XJ 550 IS GETTING NO POWER AT ALL HELP PLEASE!

Lol rusty soup cans, it's okay I'm not going to set my little guy on fire, he's just pissing me off a bit but I will get it, I know I will, btw do you know who Chacal is? I keep hearing that this Entity has many parts for this bike, and yeah Im going to strip it down and rewire it from head to tail again, just to make sure, on an interesting note, I decided to pull my battery off the bike and hook it up to my NOCO G750 Charger and let it charge for a couple of hours, I put it on charge at around 9:30 last night and it's 6:20 now, and it's still changing! I think the battery may have gotten run down do to all of the troubleshooting work! I just hope everything is alright!

 

Charging*

 

chacal is his member name in the forums , he is a supporting vendor flashing logo upper right corner


poster in first forum listed


XJ4Ever - Supporting Vendor
Yamaha XJ parts and accessories


or his web sight
www.xj4ever.com

his email is listed there and his name there is Len

 

Thank man, I may need a new starter button, and TCI/CDI, Not sure yet!

 

Alright guys I have good news, and bad news, good news, my bike gets power back to the tail light and now the oil and neutral lights both come on when I turn the ignition to on, now the bad news, turn signals and high beam lights do not come on and neither does the headlight, I have the starter wires hooked up to my new starter control switch but nothing happens when I press the button to start it, it started when I pressed the button to start it yesterday, but the neutral light was not on and when I released the start button it briefly came on but very faint and only for split second! Yesterday when it was working I may a mistake and held the start button too long and I guess it caused a surge, making it go into a strange continuous starting frenzy! So now I'm back to it not starting when I press the start button, but the Tail, Oil, and neutral light do come on when the ignition is switched on, so I guess that's good! Any ideas guys :/ btw you guys have been like the biggest help, I'm not sure what I would have done without this website & forum hmm ☺

 

head light should only come on when bike starts or motor spins fast enough to energize circuit.
oil light should not come on when you turn on key it should come on when you press starter button it is to test the oil light

your oil level switch may be stuck or you are low on oil

tci do not fail that often

seca style wiring diagram it is interactive
http://lumien.se/stuff/xj550/XJ550ElectricalDiagram.html

 

Chacal is basically the only person in this earth you can trust 100% for xj parts, lol. I've never ordered parts from him because of my idiotic proclivities toward making things work for purposes they were never intended.... But for the few things I've ordered and thought I was getting a "good deal" I wish I would have ordered from him, because each time I get burned. His reputation precedes him. He knows what parts your bike will need before you do. He will stop you from ordering the wrong shit, he will tell you every nut bolt and spanner you need to do any job. Trust chacal.

 

Meh, typing on phone.... Anyway yeah Chacal is YABOY.

Make sure you have some patience with your bike. Test things thoroughly, do the work meticulously, and don't try to get it running by replacing the whole bike one part at a time.... It will never run of you do. Read, search, listen, learn....then go test your parts. Imho, you should not try to turn that bike over again until you have tested every circuit with a multimeter and are basically certain that the whole thing is wired right. I kid you not... Fixing your electrical system takes patience and diligence and trying to rush through it will only make you burn out new parts and possibly start a fire. (maybe even on purpose)

A good dose of patience and planning is the difference between being able to ride this bike this spring vs putting it up on Craigslist next fall.

 

Fuse ratings are set to protect the wiring and not the 'appliance'. Reason being to protect against fires. Well that's what I was taught wrt home wiring. So the ratings above make sense.

 

HEY GUYS GUESS WHAT?? I'VE GOT GREAT NEWS AND SHITTY NEWS ......So i said enough is enough!! and decided to strip down the whole Wiring Loom, and rewire from the ground up! and followed pictures i took of the Harness, BEFORE!!! i unhooked everything to wire up the New one, i took That diagram that XJ550H posted, and decided to look up each part and see which ones i had, and to KNOW! which is which, and where goes where, not entirely sure if all relays work as they are intended to, (maybe someone could post how to test relays) Also i decided to take a good portion of my check and buy all of the necessary tools to do this job right!!! turns out i did a hack job of setting up the New Wire Harness ENTIRELY!! Lol my bad! got myself a brand new GOOD! Rated Multi-meter, a wiring repair kit from Auto Zone, i bought a new ATM Style fuse block hooked up new fuses, and various other nick-knacks so all of that is fine now. I FINALLY GOT THE BIKE TO PROPERLY TURN ON WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCH IS TURNED! All Lights and turn signals come on except the high beam light light, and the head lamp/light doesn't come on, but that's okay for now because i have a new headlight that i am going to have to custom wire up anyways, maybe i can get help with that later the horn works but cuts in and out every now and then i am sure because of build up, i haven't take apart the LEFT-HAND Control yet, soon though to get that issue worked out, peace of cake right? so All in All Everything works! now for the bad News! the bike still won't start by pressing the start button! interesting thing i have found is that my red-positive wires are getting connection but my ground wires are not getting any, and i traced it all the way back to the problem i was having with blowing the ignition fuse, every time i press the start button my ignition fuse Blows and my ground wire coming from the 3 wires which feed into the connector on the harness is not getting connection so what could it be guys! .. please give me some insight on this and lets get this little guy (XJ) running!! YEAHHH!!!

