sometime start, fuses blowing, voltage regulator???

Hi, I'm new here. Two weeks ago I bought my first motorcycle. Its a 1983 xj550r seca. To the best of my knowledge its all stock. I when I purchased it, it screamed at idle. About 4k to 5k. I took the bike to the shop and paid to have the carbs checked. They synced them up. Bike idles fine now when warm bout 1200 rpms.
when I first bought the bike id have to jump it every day after work to ride it. ( I didn't know jumping it was a no no) after fixing the idle it would start after work without a jump. I registered and insured it. Next morning, go to take it to work. Bout 50 to 60 degrees out. No start. When I go to start it sometimes the oil level red light flashes. But turns off once bike is started. It starts and runs for a couple days. But only after work when the bikes been sitting in sun. Then it stops starting. Sometimes it starts others it don't. When it doesn't start the oil light comes on brighter. I can pop start in in first gear. Get it running and it'll stay running idle fine. The bike runs. I check for spark. All have spark, third wire is arching at the boot. Temp put electrical tape for more insulation till coil comes in. I put all new spark plugs. I do oil change. But not filter. I check my compression. All cylinders are with 14 psi of each other. And between 130 and 145. Bike no start, buy a 6v battery charger. Two hrs later bike fires right up. Drive it for a half hr. Leave it for two hrs no charger just by itself, come back no start. Pop start it new oil and plugs sound good. My head light goes out. Check my fuses. Head light fuse blown. Replace
ten min later blows. Drive home at 8 pm no head light on the highway. On the way home my blinkers and my neutral light all go out....

PLEASE SOMEONE, WTF! is this bikes problem????

 

Take the voltage regulator off and give it a good whiff... Does it have that smell? You know... that smell that things get when you let the white stuff out you cant put back in? Also, look at the back of it. Is it bumpy, or even melted right through?

Many beers ago, I made the mistake of jumpstarting a motorcycle off of a 200A car starter box myself.

Grab your ohm meter, and check the windings on the stator as well. (You do have an ohm meter, dont you?) You MIGHT have roasted the stator. Thats less likely, but possible. Unfortunately, I dont have the proper resistance range for the stator coils so someone else will have to chime in.

 

I will take the volt reg off tomorrow and hand inspect it. What tool I don't have my buddy does.
I don't know what the stator nor its windings are. However I do have google, and will look into that. Thank you very much.

 

Bad stator = running on battery power

Bad regulator = either too much uncontrolled juice that will blow fuses and lights.... Or...... Not enough juice to run things

Weak battery = not enough power to fire up the bike

Seems to me, that if it fires up on pop-starting it, your stator is working....SO--- I'm gonna go with a bad regulator first, compounded by a tired battery.

Dave f

 

That's what I was leading to believe but don't want to just throw parts at it. I love my motorcycle. Its all I talk about all I do. I appreciate the help. The stator must be that black thing next to battery and volt regulator. That's what id assume. Type of alternator. I'm familiar with cars. Bikes are new. I wanted to ride since I was little. I'm 30. I went out two months ago bought a quad. Learned the clutch, traded quad for motorcycle.

 

The stator is sort of "inside" the engine. You would check the stator by disconnecting its plug and ohming the terminals. However, as hogfiddles said, its most likely not the stator.

There are fancy ways to check the voltage regulator to see if it has gone bad. Then there is the easy way to check it, especially if it has failed due to being overloaded by jumpstarting it from a car or jump box. Take it off, look at it, and smell it. If its roasted, you will know. The voltage regulator is the squarish box thing with heatsink fins on it.

How good is the battery? Is it new? Is it the one that came with your bike and might possibly be the one the previous owner installed in 1997 right before they parked it and let it sit? If its not new, and you dont know how old it is, replace it. A crummy battery will make these bikes do all manners of odd things. I had a charging problem once on my SECA, and hitting the start button caused the solenoid to make whining noises and the tachometer to go up!

Check the regulator, replace if need be. Get a fresh (and properly charged!) battery. If the bike seems OK after that, have a go at replacing the fusebox if you havent already.

 

Motorcycle and automotive charging systems are apples to potatoes. An auto alternator charges all of the time and can even charge a flat dead battery. A cycle charging system just barely charges the battery, and even then only above about 2000rpm. Thats why a well charged fresh battery is critical.

Glad you decided to get into the wind with the rest of us! When are you going to be taking your MSF safety course? Very important to do that. Anyone can teach themselves to operate a motorcycle. Riding one safely is something best learned from others. You'll learn valuable riding skills that will save your life.

Tar snakes are one of the most venomous snakes out there. They tend to strike only when its raining.

Nobody likes a wet manhole.

That guy in the car didn't see you. This holds true at every left turn.

 

This is all great information and I appreciate it all. Its the battery that came with the bike. I will check the volt regulator by eye,nose, and hand today after work. Also check into a new battery. It idle the one I bought the bike with. Your right the fuse box, could be replaced, its def falling apart.
lastly I took an eye exam and shelled out close to three hundred buck for a pair of glasses, so I can pass my permit test and then do the safety course. Hoping to do course by October. That way I can get my lisence and be ready for spring. Just finish this yr out on a permit. Thanks again. I will surely keep you all updated.

