More problems on my XJ1100 - Electrical now

[piratepete]

Anxiously waiting rockjok's CD. I have nothing to go by, really need some sort of wiring diagram and schematics.

Received my new battery. Connected it and everything seemed alright, judging by having all lights on, horn working, front lights, high beams working, rear light on, brake light alright, signal lights working (except for front right, not flashing when right turn switch on).
Neutral light not on (burnt light bulb, bad sensor, don't know)


I placed the power switch past On to either P1 or P2 (can't remember), and at this point I believe I had everything working properly except low beams were off.

What is P1 and P2 supposed to do exactly.

I turned switch off then went to P1, and no power to anything. I can't seem to turn key to P2 anymore, seems to be jammed and can't turn it past position P1.

There seems to be some sort of electrical problem, either a short or an open somewhere or the main power switch), because I moved the power switch to the On position and I did not have the rear signal lights on at all. When I put the left turn switch on, then the rear (as well as the front) left light flashes. The rear (but not the front) right flasher, flashes when the turn right switch is on.

I also noticed other intermitten problems, such as the horn not working, and the signals lights not flashing (any of them), but somehow got both the horn and the lights to behave as mentioned above.

What controls the rear lights, what controls the flashing lights.

Just received the battery yesterday, and I have not been able to start the bike. Was wondering if my electrical problems (or something else) is inhibiting the bike from starting.

From an electrical point of view what is required to start the engine. If I get sparks from all the 4 spark plugs, is that enough to start the bike. I verified this by removing one sparkplug at a time and placing the spark plug (still connected to spark plug cable on one side) on metal and then turning the ignition switch on. I have sparks on all 4 cylinders and the starter turns. What else is required, just making sure that I have at least the electrical portion for starting the engine working alright.

Because I have been trying to start the bike a few times, I am worried that I may be draining the battery. When I first got the battery fully charged it read 12.5 Volts, now it reads 12.2 Volts. When should I need to recharge the battery (to ensure that I get full power from it). I have a 12 volt, 1 amp charger.

I know Clymer does not have a repair manual for the XJ1100, but was is the closest Clymer manual that I can use to get me more familiarized with this bike.


Thanks and Merry Christmas all.
Peter

[TheDjost]

What say you...

that I come over and we'll talk about all that. I'm free tomorrow(dec 26).

-Justin

[piratepete]

Justin,

Tomorrow should be ok. I'm in the west island. Please send me an email (piratepete9@yahoo.com) with your contact info and I'll give you a call tomorrow and discuss what would be the best time for both of us.

Thanks, | appreciate it.
Peter

[Mike Hart]

Peter, there are partial schematics in this thread:
Troubleshooting a bike that will crank but won't start

I think P2 allows the emergency flasher to work but not the starting circuit? I'm away from home, no manual, no bike to look at. I turn my key to the left, never use P1 or P2 (I think )

Clean all the signal bulb sockets and wire connections.

See the above tip for all the interconnects that might prevent the bike from starting, there is XJ specific info in there. Good luck!

[piratepete]

Still can't get the bike to start.

Justin (TheDjost) came over the other day (I really appreciated that) and gave me some pointers. He tried to get the bike going (I seemed like it was turning over and almost started, but not quite). He suspected that the problem maybe related to the carbs and suggested to clean the carbs. He helped me remove the carbs.

Since then this is what I have done. I removed the top cover of each carb and cleaned each carb (using a carb cleaner spray) as good as possible removing any parts that was easily removable by hand. I cleaned the entire carb. Then I removed the float bowl and cleaned everything in there, I did not remove any parts at this point. I removed the air box (as suggested by Justin) so as to have easier access to re-install the carbs. I also changed all the fuel hoses.

At this point I reconnected everything but was still unable to get the bike going, is seemed as if no gas was entering the carb (or at the very least the combustion chamber), since nothing was firing up. So I decided to remove the carbs and take another look.

With the carbs off, I checked to see if any fuel was in them (checked opening that connects to the combustion chamber and also checked the combustion side to see if it was damp, and everything was dry.

I removed the float bowl and again they were completely dry. I noticed that the needle valve was stuck for carb #2 and #4, so I removed the pin holding the float assembly and managed to remove the needle valve and cleaned them both.

