confused and need major help!!!!!!!!!

I bought a 85 xj700x maxim a couple of weeks ago. i have been riding with no problems then all of a sudden the bike just died... no electric, no motor.... nothing. I checked all fuses that i could find and everything is ok there. Is there anyplace or anything else i need to check.... :x

 

battery?

 

no lights at all when you turn the key on?
if not, jump the solenoid behind the battery with a screwdriver. will it kick over?

 

The fuse boxes on these bikes are notorious for hairline fractures on the brass clips that hold the fuse. Check this before digging further.

 

Yes, the fuse boxes are notoriously bad. I had a hairline fracture in one of my other x's and I couldn't figure it out. Bike would just die...soooo, I hit all of the fuses with di lectric grease and no more issues. I'd bet that is where your issue is. I'd also start pulling every single (do a section of the bike at a time) connection apart, hit it with contact cleaner and then put a dab of di lelctric grease on it. I've found more than one gremline that way.

Also, you say that you pulled the fuse on the bike and looked at them...make sure you didn't miss the main being bad. I remember a guy came into the shop I worked at with a gsxr 1k and was having issues. The guy I was working with went out and checked the fuses with a multi meter...so had the owner to no avail. I asked how they checked them and they both gave me the same reason and stated 'it wasn't a fuse'. Well, it sure acted like one, so I pulled each fuse and physically inspected it, and guess what? There WAS a bad fuse in there. Replaced it, made more than one person feel and look stupid, made the customer gimme a smoke for my troubles and booted the squid on his way. Food for thought...

 

how many fuse boxes are there.. i checked all the fuses that are located under the speedo & tach, they are all good. i checked the what i think is the main fuse under the seat and it is good....

 

will the bike turnover if you jump the 2 big posts on the solenoid?

 

It doesn't much matter if the fuses look good, the metal on the fuse clips goes bad. Chacal here sells replacement fuseboxes -- a *must* fix, quick and easy. I had my 81 xj550 refuse to start with the starter, but would push start -- the box was loosing too much juice. While I was tweaking with it, the clips broke off in my fingers.

 

Clhannah.. THe 85-86 maxim's, Virago's do not have the glass type fuses under the seat. THey have the auto blade style in the dash. did you pull and replace the main fuse with another? Did you check and make sure your battery connections are tight? if sitting on the bike the left side take off the side cover and check out the connectors especially the one from the alternator/generator whatever you call it I have seen more than one pic of the white connector strating to melt and short out.

 

hey 85 maximxx, my does have a glass "buss" fuse but there is one. however i find the problem.. clhannah, that was the exact problem. i dont read this read until this morning and find the prblem last night. i used my multimeter to test the all the fuses and i found the buss fuse was bad. it looked perfectly intacted but was "dead".

everyone, thanks for your support and ideas.