 

On my way to my car I stopped and took a sniff. Smells chipboard, yet not a bad burnt smell. As I said after work in going to pop it off.
also, I popped the seat and took a look at the fuses. The head light is popped. However the signal lights fuse is still good. Why is the neutral light and flashers not working, the fuse is good . Would it not have blown like the head light?
lastly, I can't seem to find the page in my pdf printed version of the manual the type of battery. Can someone please tell me?

 

Is the fuse box the original? These bikes have problems in that area. Make sure the clips are all in place and hold the fuses tightly. If there is any doubt, replace it.

The batteries are critical to running these machines. If a battery is weak the engine will crank over quite well but the spark is weak and the bike won't start when cold. After it warms up or is boosted, it will be OK for a while, but will fail to start again when it gets cold. To check the battery charge it and then put a voltmeter across it and crank the engine. The voltage should not be less that 10 volts while cranking. If it is it will need to be replaced.

 

Fuse box is original and is a lil jacked up and rigged together. But all contacts are solid. And nothing has been changed with said fuse box. Yet problems keep popping up.

also how do I post pictures on this forum. Would like to share my bike

 

The fusebox and fuses may look fine, but arent making enough connection. Just age and corrosion can make them not work.

My XS had the original fusebox and fuses go bad on a ride. I spent 4 hours in a parking lot tearing the electrical system apart with the toolkit looking for the problem.

The final fix after 4 hours of pulling my hair out? The main fuse had broken in the middle, and you couldnt see it. Not blown, but broken with about a hairs width between both sides of the fusable link. I noticed it while wiggling the fuses for the 50th time that day and saw one end of the fuse turn while the other didnt.

 

Checking the charging system is easy too.....

1. Check battery standing voltage
2. Start the bike
3. Once your bike s running, check running battery voltage
a. If the voltage hasn't changed, or is going down---- your charging system has issues----- still most likely to be the tci
b. if it hovers around 13- ish, that's good...for the moment-- now slowly roll onto the throttle. It should use to around 14.5 but go no farther regardless of rpms. If it starts pushing 15 or more, STOP.... Your regulator is bad and your gonna burn things up. If it gives that kind of juice, your stator is obviously charging.

Nutshell:

Voltage stays inadaquate, it could be regulator OR TCI
Voltage goes way higher than safe, stator is good, Tci is bad

And yeah, your battery may also e whipped... They can turn an engine when weak but you need a GOOD battery to fire it up.

 

Yesterday, when I put a twenty amp in the head light, it blew the main amp instead of blowing out the head light again. I'm pretty convinced from riding bike the last two weeks that fuse box could be replaced yet not my issue. I will still clean all contacts. When I get home today I will be checking all charging system. Thanks for the write up on that. Clear cut with steps. Very nice. I'm also looking into buying a battery today. Gunna charge it and test it before shelling out money.

 

Now that I think of it, when I'm riding and hive it gas, I do believe if I remember correctly I've seen the gage on the Speedo go past 14 amp

 

Be carefull!!! Don't confuse amps (current) with volts (electrical pressure). Make sure which gauge you are looking at.

 

Please don't put higher amp fuses in the circuits for any reason. You will end up causing an electrical fire.

 

Got it! Ok. Will check with meter not amp on Speedo. Also being I blew the main switch by adding a higher amp to my head light and this last statement I will make sure to not do this again. IM LEARNING! HAHA thanks again for all the help.

 

Indeed. And before you worry too much about the stator, check the alternator output: put your meter across the battery terminals and see what you get above 2300rpm. You should be seeing 14.5 ~14.7VDC. If not, the alternator brushes are the first thing to check.

The original fusebox will continue to be an issue until you either rebuild or replace it.

The "oil" light coming on when you try to start the bike instead of the motor turning over is an indication that the "safety circuit" is deployed. In other words, the bike thinks you're trying to start it in gear with the sidestand down. The most likely culprit there is the sidestand switch itself.

Another common point of failure is the large connector for the REG/REC ass'y; unplug it and check the condition of the contacts in both sides of the connector.

 

Oh, and the gauge on your dash is a voltmeter. It should be reading just over 14V at highway speeds.

 

Ok fellas the results are in. First off I bought new fuses. One twenty and the other three tens under the seat were swapped. My blinkers and neutral light are back on. The head light came on after starting the bike but within two minutes went off that head light fuse is blown again.

ok, on my multi meter I set it to 12v. I don't know how charged the battery was however, these are my findings:
I put the key in the on position lights on got 12.1
I started the bike, pop started it. Got bout 12.6
pulled the throttle till 8k and hot 14.3

so, why am I blowing a head light fuse and why do I sometimes have to pop start my bike????

I've got bout an hr left of day light. I'm gunna charge battery more and wait to see if one of u could advise further. In the mean time ill also visually check volt reg

 

More discoveries... I'm not sure on the exact battery I called a dealer earlier and they told me the type i left the paper at work, however the battery in the bike certainly was not the one! So I've got a wrong battery. That's part of my problem. Last problem is y does my head light keep blowing???