay, so I got the battery charged to full. I tried to start it and the red oil light lights up and it turns over but doesn't start.

I tried putting the petcock to Prime but still nothing. Any ideas? God I hope I didn't flood it..

 

pull a plug and see if it's wet with fuel.
the boys are right about the idle not charging the batt.
my oil light always comes on while the key is on or the starter is turning.
it's just a way for you to be sure the bulb hasn't burned out.
a great safety feature IMHO.

 

im kind of in a similar situation. except i fixed the carbs and it ws running pretty rough then let it sit a couple days, pulled the carbs again to do a bench sync, and now im in the same boat. its probably the battery, but i cant know for sure since my multimeter is acting crazy. i connected it and it said 13.05 about, then as i left it connected it slowly started increasing until it was up to about 15v. is my tester bad or is there something else going on im not aware of?

 

I'll do that tomorrow or Wednesday. So glad there are people on this site to help me, as I know very little about engines (but a lot about computers!).

Reason I may have never seen the oil light is, normally as soon as i hit the button the bike starts right up. No 'trying' at all.

If the spark plug is wet, does that mean I flooded it and possibly killed my engine?

 

I kinda figured it was my battery because the lights were dim and got dimmer and almost off after a couple times of trying that day. Lights are now pretty bright.

 

were you testing it while it was charging?

 

yah, if there real wet the bike won't start, and can sometimes
ruin the plugs.
just pull them,dry and clean them,recheck the gap before
putting them back in and try it again.
no choke. a full charge on batt.
good luck.

ron

 

I never tried starting it with no choke, forgive the stupid question.. But why no choke?

 

If the bike is flooded, that means there is too much fuel in the cylinders already. Putting the choke on opens the enriching system to put even more fuel into the cylinders. If you try a few times with the throttle open and the choke off, it may fire on the fuel already in the cylinders. You can also use starting fluid to suplement the fuel. This is very volatile and evaporates quickly and eases the starting process. This to me is a last resort. Use starting sprays sparingly as it has a tendency to wash the oil from the cylinder walls causing accelerated wear. Also if too much is in the cylinders it can cause increased pressure during ignition and cause other damages.

 

+1 ..... JFStewart is on the mark.

 

Well, I always try to start it with full or almost full choke. The bike never would start (when cold) without any choke.

God, I hope I didn't screw up my engine..

 

Another stupid question, if I may. Does the choke only dump fuel when the starter button is pushed, ie if it is left on full choke will it just keep dumping fuel in the cylinders? I'm not sure if I turned the choke off before I left this morning (as i was running late for work).

 

"Choke" causes the carburetors to provide a richer mixture (lower Air/Fuel ratio) when air is being drawn through them - i.e. when the engine is being cranked or when the engine is running.

Leaving it on overnight with the engine stopped will have no effect.

 

from what you"ve told us it sounds like you drained the batt
and flooded the carbs....not a big issue and no,unless there is a missing
detail you're motor should be fine.

good luck

 

Thanks! And sorry for the stupid questions, I've loved motorcycles all my life but was never able to own one (parents hate them). So I'm trying to learn as I go but I want to do all the work myself (I hope).

 

Whew! And I think I told everything. Brief Summary: Was starting it every day since I got it and running it for a couple of minues, rarely revving it too high as it is very loud. Put it in the shop for a few days due to rain most of the week. Took it out and it wouldn't start (used full choke every time I tried). Went from turning over to having whirring and grinding/clicking type sound in the starter and the bike not turning over at all.

I did charge the battery on an old charger my grandfather had, the battery was real warm and some of the acid found its way out (but I cleaned it all off real good). I put the battery on and the lights came up to normal but bike still would turn over but not start. I tried moving the carbs to prime for a few seconds and starting it then back to ON for a few tries then back to Prime again for a few tries then I just quit 'cause I didn't want to flood the motor.

I think that about sums it up. I guess I need to find the drain plugs for the carbs and drain the fuel?

