new XJ owner in western NY, first question....

Hey all! i just picked up an 82 maxim 750, and the wheels in my head are already turnin but before i can do any extra stuff, i got a question about the battery light being on. The guy i bought it from put a new battery in the bike last year. he said something about the old battery had a connection somewhere where a wire hooks up to tell the bike if the battery is bad. but the new battery didnt have that connection or something, so he just disconnected the wire. now the battery light is constantly on. is there a fix for this? i havent even taken it apart to look into it yet, i just got the bike last night. im just goin off what he told me. thanks for the help, and i did some exploring last night, it seems theres a ton of useful info on this site, i cant wait to dive in

 

don't have an answer for ya, cept my PO told me the BATT light stays on because you need to buy a special battery. i've checked my charging system with a voltmeter, and all is ok, so i'm inclined to think it's not serious.

 

yeah, the guy said something about the place he bought the battery from didnt carry the exact battery anymore, and i cant remember if he said he couldnt find it anywhere else or just didnt bother lookin. its not a huge deal, just one of the little things that really bugs me. im pretty OCD when it comes to my bikes and other toys

 

There was a sensor which plugged into a dedicated port in the battery. The end of the sensor was to be immersed in the liquid inside the battery. This sent the signal to turn off the battery light.

You can "trick" the computer by tying the sensor wire to a switched 12v source. I believe the red/white wire is the one you would want. Some will say you should use a series resistor in the wire, others will say it's OK to just put the wire directly to 12v. I myself would probably use a resistor, but I tend to be overly cautious at times. A 4.7K ohm, 1 watt, is what is used, if my memory serves correctly, but it has been suspect lately. It doesn't take much current to satisfy the circuit.

They still do make batterys that have the sensor port in them, and I think Chacal has the sensors, if you want to go to the way it was originally. It didn't do alot, I think an actual voltmeter would be better.

Mike

 

I told you my memory was suspect! Use a 2.2K ohm resistor and connect to the white wire with the red stripe, not the other way around, as I first stated. You want to make sure the power shuts off with the key, or your battery will get drained.

 

so take the wire thats not connected to the sensor anymore, put a 2.2k ohm resistor (available at...????) on the end of it, and on the opposite end of the resistor, find the white/red stripe wire and run the resistor into it? i just want to be sure, ive never really had a good understanding of the particulars of electrical workings.

 

No answer for you wfo, but there are at least two other XJ owners here in WNY! Welcome!

 

replace that sensor with a 5A fuse and hook it to the battery +, if the sensor's gone, there should be a single white wire with a red stripe unpluged near the battery

 

You can get a resister at radio shack for very cheap.

Welcome to the forum there is much info to be had.

the search tool is great to find pictures & posts

 

thanks for all the help, and the welcomes guys! my turn signals are done, now its on to bars and highway pegs, then im gonna tackle forward controls. ive already been usin the $hit outta the search function and ive found tons of useful info!

 

Connect the Battery Sensor to a 2.2 k ohm resistor ... then ...

Hard wire the Battery Sensor Wire with Resistor to the + 12 V Switched source wire that powers the TAIL Light.
NOT the Brake Light.

The Bike will be very happy thinking that the Battery is Full and the Level of Fluid is OK.

Be sure you actually CHECK the Level twice a year. Minimum.

 

How about a valve clearance check, and have a look in the rear brake before something bad happens. I'd worry about engine/reliability and safety issues before I'd be doing any customizing. How old are the tires?

 

the front tire will need replacing after this season, the rear is new. the bike only has 16,500 miles on it and purrs like a kitten. the previous owner just dumped 600 into it havin the carbs cleaned and adjusted and doin all the basic maintenance on it (plugs, wires, oil change, shaft drive oil, brakes, etc) and then got laid off and had to get rid of it. the bike is near mint and well taken care of, so im not gonna dive into tearing it apart just to make sure. it runs like a top, and rides that way too. here a pic when we finally got a sunny day:

 

Welcome aboard! I'm sure you're already finding this group to be an outstanding bunch of XJ-ers. Very seldom will we not be able to get something back up and running.

Nice to hear from another member in NY, too. Where are you located? I'm a few hours east of you, just a few minutes south of Utica.

Dave Fox

 

boy, ill tell ya, theres a lot of info on this site. im in oakfield, which is right between buffalo and rochester. i know where you are, i did landscaping in utica in high school. gotta love that utica beer

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Hey wfo Nice looking 750 ya got there. I got an 82 750 myself I have the same problem with mine. it's definitley the sensor the bike shop in my town said thy could get one for $17.50. I though that was a little steep at the time so I just put a piece of tape over the light and ignored the battery display. i may get around to fixing it one day.

So hello to all you New Yorkers out there. I'm from Northern Michigan but originally I hail from little old Frankfort NY Born and raised there till I was 14 then my family moved to Mi. I still have alot of relatives back in the Utica area. Haven't had much chance to get back there in a while though.

 

how far north in northern michigan?

 

Wow,NICE bike! I hope you don't bastardize it with a hacksaw and flat black paint. A lot of folks take that route,as it is easier...Something this nice and original is a once in a lifetime find! Don't get me wrong,I LOVE bobbers and chops,but MAN,this bike is too nice to disect !!!

 

well dont worry. although im a fan of flat black, i wont do anything to my bike that cant be udnone. next up is drag bars and forward controls, maybe a different seat too. but on any toy ive ever owned, ive never done anything that cant be taken off so the vehicle will be back to original. i bought the bike to get me to work and back, ive already put 20k miles on my gmc pickup after a year, so i needed something! so a hacksaw and grinder and all that crap will never touch the bike. ill save those skills for when i have a harley in the garage