Electrical gremlins on Xj1100

[bkush]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of getting a 2nd XJ1100 up and running. It ran for a while, but had problems starting. I had to keep turning the handlebars to the right until they hit the stop then sometimes the starter would fire....

Now, no matter what I do, the starter will not engage. I have taken the tank off, replaced the starter switch unit and traced the problem back to the 6 pin connector under the tank. The male end of the 6 pin connector comes out of a large snake of wires, all wrapped in electrical tape. I guess it's the main wiring run from the battery to the front of the bike. When I jiggle the wires between the connector and the main wiring bunch, I can hear a clicking sound from one of the relays (? - it's a small silver cube). Sometimes, if I time it just right, the starter will attempt to spin.

What do you think? Do I have a broken wire somewhere in the main snake? It must be one of the six wires going to the connector, obviously, but how do I determine which one it is?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Bill

[Ken Talbot]

Re: Electrical gremlins on Xj1100

Originally posted by bkush

What do you think? Do I have a broken wire somewhere in the main snake?
Bill

Probably not. You've probably got some horribly corroded connector pins and sockets.

Originally posted by bkush

It must be one of the six wires going to the connector, obviously, but how do I determine which one it is?
Bill

Take the whole nasty mess apart and check it all.

Sorry, there really isn't a nice, easy quick fix for this kind of thing. After this many years, you could well end up having to pull and clean every last connector, from 'bumper to bumper' so to speak.

[prometheus578]

Had a couple o' bikes like that at work this summer. Loose connections, not broken wires.
Turnin' the handlebars would stretch the harness and disconnect the wiring plug. Also was while turnin', throttle cable or clutch cable would push agin' the harness and the plug would disconnect a little and stop the flow o' juice.
Go through and check all your electrical plug connections... maybe route them differently.

[Do Lee]

I agree with Prometheus578. Usually if you have any broken wires in the main wiring harness they are in the two bundles that run from the steering head around the triple trees into the headlight ass'y. These bundles sometimes get pinched between the steering stops and the triple tree underbracket or if the bike was involved in an accident. The starter/kill switch wiring is not routed in those bundles of the wiring harness.

I would check your fuse and fuse clips for the starter. I had replaced the existing fuse block on my 79 SF with an automotive fuse block about a year or so ago. One night last month I blew the headlamp fuse and headlamp low beam. After I replaced headlamp bulb and fuse, I started having problems starting the bike. I guess when I replaced headlamp fuse and checked the other fuses on the block I had knocked loose one of the connectors for the starter fuse and not realized it. With that clip not being properly secure in the fuse block sometimes the starter would engage, sometimes it wouldn't. I would turn the steering from left to right and the bike would start. I guess the movement of the steering would move the wiring in the fuse block and the fuse would seat better on the clips and the motor to start. Sometime I got to where I was going and had no problems, other times as I was going somewhere the engine would die as if I hit the kill switch or turned the ignition switch off. That loose fuse clip caused continuity loss, open circuit, engine would die.

When I removed the fuses the first time to checked them I could see both fuse holder clips, but when I inserted them back in the loose clip would slip out of the holder. The fuse stab would just touch the clip giving me an intermitting problem.

[beegshot]

Warning check

Have you eliminated any of the safety switches from your problem. You've got a clutch switch that enables/disables the starter relay depending on the transmission gear position...must be in Neutral for clutch switch to be inactive. Just my $0.02.

Robert

[desert1]

under the tank

Under the tank on the right hand side is a multi pin plug, theres a red and white lead that goes to the handle bar kill switch, this could be the lead thats responsible for your no start problem, get yourself a set of microfiles and clean up that multi plug unit and like the other XSives have said, go over all the wiring and connectors including ground wires and dont forget those fuses.
Bruce

[bkush]

Bruce,

Yes, that's the 6 pin plug I was describing. The problem lies after the 6 pin plug, the wires come out of the main wire snake and go to the 6 pin. If I jiggle the wires going into the snake, I can sometimes get it to fire. (I did clean the 6 pin and all other connectors I could see in the area with a spray on electrical component cleaner from Radio Shack).

I also bought a new fuse block from wirewerksperformance. I will be putting it in as soon as it arrives...

Any other ideas, suggestions, etc????

Thanks,

Bill