Getting an XJ550 Running Again

Howdy,

Several years ago I bought an XJ550 to keep by hands busy and learn something new. Ended up never getting it running.

I'm looking to get it running this winter. Has anybody written a document up on the things to check when it's static for years? I'm thinking new plugs, oil change, break fluid, filters, etc.

Thanks

 

Quick list from my rebuild: head bearings, carb cleaning (search "church of clean"), wheel bearings, fork oil and seals, chain, front brake pads and rear shoes, master cylinder fluid and fuses.

 

These are all secondary measures once you have it running.
First thing is pull the valve cover and check if the valves are in tolerance.
Second step is a compression test.
Third step, see if you have spark.
Other than some maintenance tools you haven't sunk any money into this yet which is good.
Step 2 might tell you it's not a good candidate and better sold on to someone else as a parts bike.

If step 2 shows it to be a good candidate for a runner then pull the carbs off and completely apart.
Rebuilt carbs, spark, compression and fuel is what it needs to run.

Even before any of this, take an honest appraisal of the bike. Are the cosmetics good? Is the tank rusty?
Clocks faded, pipes rotted?
Add up what you need to spend. It might not make sense but if you love to tinker that's good enough for me.

 

Assuming it wasn't running then compression test would actually be my first step, then the clearances. Personally, I'd tear into the head regardless and check the journal wear. Not everyone enjoys tinkering though.

 

you want to look at the periodotic maintance items and do those things
so first is to change the oil I use shell rotella T4 oil its about 14$ a gallon at walmart. change the oil filter,
replace vacuum line from carbs to petcock 4mm ID

ohm out ignition system clean the connectors

this link has specs on ignition system
The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

next is to check valve shim clearance. get in spec. now you can do a proper compression test if you want or need to. I do one for a base line.
Bigfitz's AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT with Pics - parts I & II


charge the battery.how old is it ? may need a new one.

do a voltage drop test on the battery when cranking over starter.
also give it a shot of starter fluid to see if it fires.

carbs may need a good cleaning
IN THE CHURCH OF CLEAN



light reading
The Information Overload Hour

 

Yep - all good advice. Don't go buying bits for it that are unnecessary at this stage until you can assess if the engine is OK.

Who knows - it might have a spun big end bearing which is more or less game over.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Here's a bullet point status of the bike:
- No oil in the bike
- No running for 9 years
- Carbs rebuilt (but not synced again)
- Gas tank was drained and attempted to be de-rusted

I've got the battery on a charger. That might be toast.. old battery and not regularly charged. So we'll see what happens. Any suggestions on powering the electrical system without a battery?

Low hanging items on my initial list is:
- oil & filter
- gas filter
- spark plugs
- battery

When I was working on the bike last, some 8 years ago, I was focusing on the electrical because it would not start the starter.

 

You will need some sort of lead-acid 12V battery to test the electrical unless you have a 15A 12VDC power supply you can hook up.

 

car battery
how long has the oil been out of the bike?
batterys are not expensive at wall mart and ebay

a gallon of Rotella T4 oil is 15$ that will get you a oil change and an oil and filter change
get a new filter. check that the spring and flat washer are behind the filter bolt side of housing.
washer may stick to old filter or be missing the spring may be missing.

run switch could be dirty.
starter could be bad fuse or dirty button contacts , poor connection from control harness to main harness. poor ground of control to handlebars and bars to frame.
if the oil light comes on when starter button is pushed you have a good ground. check and clean battery connections . clean connections on solinoid and frame ground under battery box and at motor.

to check solinoid undo wire going to starter hook meter or test light to that connection and battery ground see if you get voltage when starter button is pushed

starter motor could be bad

 

It's been without oil for like 8 years.
The battery just won't get above 8v. So I'm thinking it's toast.

 

Make sure none of the plates have been exposed to air. If they have, the plates are ruined.

 

I'm thinking about putting some, small amount, of oil in the cylinders and manually turning it over. Thoughts?

 

The plates? *insert blank look here*

 

battery cells

 

Oh yeah, it was dry.

 

If the bike has been sitting that long without oil in it, I would definitely turn the crank by hand counter clockwise to get some oil in the engine. Before filling up the bike with oil, check to make sure there is a oil filter in the bike and it is in correctly. Remove the ignition cover on the left side of the bike. Using a 19mm wrench you will able to turn the engine slowly to get some much needed oil into the engine. Do with with the spark plugs out of the bike so you don't have to fight compression. Taking a little oil into each cylinder would help the rings free up if they are frozen as well.

As mentioned above, do all those steps as well. You have to look at the bike and see if it can be made road safe, has all the parts ect. There is always a price to bring these bikes back from the dead. Many have said and I will repeat, they don't make these bikes anymore, hate to see them parted out or sent to the yard. Good luck, take it slow and keep us posted.