 

Sounds like you wiring is bad.
Your horn reminds me of this:

 

Also i just checked my Battery and it's only reading 12.0 Volts Ignition Off and 11.5 ignition On, so i am sure that's not good i think i just need to give it a charge but we will see! if you guys have anything about the (No-Connection to ground starter switch) you want to lay on me, I'm here!! Thanks

 

Lmao now that's Funny it's not THAT! damn bad though LOLOL

 

Hey guys, Another update on the bike so i believe i may be down to just 1 final problem! the ground wire that runs to my right hand control switch/starter button is not getting connection/continuity running through it, and i can't seem to put my finger on what it is, i have used a circuit tester, connected it to read ground, when it doe's! the little green light comes on! and when i have it connected to positive the little red light comes on, i decided to check the Diode block and test the blue/white wire which runs to the starter solenoid and the starter buttons ground switch, and i get nothing! no green for ground, or red for positive if the ignition where turned on, just nothing, i checked the blue/white & red/white wires that come from the solenoid and they as well give no reading no green for ground, and no red for positive! but when i touch the tester to the positive and negative terminals on the solenoid they light up green for ground, and red for positive, but no light when i test/touch the wires coming from!! the solenoid! this only seems to be happening to the blue/white wire on the diode block and the blue/white & red/white wires coming from the solenoid! weird thing is the positive wires which connect to the starter button, both!! get connection when tested for continuity! but not the ground wire's! so what's going on here?

 

Hey guys so my ground wire for the start button is still not getting power to it, been searching for an answer all over the web, and can't seem to find any direct answer, but I did learn about short circuits that could be present in the harness, I just don't know how to go about finding them with out a circuit breaker! Any help? :/

 

Have you checked the plugs inside headlight. That can be a problem area with elec gremlins. Have seen where a blade has pushed out of connection block and also corrosion or loose female ones

 

Yep! just messed around in there and even tested the headlamp and to my surprise everything seems to be working fine! But I believe I may have just figured out the problem! I decided to take off the relays and give them a little test and they all seemed to work fine, when I connected the positive lead coming straight from the battery to one of the prongs and touched the negative lead to one of the prongs I got the little clicks, not when I touched all of the prongs, but at least one prong out of every relay gave me a click! So I take it that's good, now when I decided to test the Solenoid/Starter Relay, (Positive lead from battery to positive terminal on the solenoid) and touched the negative lead to the negative terminal I got nothing, I have a spare solenoid and tested it and got the same results albeit the old solenoid is apart of the suspect of problems hence the reason why it was replaced in the first place, but now that I tested it as well I am starting to see that both of my solenoids are most likely dead, and are the cause of my final problem!..hopefully after I get done buying a new one, and install it, this case can finally be closed. v_v

 

there is a wire that connects to the soleinoid it is hot the other side is going to the starter button when you press the starter button there is a black wire goes to a connector under the gas tank
and is where the ground goes back into the harness
test wire at starter button for voltage , the black wire for ground

 

if you unplug connector from solenoid and clip meter to battery ground you should get 12 volts at one connector pin red white wire . key needs to be on
the red white wire comes from the starter circuit relay. to solenoid.
if you connect meter to 12 volts on battery and blue white wire on connector when you press starter button you will see 12 volts

start at fuse red white wire comes from fuse to engine run switch then goes to the starter circuit relay to solenoid .
the blue white wire comes from solenoid to starter button then when pushed starter button makes the ground.

