not sure where to start

[waliszek]

I recently purchased a used 1980 xs1100 special with 20,000 miles on it. When I first bought it, it would start and idle but would quit when I would put gas to it. Now it won't even start. I'm not getting spark at the sparkplugs. The headlight isn't working, nor the turn signals, but the rear brakelight works. All the fuses are good.

I checked the coils and they seemed fine. Is it the ignition box? and how do I test that? and what would cause all the lights to fail.

I'm not sure where to begin.

[egsols]

You'll have to go through all the connections to make sure they are clean and tight, especially all the grounds. There are a lot of good threads on this.

Can be a big problem with bikes sitting for a long time, corrosion and the such. First thing to do is change all fluids, go through all the wiring and you'll probably have to thouroughly clean the carbs, then adjust and sync them.

Just like painting 90% prep.

[prometheus578]

Headlight only comes on when the engine is running.
How strong is the battery? How fast is it cranking.
It will still crank.. but if there isn't more than 10 volts left in the battery while doing this, you won't get any spark.

Physically remove each fuse and check it. They are thirty years old, and like many members here over thirty... while we may still look good, we're really quite worthless.
Check the main fuse, too, under the left sidecover.

Carbs need to be removed and cleaned.

[trbig]

Although Prometheus generally speaks for himself...

"...like many members here over thirty...we're really quite worthless"

And even a bit delusional, "...we may still look good", he actually does know his stuff.

I do agree with him about checking the fuses. These old glass fuses may LOOK good, but there can be a break you can't see, or some corrosion between the metal ends and the contacts. Physically pulling them and re-installing can fix this a lot of times.

If the battery isn't, make sure it has a good hot charge to it. A slow trickle charge is best... make sure to check the fluid level in the battery. New plugs wouldn't hurt either.

Even though this MAY get the bike started up again, the fact that any additional gas given would make it die, it sounds like a good carb cleaning is in your future.

You should also edit your profile. You may end up having someone in your area that could help out on getting you going. I hope it happens to be somewhere around Olympia Washington!


Tod

[prometheus578]

"What TRBIG means is..."

the fact that any additional gas given would make it die

Actually, what is happening is that your carb jets are plugged. When you twist the throttle, you're not 'giving it additional gas"... you're not giving it any gas at all and the engine starves.

[waliszek]

thanks for all the help so far.

I just deep charged the battery to get it to 12 volts and it cranks real good. Can I test the plugs by pulling them out of the cylinder and pseudo grounding them? Is that an effective test?

Once I know I have spark, I'll dig into the carbs.

[prometheus578]

Yep, that'll work.
Lay the plugs next the the head... but keep them sort of away from the open plug hole.
Ever see flames shoot out of one of those?
It's also a good idea to have all plugs out when doing this.
It's rather startling when the bike starts up with an open spark plug hole!