New to the forum and to bikes looking for some direction.

[dan821821]

I just picked up my first bike a 1980 xs400 special II yesterday so I havnt really gotten into it yet. Ive got some issues to work out though.
I put a brand new battery, and spark plugs gaped correctly thats pretty much all ive done so far didnt have alot of time to play with it. Anyway here are some of my issues and im not really sure were to start looking for/ fixing things.
When the keys are turned to on position...
-running lights are on
-turns turn on But will not blink
-the main fuse starts to heat up to the point were it will burn your fingers(normal?)
-then the 2nd and 3rd fuse start to heat up as well(normal?)
-there is a loose connection somwhere when the wiring harness is moved around the lights turn off.
Other problems Ive got..
-Starter button is missing the outer plastic "button" part were can i get a replacement?
-Im getting no spark when lights are on.

Getting to the points. I see that you have to drill out and pull the right side plug with a slide hammer in order to get to the points. Is there an easier way to do this? If not any pointers?

Rebuilding carburetors, any points or tips?

Sorry this is kind of all over the place its late, thanks for anyone reading and trying to help out someone that dosnt know anything...

 

[njcafe84]

You should start off by downloading the manual from this forum. It's free or you can buy a Haynes manual from amazon or eBay.

Once you do that go through and do all the routine maintenance. Change the oil. Spark plugs and wires. Set valve gaps, timing...check the fuses and grounds...these sort of things.

Stay calm and try not to get frustrated so fast. There is tons of info on this board. Chances are someone has had a similar issue as you at some point. So use the search function and read through the threads. My bike had not run since the late 80s when I bought it a year ago and now she's a great daily runner thanks to the information and help I've found on here.

Best of luck


Posted via Mobile

 

[63-Coupe]

Yep, you're right, it's late, but I hope you read this post tonight.

From what you have said you may have a significant short somewhere in the electrical system. For your peace of mind, and to avoid possibility of fire or a destroyed brand new battery disconnect the battery before you go to bed tonight. Leave it disconnected unless you are working on the bike until you find the source of the electrical issues. Wires and fuses hot enough to burn your hand are not normal.

BTW - Welcome to the forum. Go slow and take this on one problem at a time, there is lots of expert help here.

 

[dan821821]

Thanks for the quick responses. And Its kinda frustrating but i figured id throw everything up on here all at once to see were to start. i did change the oil last night. plug wires, carb rebuild kit, throttle cable are in the mail. A buddy is coming over to show me how to set the timing. Ill have to ask him about setting the valves. It only has 7600 miles on it. Do you think I would be alright just setting the timing? I feel like a new chain is overboard, i guess ill find out when i open it up. I just picked up an old xs360/400 1976-1980 service manual this morning as well. As far as the electrical system, do these have any specific weak points i should check first, or just start in the middle and work my way out? Electrical is never any fun but at least i have the tools for it. (btw i did disconnect the battery last night thanks though) My last issue is getting to the points, do i really need to drill the right side plug out on the cover for them? Thanks again everyone.

 

[Scorpio1963]

7000 miles I dont know if I would mess with adjusting the valves until you get the engine running.
Look into the how to section at the top of the page when you log in.Theres alot of helpful info there on about every topic.

 

[dan821821]

first small bit started, replacing fuse box with blade type 4slot fuse block. I was fidgeting with them trying to get them clean and snapped two of the tabs off so a new one is in order. once I started looking at them they were corroded to hell so hopefully this will help. should be setting the timing on tuesday, and we are going to leave the valves alone for now. also borrowed this cool little tool from work that allows you to look for shorts or open circuits with this litte wand while the othe half is connected to the positive and ground. hopefully have some updates later on. and yes ill get some pictures of my pos. :-D

 

[xschris]

Your bike has a TCI electronic ignition so there will be no points under the cover but a magnetic pickup coil. To get to it you will have to drill out the brass plug that covers a screw. Welcome to the forum how about some pics

 

[dan821821]

heres a picture finally figured out how to post it haha.

 

[dan821821]

sisters getting married this weekend so gonna be busy. ill post some updates when i get some more done. parts should be in by the 2nd.

 

[xschris]

Looks good. Don't forget to put some air filters on the bike or it will not run right.

 

[Flexeril]

welcome to the forum!!!

Looks like you have a nice looking one there. I also have a 1980 Special II. Just finished it puting her all together.

Keep us posted. Take your time and if you are doing a full resto, get plenty of photos and losts of zip lock bags for the small parts along with a permanent marker. That is what I did with mine. No extra parts at the end.

 

[arfstrom]

Awesome looking bike, When I attach photos, I do it from the Advance screen, and the paperclip icon will take up to 3 to 5 photos at a time, and then when we get a chance to look at you photos, it will let us look at it at"super Full SCREEN"

Add info into your Signature, so if you put a call for help, people can help you faster, I put the first 3 digits from the serial number works

I always suggest safety items to checked, and cleared for take off. So add to your list, Fresh fuel, in-line fuel filter, you have drum brakes, so that is a fast check, Oil check and check often.

Horn button, I am looking at our sponsor mikesxs, perhaps Ebay. Mikes list it as a horn button for a xs650, I think that will work.

-running lights are on
-turns turn on But will not blink
-the main fuse starts to heat up to the point were it will burn your fingers(normal?)
-then the 2nd and 3rd fuse start to heat up as well(normal?)
-there is a loose connection somewhere when the wiring harness is moved around the lights turn off.
Other problems Ive got..
-Starter button is missing the outer plastic "button" part were can i get a replacement?
-Im getting no spark when lights are on.

The Turns, did someone try updating to LED's? That is a common problem if you just put in LED lighting. You might have to swap back to incandescent lights.