the diode block is only for the oil light connection to the starter circuit blue wire at solenoid take out your oil bulb to remove/block the oil test circuit

use this wiring diagram


http://lumien.se/stuff/xj550/XJ550ElectricalDiagram.html

 

if our oil light comes on when you turn our key on there is a problem with your oil level switch. if the diode in the diode block is shorted it will make starter spin with out starter button being pushed.
diode shown with resistor in diagram


relays are not the same and must go in proper locations

HOW TO: Test a relay

The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

 

Thank you so much again for posting this! I went over the testing process for the relay's, and the solenoid, and I have found my relay's seem to be fine and the instructions helped me to put the right ones in their right place! Yellow near back of frame where solenoid is! Blue in the front, near ignition coils! (none-colored-cubed relay) in the middle, flasher! And flasher canceling relay are hooked up right! It looks like it's my starter solenoid is defective, I took it off of the bike again and hooked it up straight to the battery, and got nothing from it, no click, no reading, nothing. interesting thing is I can still run a screw driver across it and jump the terminals, when it's hooked up to my battery, and get it to start turning the starter motor, also when hooked up to the battery, (even though I get no response solo testing it) I can feel something very faintly and slightly moving inside the solenoid when I press the start button! It's very! Very! Faint! Almost like it's trying to fully activate but just can't get enough power, even though my battery was around 12.8v-12.6v!.. Also when I turn the ignition switch on all i get is the neutral light! But when I press the start button the oil light comes on so I guess it's completing the circuit and should be starting, I haven't changed the oil yet, and it might be really low so I guess that's why it's coming on! Btw are the gauges supposed to come on when the ignition is turned on, or remain off until the engine is started and running? Because before I switched my relay's around, the left gauge was lighting up! Is that supposed to happen? Thanks brother

 

Oh yeah I bought a new starter solenoid, it should be coming later today! So when I receive it hopefully I will hook it up, and it should start the motor when I press the start button! Hopefully!! Can't wait though to get it! I'm so anxious

 

oil light will come on when you press starter it is to test the bulb

 

Hey guys guess what??? That's right!!! It's RUNNING!!!! OOOOH YEEEAH!!!!! got the the New Solenoid yesterday, hooked it up, pushed the button and starter turned right away!!! Went to the gas station, picked up some gas, brought it home, put it in the bike, pushed start 1 more time and VROOOOM!!! now I just need to know why only my left gauge is lighting up? And what type of Oil do we use for our bike XJ550H? Thank you sooooo much everyone for helping me out! you guys are the best!!!!!

 

Burned out bulbs on the right......wire still disconnected on the right......you'll have to trouble shoot that.

Oil-- I use Yamalube 10w-40 in everything.

 

Hey fellas! Does anybody know what the correct position for the gas tank fuel petcock to be in on/off is? On is straight down obviously lol, but what about off? I have ON, RES-RESERVE, PRI-PRIME, & FUEL, on my petcock, but what is the position for off! I don't want to flood my carbs

 

Nice, thanks hog's! so any 10w 40 motorcycle oil will do then? Also do you know what kind of bulbs are used for these gauges?

 

Rotella T Triple Protection - Unrivaled All-Temp Protection‎ choose the proper wt for temp 14 t0 15 $ a gallon

bulb is 194 type

if you have factory vacuum type petcock leave it in the on position fuel will/should not flow with out motor running.

 

Hey guys, been a few days! So here's an update of the current condition of the bike! Everything is fine the bike is running, I've even been able to ride it a couple of times, (just around the neighborhood) and everything is good, except arises another problem (self caused honestly) the bike is now leaking too much oil, like it just won't stop, I decided to put about an Gallon of oil in to clean it out and pull whatever mess was potentially inside, and I did clean out whatever was inside because it came out black after I let it cycle through a couple of times, but now it won't stop leaking its just leaking a little bit here and a little bit there every time I get done riding it, I don't want to keep having to clean off the tires each time I get done riding! So what should I do? Drain all the oil and re-apply some fresh new oil? or just wait & let it drain all of the potential excess oil still left inside ? Idk what to do and I don't want to f*** anything up I've come this far and want to keep going strong! So what do you guys got for me!

 

The big thing is to figure out where it's leaking from. There are gaskets and seals that could be leaking and surely not all of them would be leaking, or it's unlikely. Clean it off, and run it for a minute. I'm sure you'll find the source if it's leaking that badly.