I remounted the carbs, connected all the hoses. I put the fuel valves to PRI and at this point I noticed that some fuel was leaking from under carb #4, so I shut off the fuel switch. Turned it back to ON and then try to start the bike and it was trying to get going but again would not start up. I opened the drain screw on each carb to see if there was fuel and there was fuel in each.

At this point my battery reading was around 11.9 volts, so I figured that maybe the battery was not strong enough, so I charged the battery for around 2 hours or so, until the battery reading was around 12.3 volts.

Turned fuel valves to PRI and tried again, this time nothing was really happening. I went and got some new spark plugs thinking maybe the ones I was using weren't good enough. Tried starting the bike, still nothing. I checked the spark plugs and they were clean as a whistle. Again looks like fuel is not getting into the carbs or combustion chamber.

How can I verify that indeed I am getting fuel into the combustion chamber to try to isolate if it is a fuel problem or an electrical problem.

I have checked that I am getting decent (I think) spark on each spark plug, however, I am not that confident with the overall electrics on this bike, since I have experienced intermitten electrical problems.

Does anyone have any ideas that may help me out, Justin what do you think, since you had a closer look at the bike.


Thanks for your help.
Peter

[TheDjost]

I was replying to your e-mail when this came in... sorry for the delay.

It seems that you have needle valve issues. Now you have fuel in all float bowls, wich is a good start. You said that fuel was leaking from one of the carbs. That means that you still have stuck needle valves, only this time they are stuck open, and you are flooding the engine. Try to get those to open and seal properly as they are what keep the fuel at the precise level needed for the engine to start. With all float bowls off, all the floats should rest at the same height (with the carbs upside down, or right side up) and respond in the same way when gently pushed down(like I said in my e-mail, the needle valves are spring-loaded).

Before trying the carbs on the bike, test the needle valves by blowing air in the fuel hose and turning the carbs. Air should flow when the carbs are right side up, but not then turned upside down.

If you want to test that the problem is not the carbs, you can spray carb cleaner directly at the cylinder intakes while the engine is turning over. You can try it without the carbs on the bike. Keep in mind that you wont have throttle and bike will run as if it is at full throttle as long as you keep spraying. Try to aim at all 4 intake tubes. It'll just barely stumble, but I got mine to fire that way.

If you need some more help, just lat me know, I'll swing by again, and maybe stay a bit longer, since now you have all the parts you need.


-Justin

[mitch]

carbs need to be cleaned

And this time really cleaned then bench synced. Go to the maintenance section and find the thread on cleaning carbs all the jets and tubes need to come out and u should have access to compressed air. If they arnt clean right you are wasting your time. All the info u need is here just click on search if u like and type in what your looking for with patience and a little time you will find it HTH................MITCH

[piratepete]

Thanks Justin and Mitch for the info.

Mitch I have seen many posts on cleaning the carbs, however most of them assume you know what you are doing. I am not all that confortable in trying to remove certain parts, since I am not aware how they are held together and do not want to break anything in the process while trying to remove and clean. I will have to take a closer look and try to figure out how things are held in place.

Thanks
Peter

[mitch]

Pete

In the maint section under carbs it shows u pictures on what needs to be removed and cleaned , the least little dirt will give u trouble . When u take the emulsifacation tubes out im sure u will find them plugged,again to know what they are u need to do a little more research. wish i could be there to help , its not that hard as long as u take your time but all the galleries need to be clean . Buy spray combustion cleaner at Canadian tire thats what i use . Good luck You can do it, I was the same as you my first time. HTH..............MITCH

[Pat Kelly]

As for confidence in working on mechanical things...

It's already not working / broken. How much worse can you make it?...

In the case of the carbs and all the little parts, do one at a time. That way you have 3 others to look at to see where things go...

When you take something apart, line all the pieces in the order they came off (learned that with automatic transmission valve bodies)...

Take notes, draw diagrams, take pictures...

You also have an XSive close-by that can help along with this list. It's only difficult the first time, after that it's just a pain.

[strom]

You can brake the idle mixture screw tips, or the float posts, strip a thread or two...
Might be your jets are plugged up... hows your spark?

LP

[Pat Kelly]

.....of course to do have to be careful .