no power

hi i just recently purchased my 83 650,the bike has been sitting for about ten years(or so the old owner old me) the previous owner told me it was a maxim but i dont really know how to tell which model i have. so i guess that would be the first bit of help i would need .

and also just recently i put a new battery in to see if any of the electrical worked. the taillight turned on and so did the turn signals but nothing else. so i decided to try the ignition to see if it would turn over and then i hear a *pop* noise as if a fuse blew and all the power to everything was gone. i already replaced the fuses but it didnt help. does anyone know what might be the problem? thanks in advance for any advice or help i can get.

 

Welcome to the site! There are tons of people here who can help you out with any problem you may have.

As for identifying your bike, follow this link: http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14577.html

It will allow you to decode your VIN and tell you exactly what kind of bike you have. If you look at the back of the bike, on the side rails on the rear fender, if it's a Maxim, it will be clearly displayed.

There's a short somewhere... if you don't have a multimeter yet, now is a good time to get one. You can buy a simple one from Harbor Freight (aka China Freight) that should help you track down those gremilins.

Good luck! And welcome to the site!

 

If it's really an '83 it's a Max; the USA only got 650 Secas for model year 1982.

 

thanks for all the help guys, it turns out its a 1982 xj650 maxim
and yes i do have a multimeter, it just seems like this bike has a lot more wiring than most and i was if someone had any idea where to start looking. thanks

 

Well you are going to need a schematic to make any real headway. A Haynes manual would help. But to start disconnect your battery and check between the Positive and negative leads for a short. If you see a short you will have to start back tracing to find the problem - this is where you need the schematic. You will need to isolate the problem circuit. One way to do that is start by unplugging the fuses one at a time and see if the short goes away - that will tell you the circuit at least.

 

Any luck with this? I'm having the exact same problem on an 81 XJ550 maxim.

 

Start a new thread, give us some direct, specific and current info and we'll have a go.

'83 650 and '81 550 are different in a lot of ways including electrical.

 

I would start with the battery cable connections, my cable wore and was making contact to the frame and pop goes the weasle as they say, after that look under the seat, once again lots of wires under there that could get frayed by friction, since you have a multi meter you shouldn't have much trouble isolating the problem. Good luck

 

A new fuse box or in-line fuses should be on everyone's list. As has been mentioned by others here, the original fuse box is a time bomb. A PO had soldered one of the fuses directly to the remaining clips on my bike. Thank goodness it didn't blow before I replaced that mess.

mikeg