 

I believe it's the airbox :/ btw here are a few pictures of the little guy :--j

 

Smell what's coming out. Is it just oil, or oil + gas? The gas would likely be coming from the carb if they're leaky.
The crank case breather is connected to the airbox so (when things are running right), fumes would come from the breather and get burnt with the intake air.
I'd also check the oil sight glass and see that the level remains at the proper height. If the level rises above the sight glass, somethings getting into the crank case and that's probably gas, like I mentioned and suspect #1 is carbs.

 

If you put a gallon of oil in the bike it is way too much. It will come out the vent tube in to the air box. Check the oil level in the sight glass with the bike on the center stand.

 

drain some of the oil out it takes a little over 2 quarts with filter over filled oil can be big trouble.

oil can leak from seal behind chain socket, seal at shifter
oring on oil level sensor
then theres the tack drive seals
oil pan .
drain bolt if you do not have a crush washer on it
valve cover gasket, the donuts that go on the bolts that hold down the valve cover
base of oil filter cover has an oring I seal mine with rtv

then there is the crank case vent tube into the air filter, bet on lots of oil going up that tube

when you drain the oil there is always oil left in the transmission , your oil will turn black real quick every time.

 

Hav you read The Information Overload Hour ?

 

Sigh.. Alright fellas i guess that was a stupid move to put a Gallon inside!.. its been coming out of the air box and leaking onto the center stand and chain, how much oil am i supposed to put? where is the oil drainage screw? Also how do i check the oil level in the sight glass properly, fuuuuuck!!! i'm sorry for being dumb!!!

 

one more thing and it has been smelling like oil is burning right after i'm done starting it, revving it, & sometimes take him for a quick test ride!... so i just want to drain it all out and start the oil process from scratch, that way this time i get it right!.. hmm!!!

 

I think it's 2.2 liters (at least that's what the owner's manual states). With the bike on the center stand, run it to warm up and let it sit for like 5 minutes after you shut it down. That will give oil a chance to drain back fully. The oil level should be somewhere in the middle of the sight glass.

 

Is that Allen Funt over there?

 

The crankcase capacity is cast into the clutch cover, next to the oil fill cap. The bike should be on the center stand when viewing the sight glass. Having the oil anywhere betwen the two lines is fine, but having it near the top is best. The oil filter housing is btween the center pait of exhaust headers, and the oil drain plug is directly below the filter housing. Use a JASO MA certified (or compliant) oil.

You aren't dumb. You are unknowledgeable about this subject. There is a difference.
If you were dunb you'd never bother to ask questions.

 

+1.

Gary H.

 

550 oil spec as you can see about 1/2 quart stays in motor when you change it "total amount

 

page 2-9 in manual bike on centerstand and level left to right
cement pad at gasstation works goodI put a level across the frame under the seat
and shim the center stand untill level

 

Suffering suckatash!! Thanks guys! This helps a lot I guess I will be doing an oil change tomorrow! Man! You guys are ass savers, don't know what I'd do with out everyone here giving me help, thank you so much fellas! I will up date on the situation tomorrow!

 

If the oil doesn't smell gassy, and it's the oil you just put in, don't take it all back out.... Just drain it down til the level is correct in the sight glass. It will be FINE til your next scheduled oil change.

If it's gassy, then go ahead and change it.....AFTER you address the fuel-leaking-past the rings issue.

 

Alright, will do, I was thinking the same thing with leaving the oil in until next change time, but honestly I just want to take that oil, drain it all out, and put some fresh new oil in, added to the correct level this time, and be done with the problem! Also I may have another potential problem, with the right hand controls wiring connections! It seems like I'm getting a short somewhere in the right hand control wiring area because every time I wiggle the connector I can hear the relay's clicking on and off, and when I put my circuit tester tip in the ground wire, as I'm wiggling the connector around I can see the light in the tester jumping! Only problem is I do not know how to fix a short! It only seems to be the ground wire which is shorting out! What do I do?

 

And also what is the exact correct amount of oil to put into the bike? so that I get it right this time!

 

Please scroll up to see XJ550H's post. It has all the details.

 

put bike on center stand lift seat put a level across the frame , shim the center stand if needed.

when you look through the sight glass you will see 2 lines between the lines is acceptable.
I fill untill just at or above the top line leaving an airbubble.
i use a 2 oz measuring cup to top it off to where i want it . the motor will be quieter if you fill to top line

2.3 quarts without changing the filter
2.6 quarts if you change the filter
3.1 quarts if you change the filter and lift bike with a crane from rear wheel to drain every drop out of gear box area. this is not advised to do.

 

Dis-assemble and clean/rebuild the right control.

Gary H.