 

Then it's toast. Buy another one. You can't recover cells once they oxidize.

 

Counter clockwise? Why?

 

The starter will hang up otherwise.

 

good idea let it sit for a while before turning motor to let it sink into rings

 

plates

 

It is not worth the time to try to bring back a battery. I mean only costing $40 or so buck here in the US. Get a good new battery and have one less thing to worry about with the bike.

 

Got a little bit of oil in each cylinder to soak.

 

ok guys, good news and some questions.

I changed the oil. That was a bit of an adventure. The oil filter bolt was seized. Got it off then ended up having to cut the bolt back to hex shape. It's now a 10mm.

I was able to manually turn the engine over. There was some resistance on the first turn or two but then it smoothed out.

The gas tank is back together (petcock and gauge were taken off to derust the tank). The fuel gauge seems to work.

I re-seated the carbs after replacing the fuel line. I'll be adding inline filters to catch the rust that is loose in the tank.

Using a battery charger, supporting 2A, 10A, and 55A loads, I was able to confirm that the turn signals work, break light works, and horn works. The head light did not work nor the starter. I verified the starter button works using a DMM.



I have a few questions.

What's needed to start the engine? break being depressed, transmission in neutral?

The horn sounds pittiful. Only one sounds. do ya'll have rebuild instructions on those?

The T line between the middle two carbs is really lose. should I be concerned?

 

Will it not turn clockwise? Can you describe what "hang up" means?

 

Headlight comes on when motor spins fast enough to close relay.
the tee may have to be replaced if it is leaking it would be a good pratice to replace all o rings in fuel rail and replace the tee as oem has no orings.

bike needs to be in neutral to start or clutch pulled in when in gear as clutch has a safety switch to prevent starting in gear with clutch out. switch located in perch.
side stand switch may also be an issue and need to be cleaned. bypass by removing sidestand relay located under seat.

test solenoid for voltage at input from battery and on cable to starter (press starter button )
solenoid connections may need to be cleaned or solenoid repaced. you can jump across the 2 nuts on solinoid to make starter spin.

 

a shot of starting fluid into carbs will see if motor starts or fires . when you add fuel to carbs check for leaks. rap carb bowls when filling to un bind floats

 

As for that gas tank, is there still lose rust in it? Can we get a pic with a light shined down inside the top? If there is lose rust in there, the inline filter will help but not do well enough to stop all the supper fine sediment that might be floating around in the tank. Evapo-Rust or like chemical will clean up the rust in your tank.

As for the carbs, do a bench test for leaks before you put them back in the bike. It is better to see if there is gas leaking from the carbs on a table/vise setup then when you have them back on the bike. An AUX gas tank and line will need to be used to get the fuel into the carbs, it will be well worth it. This check will make sure all the gaskets in each bowl is working and the "O" rings on the fuel rails.

 

The T fitting was tight when I started working on my rack. Upon reinstalling I noticed it had gotten significantly more loose and then (dun dun dunnn) fuel started leaking from that area.

with new o rings it moves still but with noticeable drag.
Ymmv, this was on a 700

 

Previously, again years ago, I pulled the tank and ran a de-rusting chemical through it. I made several passes with that. It did some great work. At this point, it seems that rust is knocking loose with me bumping the tank around moving it. I keep on getting lose rust out using magnet or shaking it then more seems to get lose.

See pictures. I can scope the tank as well.

Any suggestions on installing a magnet or something to collect the rust in tank?

 

-- OK, good news. I'll revisit the headlight later on.

-- Any suggestions on aftermarket tees?

-- I'll test the starter by shorting the solenoid.

 

Shorting the solenoid started the starter right up. In my box of parts, I have a different solenoid. So I'll try that one.

 

xj4ever sells tees or look for a 600 tee on ebay

rust in tank dump some bbs in it they are steel covered in copper then add pb blaster or fluid film then shake it to swirl around bbs . do this every day as often as possible.
then drain tank use magnetic on an extendable rod to pull out any bbs and rust flakes rinse with fuel or other solvent

you will need to remove petcock and fuel cap to do this cover petcock hole with a plate and use an expansion plug for gas cap.

in info over load there are several other ways to remove rust from electrolliss to tumbling tank in drier with fish tank gravel

I use a fuel tank from a lawn mower for an axulliriy tank

 

oem tee for 550 has no replacable o rings it is aluminim covered in plastic with ridges

 

right is oem tee left is , FZ, YX, 600 Radian tee


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mikuni-Car...419673?hash=item41ebd41799:g:aQYAAOxyTMdTKfYb

 

That will work on my XJ550 (4u8)?

 

yes it will

 

Spent some more time this evening on it.

Shorted the solenoid will trigger the starter but the button still does not work. When pressing the button I get neither power nor connectivity on the plug out to the starter relay. I've tried two different relays with still no luck. As I flip the off,run,off switch I can hear the relay next to the rear wheel switching. Anybody got a wiring diagram?

