XJ woes revisited.

[Hepcat]

Some of you may recall earlier this year when my XJ stopped firing after sitting out in the rain for an hour.

Well, I've just gotten back to school and the bike still won't fire. Are there any safeties that could be causing the bike to turn over but not fire? If so, can I bypass them? I'm not much good with the Wiring Diagrams so any and all help would be appreciated.

I'm also not sure precisely what I've done as far as checking everything else last semester. I know that I checked the coils and the spark plug leads and they were up to spec, but that's about all I remember for certain.

I do recall that I was to the point of thinking it may be the TCI box, but I want to eliminate all other possibilities before I get to that one. For instance, does the engine still crank with the kickstand down and the bike in gear? (The XJ has a safety that will kill the engine if the bike is put into gear with the sidestand down) Is it possible my neutral sensor is faulty, or the clutch sensor or sidestand switch is faulty? Or maybe it's the wiring in between...these are the kinds of things I want to check out before I send the TCI to Randy to be checked out.

I'm hoping to get the bike running in time for the big motorcycle rally here on the Big Island of Hawaii this weekend.

Can anyone think of other conditions that would allow the bike to crank over but not produce a spark?

Thanks once again guys!

[chevy45412001]

fuses

i remember the prob but i don't know if you checked your fuses?Under the side panle? check with a test light,i had simmilar symptoms turned out being a fuse that was bad.I did not check with test light at first (glass fuses) and it was bad in the end where you could not SEE it.Took me a few days of hair pulling on that one. I always use test light now,as i only have two strainds of hair left and it gets cold here in the north.

[macnut xj]

On an XJ, there is also a tip-over switch under the gas tank. It's designed to kill the ignition if you lay the bike down. My best suggestion would be to get the CD from Rockjoc and a volt/ohm meter and start checking for voltages. Check all your kill switches to be sure none of them are grounding the ignition. Also be sure you have voltage on both sides of the ignition fuse with the key switch on.

[Jerry]

Most common failure on the XJ is the side-stand switch. This part is no longer available from Yamaha, so you need t bypass it.

Follow the wire up from the switch. It joins the main harness at the rear of the fuel tank. (No need to remove the tank.) Unplug the switch. There are 3 wires in the connector. On the bike side, jump all 3 wires together. I made a 3-way connector out of speaker wire and 1/4 inch slip-on spade connectors that works well.

This mod makes the bike think the side stand is always in the up position.

I've been running my XJ this way since 2001, don't recall if the bad switch prevents cranking or bike just won't start. In any case, the bypass eliminates one variable.

If the green neutral light comes on OK, I don't think your Neutral switch is bad. Make sure the kill switch is not activated, or unplug it to take it out of the circuit.

If all else fails I can use another XJ...

Good luck.

[bubba]

Jerry or Hepcat, I have a '82 xj for sale or part out. It hasn't ran for approx 3 years but has all parts except side covers. there is a post on here called bike for sale -- check it out

[chevy45412001]

hey bubba

what you lookin for the whole bike? I live within driveable range.

[bubba]

I would take 250 for whole bike -- there are 2 things that might be a hurdle if wanting to restore. Ther is no title and no keys. I have the igniton, but lost the keys

[Jerry]

I would be interested in the whole bike, but wouldn't be able to pick it uptill sometime next year. Long way from central Colorado to Indiana. Shucks, wife is flying in to Indianapolis right now for a nephew's wedding...had I only known....

[ratbyk]

Catch the next flight Jerry. You will be a hero to your wife for attending the wedding. As an after thought mention/finding the XS to ride home.
Ken/Sooke

[Hepcat]

It Lives!

Hey all,

Thanks for all the help. I finally got the bike running again. It turns out there were a few problems. The leads to the ignition coils were both broken and I had to wire around them. In addition to that, the sidestand relay was bad. It was grounding out the starting circuit.

Can those relays be replaced? Anybody got a part number on that one for an XJ? It runs fine without the relay in place. This just removes the safeties related to the side stand.

Anyhow, it's running again and that's what counts!

[macnut xj]

Hey Jon, glad to hear you got it running! I wouldn't really worry much about that relay, but if all else fails, I should have one on my parts bike. I can't guarantee it's good tho.