83 XJ 550 arched starter solenoid and now it wont start!

Like the title says i was moving some wires and the starter solenoid terminals arched on the frame. I have unplugged the connecting wires and did the click test and it passed. I also tested both ignition coils and both primaries read at 2.3 ohms but neither secondary read anything. Did you guys think the arched really fried both coils? also all fuses are still good. and does anyone know how to go about testing relays? and why you can bypass them? my bike wouldn't start a while ago and struggled for weeks to find the problem (ignorantly struggled) and finally ended up taking it to the shop to find out it was the stupid f***ing kickstand relay and they just by passed it, seventy dollars later. SOO how do i check these little f***ers, and potenentially disconnect all the useless ones like the kickstand relay. thanks for any and all help. im in central Oregon and trying to get one last ride in before the snow sets in. any ASAP help very much appriciated!

 

Have you checked to make sure your battery is fully charged?

 

"Won't start" covers a lot of territory.

Does it not spin the motor at all; or does it turn over but just not fire?

I doubt you fried anything; we need to know more about the symptom (and the condition of the battery.)

 

Sorry for the slow response all. I should know better than to just say "wont start". the motorcycle wont respond at all, the engine does not spin at all. The battery was charged, after this happened the battery drained to 00.00 i charged teh battery and is now at 12.50. when i turn the ignition the battery drops down to 10.00 even and has now response when i hit the start button. I also hooked the instrument panel back up, as i had removed it and building a new bracket for indicator lights, and the neutral light still works.

 

The battery is highly suspect. Fully charge it and then take it to an auto parts store and have it load tested.

The original solenoid is an electro-mechanical device; it could be the cause of excessive voltage draw; as could the starter itself.

If you don't even get a "click" from the solenoid when you mash the button, I'd suspect a fusebox issue OR the sidestand switch and/or safety circuit is "deployed" preventing the bike from turning over.

The guys that bypassed the sidestand relay may have done it poorly and now the bike thinks the stand is down (even though it's not.)

Does the red "low oil" light come on when you press the starter button?

 

no it does not. I fully charged the battery last night. When i bought the bike about four months ago the battery was brand new. I brought the bike to a reliable local shop to have the previous starting issue resolved of the kickstand relay, they also charged and tested the battery while it was there so i don't think that that the kickstand or the battery are the issue. you mentioned in another post : http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=221232.html;
"bridging the solenoid should fire the starter" why would this not occur when this happened to me? This is exactly what happened but caused an electrical malfuction?

 

OK, so now if you bridge the large terminals on the solenoid, what happens (besides a shower of sparks?)

The starter should spin. If it doesn't I'd start with the starter if you know the battery is good. Bridging the large terminals on the solenoid applies 12V directly to the starter.

 

isnt applying a full twelve volts potentially dangerous to other electrical parts? isn't that why we're here in the first place? i don't believe that doing something to cause a "shower of sparks" is the correct procedure for diagnostic. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. What electrical components like relays do i check, in order, with a multimeter to determine functionality? just wondering the correct procedures as i have the tools.

 

still gotta listen to fitz if starter brushes are bad or something the starter could be the only issue but you have to make sure the starter is good

 

Shorting the terminals is the same thing that happens internally when the switch engages, 12 volts is supplied to the starter.
If the starter isn't working, you have 3 things to look for: current not getting to the switch to activate "the bridge", current not getting to the starter from the bridge or a starter problem.

 

Bridging the big terminals on the solenoid as a quick test of the starter is an accepted and safe troubleshooting step, despite the possibility of producing some sparks. If you took the starter off the bike, the best way to test it would be to simply feed it 12 volts. No real difference, that's what the solenoid does (or is supposed to do.)

Apparently you may be missing one important tool, a service manual. The factory book has great fault isolation diagrams and troubleshooting steps. PM me with your email address and I'll be happy to supply you with the relevant pages from the factory 550 book.

 

The best electrician I ever knew was the shop electritian at Freightliner's Portland manufacturing plant. His voltage meter for anything under 500V was a cheap, wooden-handled, screwdriver.

The reason for the solenoid on a starting system is to make sure the starter gets as close to 12V as possible, and to keep a high current draw from passing through the starter switch (so the switch contacts don't weld). Shorting across the big terminals of the solenoid won't cause any damage to the other electrics on the bike. You're just using a screwdriver (or other object) as a switch, instead of using the contacts inside of the solenoid.

 

K-moe wrote:
The best electrician I ever knew was the shop electritian at Freightliner's Portland manufacturing plant. His voltage meter for anything under 500V was a cheap, wooden-handled, screwdriver.

I hope you were joking. 8O I've seen someone complete a 240v circuit with a screwdriver before, knocked him 12 feet back and ruined his day. You never want to use a screwdriver bridge on anything over 12 volts.

 

So i believe i found the problem was the main bus fuse, which had disconnected inside the cap, not in the center where it should. found out by audibly ohm testing it. thank you all for your help and support.

bigfitz52: I have the Clymer M387 manual which in the electrical diagnosis section in chapter seven tells me: step three: Check battery voltage and specific gravity ( skipping gravity test as we'd assumed battery was acceptable. Step four : measure the ignition coils primary resistance. Thats why i ended up here lol. the main fuse wouldn't somehow result in the coils not reading accurately would it?

K-moe: f*****g awesome avatar man; the dude abides.

 

I'm not joking. He threw the screwdriver at watever he needed to check :lol:
He was a crazy old guy, and he got to be old by being safe...in his own crazy way.

 

The Dude does indeed abide.

In regard to the Clymer: it's decent but still sadly lacking. I struggled along with just the Clymer and finally got a factory book; between the two of them most of the mysteries were solved. But in certain areas, they both suck or leave things out entirely.

Which is what got me started doing the various "how-to" articles, to supplement the manuals and fill in the gaps.

Like I said, PM me with your email address and I'll send you a whole bunch of cool stuff from the factory book.

And if you still have the original fusebox, either rebuild or replace it. The original clips crystallize and will break all on their own.

 

If the low oil light does come on, what does it indicate?

 

Not full proof, but basically verifies battery voltage, main fuse, ignition switch, ignition fuse, kill switch, diode block, and starter switch are in working order.

So, if the light illuminates and the bike does not crank, then likely an issue with the starter, starter solenoid, starter cutoff relay, or the safety circuit is deployed disabling the starter.

If the light does not illuminate, then time to look for an open / defect in the listed path.

 

Primary resistances look okay. Main bus shouldn't have anything to do with testing the secondary resistance as all you are doing is measuring the resistance from plug 1 and 4, or 2 and 3. Maybe it's your multimeter? I used to have one that wouldn't show me any value on the 20 scale, but worked fine on 200. Same multimeter later went on to provide erroneous readings cuz it's internal 9v battery was toast.

 

Great, thanks Rooster53.
I think the issue is the safety circut. Will do some more checking.