New Owner- Clueless

On Saturday I took my "new-to-me" 82 XJ750 out for several loops around the neighborhood. Shifting went fine, seems to run really well. When parking it in the garage, I assumed it'd be more stable with the bars left locked, and did so. On Sunday afternoon my son asked to hear it run (he's totally geeked about the bike). I did the following:
-Sit on bike, insert Key, turn to "on" position from locked position
-Check to see that it is in neutral- green light indicates neutral
-Press starter button- nothing
-Put up kickstand to be sure I haven't forgotten that it has to be up (I'm new at this), try to start again- nothing happens
-Turn off ignition, take out key, put key back in and turn- nothing

I did several cycles of this and had no results. In the course of trying everything I noticed that the headlamp did not light, and that the lights on the dash seemed dim. On Monday morning I called the PO, who said it has a periodically touchy ingintion switch, but that cycling the switch several times always addresses the problem, so I went home and last night tried to start it again- Nothing.

Being new to bikes, I decided to try old car starting tricks, and put the charger on it. When I tried it this morning, it started! Yay! So now I have a funtioning bike, but one that likely has a short somewhere. Lacking an owner's manual, I'm having to guess at a lot here. So I have some questions- Will buying the XJCD likely answer all of my questions? What is are the functions of the two positions on the ignition switch at the lock position- is one an accessory position that might cause a battery drain? Are there common electrical shorts to these machines that I can start examining, or do I need to "Get Smart," and do a systematic search? If I do have a bad ignition switch, is replacing it with the JC Whitney "all applications" ign. switch sacrilege (or otherwise problematic), or should I pay bigger bucks and try to get the authentic switch?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but lacking any documentation for my bike I'm really a bit lost, and don't want to become a pain in the side of the PO. Thanks for any help you all may be able to provide.

 

Ha ha, I did this once too, "back in the day."

The second position down in the 'lock' area of the ignition switch is a 'Park' "feature." This lights up your marker lights, and yes it'll drain your battery overnight. I can fabricate a few situations where this might be useful, but in the real world it amazes me they wasted time and money designing and building it that way.

Maybe if you replaced your lights with LEDs the lower drain would justify leaving it lit up like a Christmas tree overnight.

BTW, never apologize for asking questions. That's what this forum thrives on.

Welcome, and enjoy your 'new' ride.

 

Check your sidestand switch. Sometimes they collect gunk and road grime and stick even when the side stand is up. Also,check for a clean and solid ground from your battery to the engine block.

 

I almost did the same thing but noticed ny brake light was on when I locked the handlebars.
I was wondering why the heck the brake light went on in the second lock position- I am surprised they designed it that way.

 

get in the habit of pulling in the clutch when starting, just a good thing to do
when you charge the battery use the center stand, it makes the battery level
and less likely to spit out acid
find the hose that comes out of the battery and make sure any acid that comes out will go to a harmless place
check the water in the battery

 

Congrats on your new toy, Changingground.
25 year old bikes have electrical issues- - you will be taking a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan.
Battery- top off with DISTILLED water only, then charge.
Fuse block- until you order your new one from Chacal, use fine sand paper on the fuses and terminals, then a bit of grease.
All electrical connections unplugged, sanded, de-corroded, inspected. This'll take you awhile, get the kid to help. Inspect the whole harness-tank off- for rub-thru, cut wires, splices, etc.
There's info on this site about opening up and cleaning the ignition switch innards- - fix what you got. There's a "lock" and "parking light" setting that will drain your battery.
The XJCD is well worth $10, but can't compare to live interactive help on this site. Also, the $50 shop manual is recommended.
Other points- get brand new fuel line and filter while your tank is off,
new fluid and bleed brakes, adjust the nut on rear brake.
Read the new owner threads.

 

All good tips but in addition remember to periodically adjust the nut connecting the handlebars to the seat.

 

Thanks for all the advice and well wishes. And good to know that my problem is an operator error rather than a fault in the system! I'll avoid the "Park" postion from now on.

I'd planned on getting the XJCD, but got caught by internet complacence (I'm used to buying things online, and no longer carry a checkbook). I'll write myself a note about the CD, so that I can get it sooner than my next problem (hopefully). The PO seems to have gone over this bike with the proverbial fine-toothed comb, but I will address the ignition switch as soon as I have the CD for guiance.

As for asking questions, I've become somewhat used to the Pirate 4x4 mode of newbie response, which is generally "Search, NEWB!" Nice to hear that you all are more forgiving of newbie ignorance. Cheers

 

LOL - but for sure the most critical part!