So its basically you have some work ahead of you, Carb rebuilding? yup there are quite a few threads on Ultrasonic, Boiling in light acid, Pine-oil. Seems Pine-oil is getting some steam. I like the boiling in Lemon juice(acid).

Like others have posted earlier, download the manual for free, our bikes are SOHC. and Yamaha kept them all similar enough. that the one manual covers our bike series, up to the DOHC. That enables you print a copy, and highlight what your worried about at that time. Find a wire diagram for your bike.

Don't be afraid to take off your fuel tank, (if its almost empty) It will give you more room to see everything else. Always double check, this forums been here since 2010, The 30+ year old bikes are all having the same degradation issues, Buttons falling off, Stator not charging, corroding glass fuse boxes, and ultimately the dirty carbs. With that said, it important to share anything that is good, with the community. Parts are getting far and in between. (Ebay seems to be a hotspot for sharing) Partzilla website seems to be a cheaper spot for OEM stuff, check locally your favorite local yamaha Boat, or cycle shop (parts come from the same place.)

Wow, talk about a long winded welcome, Welcome to the forum!

 

[dan821821]

just got carb rebuild kits in. the rubber from carb to motor sense that was shot. new air filters they were off the bike at the time. new brake and clutch cables. the brakes are still in good shape and tank is just set on there I emptied the old gas already. turn signals and headlight all worked and are incandescent still. I don't like the looks of leds anyway. not a full restoration right now just get her running good then maybe in the winter some tinkering. I'd like to repaint the tank sense its a little rough and parts of the frame that are starting to bubble a little. not to mention taking some scotch brite pads to the motor to get some of that corrosion off there. besides that Im gonna need a new front tire back tire looks like its nee but ill put a few miles on it and make sure its not gonna start cracking. and the button mentioned above for the horn (horn works btw) will that work for the starter. ive also got a full manual for the bike with wiring diagrams and everything, just need to learn a bit to read that properly haha. thanks everyone for your help. ill update later. wont be till next week after the wedding though. can't wait to be riding

 

[arfstrom]

I have seen that, where people have swapped the horn button for the starter. Seems your on a roll, did you decide to do to your carb? Boil? Pine oil? or ultrasonic?
Tobie

 

[dan821821]

havnt had a lot of time to do much yet. gonna learn as I go. luckily I have a buddy thats a major gearhead. I only know enough to get me into trouble haha. I plan on trying boiling in water with vinegar and some hand scrubbing first and see how far that gets me. if it doesnt look good ill have to try other options. finally found my multimeter so I can start testing some of the connections after I get the new fuse box in. any suggestions on what to use to clean electrical contacts? I was just going to use isopropyl alcohol and a small brass brush. can't wait for this wedding bs to be over so I can get time to do more.

 

[63-Coupe]

For the contacts I would start with isopropyl alcohol and a Q-tip and resort to the brass brush as Plan B. The brass brush could be a little too aggressive and you may tend to lean on some fragile bits a little heavier than you intend to.

You can also buy contact cleaner in a spray can at almost any auto supply store. I never seem to have any around when I need it but there always seems to be isopropyl alcohol around the house somewhere.

 

[TimmyT]

Cleaning all the contacts is your best bet, even where contacts meet ground (the frame and handlebars). There is almost always issues with the signals as the front bars move the connections bend back and fourth... maybe some new wire needs to be spliced in there, maybe it just needs a couple layers of heat shrink tubing overtop to toughen it up.

Also replace any glass fuses and the entire fuse block with individual weather insulated larger blade fuse holders and fuses.... of course glass fuses will be hot...its basically like a lightbulb. Make sure the battery has the vent tube as well as the off gasses will corode any nearby connections.

Electrical contact cleaner/ isypropol alcohol will clean connections, and flooding them with dielectric grease will give them a better connection and prevent future corrosion as it will keep water and condensate out.

I recommend staying away from LED lights altogether but others may have found success with them. Thats just for starters... there are about 100 things you only have to do once and your bike will be good for another 30+ years.

 

[arfstrom]

I was able to use a small piece of sandpaper, and just small enough to fit in the connector, and folded onto it self so that sandpaper was on both sides for the double action.

No reason to rush on doing eveything, get the bike running, and run it. Read Drewpy Re-Wire guide, pay attention to how to crimp. Don't use the normal crimp-ons. (for any connections on the the bike. Use the cheap ones for extreme temporary situations.) I used the system in my photo album. info listed on the pics.
http://www.xs400.com/media/albums/342/ my fuse block upgrade
http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5934 Drewpies Re-wire, (also posted on the homepage, and under the Tech section

 

[dan821821]

Sorry in advance for my bad grammar spelling punctuation etc. Just hopping on quick before bed. wedding bs is over and got into it a bit today. New throttle cable. wired in a new fuse box with blade fuses, all my lights are alot brighter now but the main 20amp fuse is still heating up. Started cleaning connections and checking grounds, finish that up later this week. Also I opened up the carbs and i think im in a bit of trouble with them. The cylinder slide is seized in place. Not sure what else to call it. I sprayed it down with carb cleaner and wiped it down carefully now its sitting in penetrating grease overnight. Any tricks to try to free this up without damaging anything. Its stuck pretty firm in there. Along with that the rubber boots on the top of these slides look to be in rough shape... I looked them up and are around 95$ a piece. Is it worth looking into a set of aftermarket carbs, or try to get new slides if they dont come free and stick with stock? Any and all suggestions, hints, pointers, tricks, etc, etc, are welcome. Learning as i go. Thanks all. :thumbsup

(edit: thats both carbs are seized sry didnt specify)

 

[dan821821]

P.S. I can get pics if what im typing is confusing. Thanks.