need some advice on starting problem

ok im pretty sure its the tci...my stupid self was playing around with a test probe and hit the wrong wire on a connector and needless to say i had some pretty powerful spark shoot out of the plugs..i had the test probe hooked to the negative terminal. so im guessing either the ground wire to the tci is bad or the internal board for the ground is bad


but if you need a good laugh i had the plug right next to me on the bike and it shocked the hell out of me


and fitz i have that relay unplugged already

 

ok took the battery to the auto parts store, it tested bad, bought a new battery. i cant figure this problem out, the bike turns over a heck of alot faster. the positive wire from the battery to the round solenoid gets pretty hot im lost does anyone have any thing to suggest

 

trick- really wish i could help since i live in blue springs . When u get it runnin give me a buzz we can go ridin. I have friends that live in Greenwood. I have an 82 Seca and a K100 BMW i am rebuilding currently. Ill keep an eye on ya as this is a great forum for advice. Txt me if u want and i will lend u moral support for what its worth.
jeff hestand 816 813 3975

 

I didn't see this in your thread, but have you checked your coils? Secondary and primary resistances. They can be close to failing and will work sometimes and then not work or work very poorly. The possibility that it ran without any fuses could be bad news for the health of your coils they will overheat if they are getting too much V.

 

sounds good, i have a guy coming to look at it tonight from a shop my dad used to use..

 

how do i go about this? just wire to boot and ohm it?

 

For the primary unplug the coil connector and check btw those two terminals (coil side not wire harness side). I don't have your bikes specs but someone does - XJ550 is 2.5 ohms +/- 10% at 68 F.

For the secondary unplug your caps and check on the wire btw 1&4 and 2&3. 550 specs 11,000 ohms +/- 20% at 68 F. (the manual has this procedure wrong showing the leads going from coil lead to plug wire-won't work).

Temperature effects resistance. I tested the 550 in November and the garage happened to be 70F at the time. When I tested them in May at 85F the resistance was higher, so either my coils are aging (doubt it they work great) or higher temp leads to higher resistance. Anyone else know this for sure or have a formula for how much it changes?

Anyway if your out of spec your coils are likely no good-and that would leave you no spark.

+1 to the whole battery deal with these bikes. When I got mine the PO thought it had issues because he could only bump start it. Turned out the battery was low on voltage. The ignition system only barely gets what it needs after the starter sucks down most of the available voltage so any weakness in the battery and no spark.

 

ok so the guy came over tonight told me i had the wrong plugs...so we went and bought new plugs i havent installed them yet but he told me the pick up was in spec and the coils were in spec. he said if it doesnt start with the correct plug then its the tci box..because we were getting the right voltages to it to make it run.

 

put the new plugs in and it fired right up...now when it starts up it shoots up to about 6-7k rpms and doesnt come down until i twist the throttle a couple times, is this normal?

 

it's not uncommon, but it's certainly not correct.

now that it starts up, try turning the idle screw counter-clockwise until you get to 1050rpm +/- 50rpm. then see how it runs.

at that point, you'll be running off the idle circuit in your carbs. if it idles fine, great! it might die as soon as you touch the throttle. that means you need to sync the carbs.

try this, let us know what happens.