XJ700 Electrical not turning on

Drove my bike to work today without incident, came out 8 1/2 hours later and turn the key to no response from any lights on the panels. Tomorrow morning I'll go and test battery and current around the ignition switch but here's the kicker.

I've been using a wrench to start the bike by jumping the solenoid. I'm wondering if anyone has input if doing this screwed up my electrical system by burning a fuse out or something similar?

I searched around a bit and it seems like you guys suggest spraying some WD40 in the key slot and jiggling it for lack of a better term. I will attempt that as well.

Any information or help would be greatly appreciated!

 

I dont want to offer any bad advise, but my XJ had this issue with the ignition cylinder. I stuck a little graphite powder down in it with a tiny jewelry flathead and tried to make sure I got as much of the stuff in there as I could. After about 5 minutes of unsuccessful turns with my key finally my green nuetral light kicked on. Been working good since, could have been a coincidence though after all the turns whatever gunk was in there got free'd up. Ignition cylinder turns much better now too.

 

Ok so you put graphite down the keyhole then? That does sound like a likely problem considering how well everything else was running for me earlier that day

I did find this guide to more properly clean and lube the ignition switch but I may try your method so I can get it to my garage.

Well I tried to link to the ignition switch guide but the spam filter won't let me post it.

Thanks for the input!

 

I would use graphite over WD40, less chance of things getting gunned up in there to my mind.

You need to make at least 5 posts before being able to add a link.

 

I decided to get the battery tested before doing anything else.

It's only 7 months old but you never know
The battery only had 2 volts on it when i put it on the charger

 

Aha! Good find. . . Now you DO know.

 

I've learned sometimes that spring inside the starter button also can become crooked or get corroded or whatever and end up shorting out, when it does you can also short out the main switch aka the ignition, or sometimes the ignitions switch just needs some dielectric grease inside it in order to ensure good movement and connection and keep protecting the point which make the electrical connection when the key is turned..something to consider since the ignition may have never been opened up or maintained on the inside since the bike was manufactured or the ignition was replaced, same kinda goes for the handle bar assemblies in my opinion, starter button(right) and blinker(left) sides..


But the battery sounds like it is more than likely the issue, I believe it shouldn't go below a 9.3-9.5 volt load while engaging the starter motor..if it does after you charge the battery you may need to replace it..

 

Ok so the battery was bad. Got the new one installed and I'm hooking up the leads when the second lead sparks and the starter is engaging. The ignition was locked and the kill switch in the off position. Played with it for a bit to see if I could hook up the lead without it running the starter to no avail. So I think about it and decide to ride it home with a screwdriver in my pocket so I can quickly take the lead off when I get to my garage. I get back with no problem and the bike shuts off fine. I disconnect the lead anyway because I suspect my faulty electrical system drained my last battery.
So yeah, you guys got any idea what's causing my starter to bypass the ignition?

 

A good batery won't go below 10 volts when engaging the starter (if the starter is on good condition).

 

This indicates a problem in the starter circuit such as bad starter solenoid, starter cutoff relay / safety failure, wiring, or starter switch.

This would be an issue with the starter solenoid. Either the large contacts that provide power to the starter were stuck closed or the solenoid control wire is shorted to ground.

Note: The XJ700 starter solenoid uses a single wire to apply ground to one side the coil in the starter solenoid, the other side of the coil is connected directly to the battery through a metal terminal on the solenoid. This makes it possible to connect the solenoid backwards, which will cause the solenoid not to engage when the starter switch is depressed.

But do you still need the wrench to start it?

Given the second failure you had of the starter engaging when the battery was connected, I would suggest replacing the starter solenoid if no pinched / damaged wire could be found for the starter solenoid control wire. And, if you are lucky, this will also be the defective component that was causing the need to jump start with the wrench.

 

First of all thanks so much for responding with all the knowledge you have. I haven't touched the bike since I got it back to my garage because of work/blizzard that hit the area but I'll hook it up and report back with whats going on tomorrow night.
I have previously switched the wires on the starter solenoid because that was suggested for someone else's problem. It didn't do anything for me so I switched them back and got a new starter solenoid. I was still using the wrench to jump the solenoid when the dead battery/ground short situation happened. I'll check out the starter solenoid control wire as well, maybe that was my issue all along

 

Here is a pic of the solenoid and how to check for proper hookup. Once all is connected properly, you can just ground the smaller blue/white wire and the starter solenoid should engage and the motor should spin. Don't even need the key on for this test since one side of the coil is tied directly to battery positive. It this test works as expected, but the starter button does not engage the starter, then it's time to look for a failure in the safety circuit, starter cutoff relay, starter switch, or wiring.

 

wow thanks so much for this, I've got tomorrow off so I'll test it in the AM, again thank you!

 

Ok so I switched the solenoid wires to max the picture you posted. I held the ground to the frame and all I got was some pitiful sparks, so either not a strong enough contact or the solenoid is bad.

 

That should engage the solenoid and spin the starter, so yes time to replace the solenoid. You can test if this is all you need by placing a voltmeter on the terminal for the blue / white wire. With everything connected and the key set to ON that terminal will go from 12V to 0V when the starter button is depressed. As mentioned before you will need a functioning safety circuit, starter switch, and wiring for that to occur.

 

I bought the starter solenoid last fall when I got the bike. Hard to believe its gone bad already but I suppose jumping it with a wrench wasn't the best thing for it. I'm relatively certain beyond the solenoid being bad there is something off in safety circuit, starter switch, or wiring. Again thanks for all the help