PUSH START to get 81 Seca 550 to start. Battery is charged.

'81 Seca 550
27k miles

For the past few months I've had the following problem:

The bike must be push started when it's cold. The starter seems to be working, although it sometimes acts flaky. If the bike is still warm after riding, it fires right up about 95% of the time. I've tried three batteries, all charged. One is brand new, so prob not a charging issue.

Known prob: Voltmeter doesn't work. (maybe related?)

What happens: I press the starter and it makes the typical starter sound. But the engine doesn't seem to be getting the message... If it was 5-10 minutes after I've already been riding it, it'll fire up immediately. But if it's longer than 20-30 minutes, I'll be push starting it.

Any ideas of what I should check?

I do not have access my meters, as I'm in Georgia and I live in Texas. Too broke to buy any meters. Just trying to get home in one piece, but after spending 45 minutes trying to start the bike this morning, I'm about ready to part this thing out on Craigslist and use the cash for a plane ticket. Bike runs great except for this minor, yet HUGE issue.

Your help/ideas are very appreciated!!! I want to love my Seca again!

 

After searching some more, going to check the starter brushes in the morning. Looks like this is a fairly common problem. I'm a newb for not searching more first.

Also picked up a can of starting fluid, but will try not to use it unless absolutely necessary.

 

Your symptoms describe a starter that is turning. So it wouldn't be the starter brushes.

It sounds like the bike is not fully charging the battery; or something is drawing the system down.

The brushes you need to be checking are your alternator brushes. The book says 10K for replacement; mine still looked fine at 18K but now my '81 also has 27K on it and it's beginning to show signs of needing attention.

You also may want to look into the voltmeter issue; if a wire has come loose in the cluster and is shorting out, it could be causing a drain. Or the voltmeter could have an internal short. If you need a voltmeter let me know I've got at least a half dozen of them.

 

Re: PUSH START to get 81 Seca 550 to start. Battery is charged

[EDIT]
Hi,
Just to make sure I understand...

When it's cold it won't start but the motor will turn over (typical starter noise) before going flat.

Sounds like it could be an enrichment circuit(choke) problem though since the bike starts fine after being warmed up.

That being said if your 'typical starter noise' isn't that typical and the battery goes flat quickly... then?

 

Re: PUSH START to get 81 Seca 550 to start. Battery is char

maybe im sounding like an idiot when i say this:

What do your spark plugs look like? ALL of them.

It sounds to me like the bike is running too lean or too rich to start properly. But after its warm. The engine helps greatly in combustion, thus the ease of starting.

If your starter will throw the crank properly more than 4 or 5 times around, then i dont think its with the battery or charging system.

For example, my bike starts perfectly without the choke. But it runs like crap when i try to drive away, until the bike is warm. I pulled the plugs, 3 of them were rich, and one showed lean. Easy to say that i need to have carb work done. I suggest you do the same.

 

Re: PUSH START to get 81 Seca 550 to start. Battery is char

have you adjusted your valves? bikes will become impossible to start cold with tight or bent valves. also run a compresion test. starter clutch could be going out to. my bikes clutch will slip sometimes when very cold.

 

i kind of agree with cds. do your have the choke on when this happens?

 

All that falls flat when he told us he can bump-start it.

Did you ever try to bump-start one of these, even a 550, when it WON'T start? As in flooded, or carb issues? (I kinda have and more than once.)

His bump starts fine. It has 27K miles on it.

-Alternator brushes.
-Alternator cleaning and service.
-Attention to solenoid connections, boots and ground straps, including engine-to-frame ground strap (one of mine was GREEN the new one came from NAPA sorry Len.)
-Attention to all battery and regulator-related wiring, like the big harness that comes off the rectifier/regulator.
-Starter teardown, clean, possibly new parts.
-It could be the blasted solenoid; or the button even (or a combination. Also from experience.)
-Figure out WTF with the voltmeter.

It ain't carbs if it can be easily bump-started. Have at it, and report back.

 

Fitz is on to something here, and this is where I'd look first. I've had no-starter-response issues with two of my three Seca 650s, and in both cases the button-to-solenoid connection was the culprit.

 

Re: PUSH START to get 81 Seca 550 to start. Battery is char

Clean & tighten the positive cable at the starter. I unnecessarily replaced my battery this summer due to slow or no starter turnover. When the problem continued with the new battery, I finally cured the problem with a 1/16 turn of the cable nut.

In the meantime, remember to use your HIGHEST gear to push start your bike. Pull the clutch back in as soon as the engine fires. I see many trying to use first gear, which gives you the worst mechanical advantage for trying to spin the engine.

 

Re: PUSH START to get 81 Seca 550 to start. Battery is char

On a 550, that would be sixth gear. Better to use 3rd. Regardless of gear, he's able to bump-start it, which means it's not a carb or fuel or ignition issue. It's a starting circuit problem.

 

I'm having the same problem with my '81 XJ550. Bump start is no problem, cold start turns over healthy but won't start.
I've repaired various things, all which have made the bike run much nicer, however none of which have fixed the starting problem.

Some outstanding stuff:
- The sparks are too dark, so I need to adjust the mixture.
- The headlight dims when the bike is idling. Could that be a symptom of the cause?
- This "button-to-solenoid connection" sounds promising. Is that the starter solenoid? (different than the two up front that connect to the spark plugs). My button has been troublesome.

 

All of the above applies to your issue as well... how many miles on your 550?