New to this, need advice.

Hello all, just bought my first bike. 82 Maxim XJ550. The guy I bought it off of had it for 3 years and rode it off and on for that time. He said he parked it in October and didn't touch it until he put it on Craigslist, that's when he put it on a trickle charger. When we went out to look at it, it started straight up and rode home just fine. The next couple days it rode fine as well. Today when I went to take it out, it would not start. The more I tried, the less it wanted to until it was finally just making a clicking noise. I went to an auto parts store and bought a battery and a trickle charger and charged it up to 12.5 volts. Just went out to put the battery in and try to start her up and still nothing. Any ideas on what to look at from here?

 

Welcome aboard. This site will help you with everything needed to make your bike a trusty runner. Does it have the original fuse box?

Gary H.

 

Welcome! I agree w rocs, check the fuses. Also check the starter button. Take out the two screws holding the throttle grip and starter button assembly to the bars. Make sure the little screw holding the starter button brass assembly didn't fall out. (This happened to me yesterday!) And the starter button contact gets corroded after many years and use. Also did you check the starter itself (mounted to the engine)? May need the dust cleaned out of it.

 

No, it has a newer fuse box that got installed about a year and a half ago

 

bike will not start if battery drops below 10 volts when spinning starter.
with new battery did it spin the starter?
when you turn on the key do you here the 2 relays click under the seat and tank?
Do you have a factory service manual?
do you have a multi meter?

petcock on run,reserve, or prime? are you out of gas?

 

got some reading for you that will help you in the long run

this link will save your life
SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a look

Choosing Oil for a Wet Clutch Motorcycle

The Information Overload Hour

The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

IN THE CHURCH OF CLEAN

THE SECRET LIFE OF CARBURETORS


Something New, Something Naked

cool wiring diagram it is for 550 seca but will work for your Maxim except you do not have a fuel guage or voltmeter and turn signals are done different with the turn indicator bulb
http://www.frankjohansson.com/stuff/xj550/XJ550ElectricalDiagram.html

our supporting vendor is Chacal
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/forums/xj4ever-supporting-vendor.23/

or www.xj4ever.com

 

when you start the bike do not touch the throttle, put choke on full press starter button no more than 10 seconds, when bike starts let it warm for 15 to 20 seconds before hitting throttle.
let the choke warm the bike for 45 seconds and then start reducing the choke.

even with a running bike you should test and inspect your systems
brake systems
charging system
ignition system
cleaning and checking connectors as you go

 

It did spin the starter.
I do hear the click.
No manual.
Yes I have a multi meter.

I keep the petcock on prime overnight and turn it to run a couple minutes before starting up.

 

That is a bad habit. Prime should only be used when filling dry float bowls (and that only takes a few seconds). If you leave it on prime, and have a leaky float needle valve (or stuck float) you will end up with a crankcase full of gas.

The normal position for the petcock is ON, and it can be left there as the fuel flow is shut off by the vacuum valve when the engine is not running.

Now then, since the starter doesn't want to turn I'd like to rule out that there is fuel in the crankcase (enough fuel in the crankcase or cylinders will hydrolock the engine, preventing it from turning over). Take the oil fill cap off and have a sniff. If it smells like toasted nuts then you're golden. If it smells like gas then we have found the problem.

 

do not leave the petcock on prime over night if your carb needle valve gets stuck it will flood out your motor with gas in oil just turn it on for 10 seconds when you go to start bike then on run.
your petcock has 3 levels on it run when tank is full reserve is the last gallon of fuel and reserve which flows on the lowets pickup of fuel level.
there is a filter in tank. fill your tank to see if it starts filter could be cloged.
a can of starter fluid will come in handy if you flood the motor.
Starting Load Test:

a) Adjust voltmeter to DC volts (20 volt range).
b) Place voltmeter leads to the battery terminals (positive to positive and negative to negative) .
c) Watch the voltmeter as you start your motorcycle, but before the engine is running.
d) If the voltage drops below 9.5 volts, the battery has very low capacity and should be replaced.
Charging System Tests:

a) Adjust voltmeter to DC volts (20 volt range).
b) Place voltmeter leads to the battery terminals (positive to positive and negative to negative).
c) Start the engine.
d) Bring engine up to approximately 2,500 rpm's.
e) Compare the voltage reading to the specification given below:

For all XJ-series models, the maximum available charging output VOLTAGE should be as follows (all values are approximate):

* approximately 500-2000 rpms: 1.8 volts gradually increasing to 14.2 volts
* 2000+ rpms: 14.2 volts up to about 14.8 volts, with a maximum of 14.8 volts (all models except XJ700-X and XJ750-X)

you should test your ignition
XJ550 models:
Pick-up coils:
650 ohms +/- 20% = 520 ohms to 780 ohms acceptable range
Ignition Coils:

Primary side (input from main wiring harness):
2.5 ohms +/- 10% = 2.25 ohms - 2.75 ohms acceptable range

Secondary side (spark plug wires, without their end caps):
11K ohms +/- 20% = 8,800 ohms - 13,200 ohms acceptable range

Spark plug caps:
10K +/- 20% = 8,000 to 12,000 ohms per cap acceptable range

Spark plugs:
0 ohms per plug

first test is to turn key on and see if you have 12 volts at the TCI unit red white wire, bike may back fire if key is on for 1 or 2 minutes (this is normal and good)
to test pick up coils remove seat disconnect both connectors from tc
ileft connector test black wire to gray wire for 650 ohms then orange wire to black wire for 650 ohms
not the black and white wire.
you can test ignition coil primary from right connector
red white wire to gray 2.5 ohms
red white wire to orange 2.5 ohms
if out of speck you will have to test again at the coil pack under the gas tank

now you want to test the HT wires (spark plug wires) you should have 31K ohms from wire 1 to 4
and 31K ohms from wire 2 to 3.
if any wires read open remove caps and test wires again then caps seperatly looking for 10K ohms

it could be you have a bad connection to the spark plug caps from wire and just need to trim the HT wire back 3/8 of an inch and screw them back on.
I would recommend doing this at this time anyways.

 

oil level is checked buy sight glass on right side of bike on clutch cover with bike on center stand it should be between the lines.

george check your in box upper right of screen left you a message


there are 2 relays one under seat near fender and one under gas tank both should click when you turn key on

 

Wouldn't surprise me if the battery is bad anyway...... Can't count the number of times that I, and others, have gotten brand new batteries that were already bad

 

Looks like that was it, hooked up another battery and it started up straight away.

 

any other problems just ask, best of luck

 

why do you think that happens so often? it does seem to happen a lot

 

1. Cuz there's a lot of batteries out there that sit forever before they're bought--

2. Cuz there's a lot of junk out there

3. Cuz there's a lack of quality control out there

4. Cuz there's a lot of bad luck out there....

 

When I have a battery going bad in my XJ550, it will spin over, but won't fire as I'm sure voltage is too low as above. If I connect jumper cables to my car battery, it fires right up, which is how I know it is time for a new battery.

Some of my batteries last 2-3 seasons, some 3-5 years, even with the same brand. My current battery keeps going and going...must be an energizer.