 

Just remember that the only stupid question is the one that you don't ask when you don't understand or need to know something. Everything else is a learning opportunity and you will, in turn, be able to pass this knowledge on to others.

 

Don't worry about draining the carbs at this time. The problem sounds like electric. The battery will be damaged by high amp chargers. That heat in the battery is not a good thing. As a battery voltage drops, the current to devices increases and can cause failure in components. The clicking, chattering sound you heard may have been the starter solenoid reacting to low voltage and it may have failed. Just above the battery you will see a roundish object with the positive battery cable attached to one terminal and the starter cable attached to the other. There will also be two smaller control wires. Take an old screwdriver and jump the 2 heavy cables and see if the bike turns over. If it does, the solenoid may require replacing. I would have the battery tested to see if its OK.

 

The clicking sound is gone now, all it does now is turn over but not start. I charged it with a 12V charger. Used the fast charge for it while I was at my grandparents.. Went to 40 I think then back to 0 and I took it off. Thought it may have been sitting on the charge for too long but my Grandfather assured me it would stop charging once done.

I'll try jumping it either today or tomorrow I hope. Is there anything else I could have screwed up with the battery charge? The battery should be good as it was bought maybe four months ago or so and the headlight now comes up to normal brightness.

 

Usually a 10 amp charger set on low (5 amps or less is sufficient to charge a motorcycle battery.) 40 amps is way to high and will "boil" (a term used to explain gassing) the electrolyte causing it to bubble out. This results in acid loss and reduces the capacity of the battery. Heat is the battery's worst enemy.

We now need to find out if the problem is fuel or electrical. Is there spark at the plugs? Remove the plug wire and insert a screwdriver into the boot taking care not to damage the terminal that clips onto the plug. With the shaft of the screwdriver about 1/4 inch from the head, crank the engine and look for a spark to jump the gap. If you don't see or hear the spark, move a little closer to the head and retry. You can also put a spark plug into the boot and hold the plug against the head ensuring there is good contact with the metal part of the plug and the head. The spark should jump the gap between the electrodes. This can best be seen in low light conditions.

 

Should I just purchase another battery? I just don't have any other charger besides the one my grandfather has.

I'll try to check the spark sometime soon, possibly when I get home and update.

 

Before you go to that expense, let's ensure you need to spend your money there. No point if the battery is serviceable.

 

Okay, so I pulled the plugs and wiped them down. they were pretty dark so i wiped them off and it still wouldn't start. I pulled one out and hooked it back into the boot and hit the start button on the bike and there was no spark across the gap. On a side note, on plug # 3 there was a plastic piece that fit over the top of it that slid all the way down, it kept me from being able to unscrew the plug so i took it off completely, this object wasn't on any other plug either.

Where should I go from here?

 

wiping off the plugs alone may not be enough.
clean with carb cleaner or wd-40,and a bit of emory cloth.
1000-2ooo girt wet/dry sand paper will work too.
re-gap! thoses ground straps can move.
if the plugs got too fouled,then there toast.

 

Well some of the plugs looked black on the ends. I wiped them off with a garage rag. Granted the only light I had was from the headlights of my jeep, but i may have to buy another set of plugs. I couldn't test with screwdriver-in-boot as I couldn't find a way to do this and start the bike. I may try and get my roommate to help if he is home this afternoon.

Given the situation and what may have caused it, is it possible anything besides the plugs are bad? Or should I just buy new plugs anyways and go from there?

 

if you have a multi meter check the batt to see if your getting the full
12 from the terms. with your roommate check while the starter is turning.
what are the volts?. go back to checking spark. on mine i can unscrew
the plug cap and use the bare end of the wire against the head.
you do not need a low light evironment for this as the spark is very bight.

make sure during all this you 've made sure your not on prime.its easy to forget when going back and forth.

if all checks out check the resistance of the coils. if week they may not start the engine. you can still get some spark from a week coil,
but not enough to overcome and ignight a cylinder full of fuel and air.

