NEED HELP - 1982 XJ550 Not Starting

Hi all, please could somebody help me? Any advice would be much appreciated! I recently purchased 1982 Yamaha XJ550 a few weeks back. On the day of purchase the previous owner got the bike started, when I brought the bike home it only started a few times, now it no longer starts.

Pressing the start button causes the solenoid to click but it seems to be that the starter motor doesn't seem to turn the engine over properly. The engine turns over once and gives up with every single press of the starter button.

Removing all the spark plugs (therefore taking the compression out) causes the starter motor to whizz over fine. I've even tried to start it with 2 and 3 spark plugs in and it still doesn't turn over properly. It's almost as if the starter motor doesn't have enough power to turn the engine over once it has compression.

My first guess was the battery didn't have enough power behind it. The battery that came with the bike was a lithium high powered one with 240CCA (I'm told the XJ550 needs 170CCA to start). A family member said that they would charge it for me but didn't realise it was a lithium one and they destroyed the lithium cells by using a lead/acid battery charger - oh dear! I've since bought a replacement lithium battery identical to this, the same model, power output etc and fitted it but still having the same issue.

Has anyone experienced this issue before? Any advice on where to start would be great, thanks! I've just passed my motorbike test and I have this lovely bike sitting there but I cannot ride it!! :-( Thanks! Nathan.

 

There was a recent discussion about batteries and pros and cons of lithium, gel, AGM and wet cells. I run a wet cell because that was used originally on these bikes . . . I just need to remember the age of them so I don't chase my tail every 3-5 years when the bike starts acting finicky starting.

I don't know much about 'lectricity but inclined to think that older technology may not appreciate an abundance of amps thrown at it when it is accustomed to just a few amps . . .

Sit tight, someone who understands the black art of ohms, amps, current, etc. will set you (and me) right.

 

battery voltage.
voltage must stay above 9.5 volts for tci to fire. hook meter to battery and check voltage drop when you press the starter button.
motor will spin well even on a low battery.

check solenoid jump across the 2 nuts to see if this solves the problem of just a short turnover.

your starter may need to be rebuilt.
Have you tried bump starting it?

 

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm going to test the battery voltage tonight as you suggested. Will keep you updated!

Nathan

 

Yeah I've tried bump starting it a few times, no joy I'm afraid. I have a rolling road but it keeps blowing fuses everytime I try to use that.

 

what fuses does it blow ?
ohm out your charging system .

 

Hey guys. I've tested the voltage tonight, when pressing the starter button the voltage didn't go below 11.1V after several tests. I also tried jumping across the solenoid and still no joy. I've drained quite a bit of power out of the battery trying to start it tonight so it will need recharging as it definitely doesn't have enough power to turn it over now.

I did notice something odd though - whilst trying to start the bike tonight, the clutch cable got quite hot.. Possible short circuit somewhere sapping the power?

P.S the blown fuses were in the rolling road power plug, not the bike.

Thanks, Nathan.

 

Pardon my ignorance. What is a rolling road?

 

check your motor and frame ground rear of motor and base of battery box .
there is another ground at coils typicaly right side
clean and tighten
also clean battery connections