1982 XJ750 Electrical and Ignition PROBLEMS

Hi, I am new to the forum. I just bought my 1982 XJ750 Maxim a couple weeks ago(My first bike). It was too good of a deal to pass up. The bike has something wrong with the electrical/ignition system. I put in a new battery and tried to see if it would turn over but the ignition switch doesn't work. It will turn over if I jump it myself, but while doing that I found out that I also have no spark in any of the cylinders. I found out that the solenoid was bad so I replaced it to see if that would help but it didn't. So if anybody has had these kind of problems before and has found a solution any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

 

Start by checking the fuse box. It's probably in pretty bad shape.

 

It's not in the best shape but there is continuity through the fuses and wires

 

Best off still to replace it with a blade style fusebox like this:

It's an easy, inexpensive upgrade that will eliminate common issues.

 

Continuity doesn't mean that it will carry the necessary current. The original clips crystallize and become brittle and useless. It needs to be remediated one way or another.

You can also rebuild it with new clips from Radio Shack:

 

Thanks guys. I will switch over to the blade style fuses and see what I come up with. But does the fuse box have anything to do with me not getting any spark?

 

Possibly. Everything runs through that fuse box (except for the high current side of the starter circuit), and if the TCI doesn't get enough voltage it won't do it's job; that's why replacing or renewing it is step one.

 

Do you have dash lights coming on? Does anything happen when you press the starter button?

See also

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=32483.html

 

The headlight, taillight, and the gauges light up. Thats all it does when I turn the key on.

 

You may have an issue with the safety circuit.

The bike is designed so that the motor cannot be started in gear if the sidestand is down. If the sidestand is up, but the bike is in gear it still will not allow the starter to spin unless the clutch is pulled in. It needs to be in neutral and more importantly "know" that it is.

A problem with the neutral switch, sidestand switch, sidestand relay or starting circuit cutoff relay can cause your symptom.

Does the NEUTRAL light come on when the bike is in neutral and you switch it on?

 

Taking apart the ignition switch housing and polishing the connections worked wonders when I had starting problems. I would recommend taking a few pictures as you remove the innards because putting the three parts back in the correct orientation is ridiculously complicated for some reason.
Alittle dielectric lube and u are good to go. It's really pretty simple and a must for reliability down the proverbial road.

 

The neutral light does not come so what would that mean?

And I did take the ignition switch apart to see if it was ok the day I bought it and it had a good ground to it.

 

If the neutral light isn't coming on it indicates an issue with the neutral switch or associated wiring (unless the bulb is just burnt out.) It will also make the bike think it's in gear, so the only way it's going to allow the starter to spin is if the sidestand is up AND the clutch is pulled in.

Put it on the centerstand, make sure the sidestand is up, pull in the clutch, and see if it will spin the starter.

 

I have tried this before and still not getting it to turn over from the ignition switch to the starter solenoid. I can get it to turn over when I put a screw driver across the starter solenoid but I have no spark in any of the cylinders.

 

My XJ did exactly what you are describing that is why the PO gave up and gave it to me to get it out of his garage. What it turned out to be was that two of the safety relays were swapped and one was bad anyway. My advice is to check the part numbers on your relays to make sure they are in the correct location as they have different specs. While you are doing that pull them and clean the plug/terminals, and check the relays for proper operation. Also go through all of the wiring connectors and clean/grease them, you'll save your self a bunch of aggravation later, trust me. Do what others suggested and replace the fuse box with something modern, I even used circuit beakers instead of the blade fuses. Going through the wiring is one of the first things I do when I get an old bike, they all suffer from corroded connectors, and high resistance can cause failure of the charging system. So it is best to fix that prior to running the bike.

 

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=274100.html

 

Thanks guys again for all the helpful advice. I replaced the fuse box with a blade styled one. Everything works now! I'm even getting spark to the cylinders. Now I just need to buy a fuel line and try to fire it up. Will post pictures soon

 

To good a deal to pass up, what did you pay $100. Bought one that ran fine and was ready to ride for $400. Turned it into a bobber, it could use head gaskets and a few seals but not leaking bad at all. Had to replace the crankshaft blind plug, which was $16 in pretty short order, but a local place had one in stock and it took five minutes. Just curious what you paid.

 

2014 thread
Ijustwannaride
mia Jun 7, 2014