 

Screaming, you ought to invest in a spare set of plugs. You may have fouled your plugs. Swap them out and see what that buys you. Make sure to gap them correctly, they are NEVER correct right out of the box.

 

I don't have a multimeter, but I think my dad has one, though I probably won't be able to get it from him 'til Sunday. I know it is not on prime as I stopped using it because I thought I may have flood the carbs or engine.

Curious, will the plugs out of a '77 KZ650 work? I have a KZ650 I was working on that the plugs should be fine on. I could try those.

 

You can use other plugs to test with but I would avoid it unless they have the same thread and reach. You could damage your engine with the wrong plugs.
You should be using NGK BP7ES gapped at 0.028-0.032". A smear of anti-seize is highly recommended.

 

I'll need to buy a gap tool, as I don't have one. I'll check AutoZone when I get off work today.

 

Okay, so I was reading some of the other forum posts and read one where someone was having a similar issue with the bike not starting after sitting for a few days and it was said it could be his center-stand switch. I did put my bike on its center stand for the first time either right before or right after I put it up for a few days.

Is there anyway to disable that switch? Where is it even at?

 

There is no switch on the center stand, it's on the sidestand. Disabling safety switches is never a good idea. Someone probably got hurt and the manufacturer installed them to prevent future problems.

 

I know that switch is disabled because I have started it with the kickstand down.. I can also start the bike in gear.. But I always hold the right brake when letting off the clutch even in neutral just to make sure..

 

you can start the bike with the sidestand down.

the switch causes the motor to shut off if put into gear.

my bike will start if in gear and the stand up. scares the crap out of me, lol.

bypass is just simply causing the bike to think the stand is in the up position

 

We seem to be jumping all-about on this. I would suggest that a more concentrated effort be made to determine if we have spark at the plugs. If not then determine is there voltage to the coil and so on and so on. This needs to be addressed logically and with purpose. All of the points brought up are valid, however right now the suggestions are in at random, we need to focus and go step by step.

If there is spark at the plug wire but not at the plug - replace the plug. If there is no spark at the plug wire - trace back.

 

I will buying some new plugs by the end of the weekend I hope. I'll give the new ones a shot and see how they fare.

Though until it was mentioned i didn't know i could pull the cap off of the plug wire, so I will try and pull that off and see if spark comes.. Should i put that wire end into the spark plug hole or is that a bad idea?

 

Screaming, Don't pull the cap off the plug wire!! Think of it as one piece for now. We want to see if the spark is available at the spark plug. Just insert a screwdriver carefully into the cap so you don't damage the cap where it grips the plug. Crank the engine and see if spark jumps from the screwdriver to the head when held about 1/4 inch away.

 

also the plug cap should not be pulled off. it twists off like a screw.

yes wire in the hole is a bad idea.

 

Okay, new plugs are in but still no spark. The PO (my friend) said that the coils should be fine as he had them tested, but he will be over tomorrow night possibly to help me troubleshoot it. Anything else I should check for?

 

Check the battery voltage while the starter is cranking. It should be above 9.5 volts. Low battery voltage can cause this symptom. If its low try boosting from a car battery (car not running) and see if it sparks. I know you said the battery is not that old, but new doesn't mean good. It may have sat on a shelf with electrolyte already in it for months. If that is the case it could be partially sulphated. It can also be a defective battery.

Any electrical issue requires that the power source (the battery) is confirmed as being serviceable. If its not you are wasting time.

 

Its amazing how a maginal battery can cause so many headaches. I just tryed to start my 650. It at almost started but the battery was low. So I hooked up my jump box and it started right up.

MN

 

Just an update, I will try jumping it with some cables soon hopefully, but the bike isn't getting any spark. It was turning over, that is until i ran inside to check something and forgot the dang key on so now the battery is dead again.. *sigh*