I'm noticing that the voltage is not maintaining through my various testing. Yes the back light is on but I'm not really doing anything that would drain the battery. I'm wondering if there is a power drain somewhere.

Speaking of battery, what's the exact model that is correct for these bikes? Maybe I have the wrong battery?

 

4U8 so it is a XJ550 seca?

battery 12N12A-4A

at solenoid there is a small connector blue white wire connects to starter button red/white wire is hot wire put your meter probes in the connector press starter button you should get 12 volts. if not test red/white wire to negative on battery should have 12 volts.
test blue white wire to positive of battery probe on positive probe into connector blue/white wire. press starter button 12 volts? if not starter button may not be grounded or may be dirty.

also under tank follow right control wires back to harness the connectors are near the ignition coil make sure they are clean and tight.
starter button grounds by the handle bars if bars are painted that's the problem.
best thing to do is add a ground to the black wire from control. or hook a jumper wire to screw on control and to battery negitive


The World’s Greatest XJ550 Seca Wiring Diagram:
http://www.frankjohansson.com/stuff/xj550/XJ550ElectricalDiagram.html

 

The starter button & kill switch wire bundle has 4 wires but the wiring harness only has 3. Looks like the grounding is not happening at the switch. So I added a wire to the wiring harness side all the way down to the bolt on the battery box for the grounding wire.

Now when I press the button, the oil light slowly starts to glow.....

<10 min later>
Just walked back out there and pressed it again.... the starter turned once then stopped. Tried it again, turned again. It's barely turning over.

Battery has been on trickle charger since my last post.... Maybe the battery does not have enough juice?

<15 min later>
I went back out there and tried it again and got several turns of the starter.

 

you can hook that ground wire to the ignition coil mounting bolt.

could be dirty starter button. dirty battery connections. dirty solinoid connections dirty motor ground connection from battery.
or a dirty starter wire connection. starter may be dirty inside or needing to be rebuilt.

do a voltage drop test to battery when pressing starter button voltage before and during test.

and a new battery can be bad too.

 

Should the oil light turn on every time I press the starter button?

 

yes it is a test for the bulb. it goes out when you release the button correct?

when you change the oil after draining you should turn on key to test oil level sensor light should come on.

 

It's been a while... and I finally got my bike running. Well kind of. This bike has been little work here and alittle work there.

The other day, I hung a small gas tank with a filter and put the carbs back in then pushed the button... and it started up and revved. I was so excited. The idler was too high, so I turned it down. I was all over the place on the choke. After a number of starts and stops it was getting more difficult to start. Added some oil because the light was on.

Now the starter turns the engine over but it won't start. It flirts with starting but just won't start.

It just ran the other day and got up to some 4k rpm several times. Given that the only thing that's really changed is a number of starts, some oil, tweaking the choke\idler... I'm asking myself what's changed.

I've checked the battery and have checked the fuel line. Wondering if fuel is getting into the carbs. Wondering if the spark plugs are now fouled. Wondering if the air\fuel ratio is off.

What are your thoughts?

 

Last night, I walked out and pushed the button and it started right up..... hmm...

 

Keep your battery on a battery tender. Multiple starts without running the bike is draining your battery. Next time you go to start the bike hook a multimeter voltmeter to the battery and see what the voltage drops to when you press the starter button if it is going below 10 volts the bike will not start. It just sounds like you have a good battery but you wear it down.

 

I noticed that I could not start the bike in quick succession. I had to give the battery time to recover. I've been leaving it on the tender. Glad to hear your feedback.

 

Hey XJ550H, what does the oil light represent? When should I pay attention to it or ignore it? I've got the bike running in gear, no chain is connected, and the oil light turns on.

 

oil light is low oil situation
never ignore oil light bad things happen.

the light comes on when starter button is pressed to test bulb.
when you change oil turn key on the light should light this is a test for the oil switch in motor..

when running the light comes on to tell you you are low on oil.

oil level is checked with bike on center stand . the clutch cover has a glass sight you will see 2 lines top is full.
when oil is at lower line add oil slowley like a few ounces at a time .
when oil gets to next line add at 1 ounce . you always want an air bubble at the top of the glass sight.

if you have no center stand get a small level about 12 inch size put it across frame or carbs to level bike.

never ignore oil light bad things happen.

if oil light stays on at proper level the switch may be stuck . add some seafoam to oil per directions on can about a hundred miles before oil change it will clean out switch

 

My oil light started coming on occasionally. I ended up taking mine out and "cleaning" it. It was a few years ago, so I forget exactly what I used, but I would imagine spraying some carb cleaner in and working it back and forth to flush any gunk out. Hasn't given me any problems since. (heh, maybe it's busted, but I doubt it)