Another Electrical thread... w/pics

[joebus]

Ummmmm CRAP!!!

SO i get my bike to fire up and it idles at 4k and sometimes jumps higher if i dont stop it. Then it will idle just fine and then a min later it jumps back up. I am not touching anything during this so i am a little thrown off by it...Oh I lost ground again and it will only start by hotwire. I just want to ride my freaking bike!

[joebus]

I dont know if this would change things.. i just put new plugs in and the gas is a little on the old side but it does have seafoam mixed in.

[DGXSER]

Joe,

Have you checked for vacuum leaks? Use a propane torch (not lit of course) to put the propane around the intake boots where they meet the head and the carbs and the butterfly seals of the carbs and see if the idle jumps up. this will indicate a vacuum leak which tends to make the idle jump up. Other idea is the age old Synch of the carbs.

[Ken Talbot]

When it is idling at its 'normal' speed, are all four headers hot? I wonder if you're actually only idling on 2 some of the time, and the idle jumps up when the other 2 cylinders come on line. Spritz them with a bit of water, you kow the drill....

[joebus]

All the heads get hot. I always check that from dealing with old parallel twins. It also backfires during the whole process. I will double check the plugs to see if the are too gaped causing it not to fire every time. I am not sure if i have time to try using the torch around the boots because once it does idle normal it does not last for long before it spikes. I had the carbs off for the winter but i did not tounch anything on them except cleaning up the choke slides with WD40 because they did not move very easy. With the choke off is when it had a hard time starting at all. I did not check the plugs to see if they were wet but i will next time i can work on it.

[randy]

Looks like it's time to REALLY go through the carbs, now ythat you've got the electrical sorted (?) out.

[joebus]

I lost the ground for what ever reason again and can onlt start it by hotwireing it...

[randy]

How about that screw that gave you a problem, the one you couldn't get loose? Impact driver will do the job, or drill it out. And replace it with a bolt. Phillps screws for this application was a poor design.

[joebus]

Its the tiny screw next to the starter button. Very weak screw. Might have to drill it out. FOr whatever reason when i was hotwiring it last time everything just started to work and it was grounded again. It first went out when trying to start the bike for a while. after i got it working again it died after trying to get it starter again after about 5 min. I let the started cool down so i dont burn it up. I have done a lot of basic repairs on bike but i seem to be a little over my head. All part of learning.

[T99Ford]

I think Randy has this one right. It sounds like you have a poor ground connection. you will have to get all of your grounds apart and clean them thoroughly.

[tw1980]

After you complete this project,most of the repairs won't be over your head.Try not to let your self get frustrated or get in to big of a hurry to get done.I know your anxious to go riding.But there is also a lot of satisfaction in a do it yourself project.It looks to me like your getting a crash course in electrical systems and troubleshooting and coming up to speed fast! Terry

[joebus]

The biggest problem is time. I do not have the time to really dig into it. And when i do have time it is sporadic that i fail to do the job in the best manner possible.

[joebus]

Ok so i came across some free time and i got into the both the controls and cleaned off all the crud that has built up around all of the wire and focusing on making sure the grounds are extra clean and still cannot get the start button to work without hotwireing it. I will have time this weekend to get to dig in more and take off the carbs and clean those out real good but without getting the bike to start, a clean set of carbs do not mean much. I just very happy to get time to work on the bike

[joebus]

OK, found part of the issue...

First thanks to TC for the fuse box and the install email. That was such an easy install. I had a buddy over who actually knows what he is doing and we started to dig into the electrical issues. It seems like the started button it self is bad. It has ground but just needs to be replaced. On the blinker side of things, there was two welds that have come loose that i failed to see so i am i plan on replacing the assembly.

So here is the questions
1. Does Mikes xs sell a new starter button and light control assembly? I saw the horn button and the light assembly that look the same but I don't know if they are plug and play.
2. would it be better to just replace the whole assembly for the starter side of things as well?

I just sold my other bike so the wife has finally oked putting some money into the xs1100.

[DiverRay]

The horn button and starter button will interchange. You can buy just the button, and put it in either switch assembly in almost any Yamaha.
Mikes switch assembly WILL work, but it's NOT a plug and play. You may need to rewire the end of it so the plugs match. Also, if you have a Special, you will need the controls for one. They have longer wires for the pullback bars.