Igintion problem

Scorpio1963

Scorpio1963

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Ok tried to fire up my bike today,battery fully charged reading 12.67 volts.Key on in neutral hit the estart lights shining bright nothing no click nothing.So I took and checked all the fuses and prong female and male connections no corrosion and everything is clean,all fuses checked and good.Tryed jumping the solenoid nothing at first till I took off and the connections and cleaned them off.Jumped it again from the solenoid it will turn the bike over with the key on or not on run.Took the switch cover off and checked all the wiring in there everything is clean and looks shiny.So Im stumped and clueless.I know the solenoid is good,starter is good,battery fully charged,what am I missing.I ran continuity test to the starter button theres power there.The bike ran when I put it away for the winter now this:(:banghead::wtf:
 
On the key switch theres off and run,then on the handle bars where the estart is theres to offs all the way right and all the way left then run in the middle.:shrug:
 
so if I read correctly:

- the bike doesn't turn over or click on the starter button alone

- the bike turns over but doesnt fire when jumped from the solenoid, regardless of the position of the key in the ignition. To get it to do this, you first had to clean some connections.

- the starter button is checked for continuity

- the battery reads 12.67 volts charged

- the lights work


did you check the killswitch for continuity? To me it sounds like that's perhaps the culprit. Also check if you get spark when jumping it from the solenoid. If you get spark on one side, it's likely a spark plug, cap or wire, or the coil on that side. If you don't get any spark, look between the TCI and the battery. So the wiring, fuses, switches, everything in there.

also consider doing a load test on that battery. Or see what happens to the voltage once you press the starter button. I had a battery which read 12.7 volts after charging but it dropped to 9 volts once I pressed the starter button. Not good. That was a brand new battery which I then returned and got refunded.
 
Willem you are correct everything you mention I checked except checking to see if I have continueity to kill switch.
It could also be the battery because it was low and I added some distilled water,then it dropped in voltage.So I charged it up to 13.7 volts this was about a month ago.I put it in the bike yesterday and it wasn't holding a charge.So I dumped some of the water out about half.I refilled with battery acid and checked the voltage.It read at 8volts.So I charged it back to 13.7 volts then hit the estart button nothing except the lights were getting dim.Also I tried jumping the solenoid and got no spark at all.Then I took the solenoid off and cleaned off the terminals.I put it back on then I was able to jump it and get the bike to turn over but it was slow like the battery wasn't fully charged.Also on the solenoid Im wondering theres a terminal that's silver and a wire that's silver.Im assuming these are ground?The other side with has the positive wire going to it has another wire that's brass which I connected to the brass terminal on the solenoid.That wire also has a protective rubber cover on it just like the positive wire going to the battery.Before I took and disconnected I marked hot and ground so I could remember what wire went where.
As for the switch there are two red wires inside there I checked contenueity which they both had power according to my test light.
At this point key on switch on enricher on hit the button nothing happened.I`ll take and have a load test done on the battery today and see if my battery is just dying,afriend /neighbor I talked to yesterday also mentioned to me about having a fully charged battery but voltage dropped significantly when a load was put on it.Other than that Im drawing a blank on why the switch wont work:shrug:
 
I had my battery tested at Advance auto parts,there test concluded that the battery should be replaced even though it was @ 12.42 volts.The voltage has dropped from 12.7.I wanted to get a second evaluation so I went to napa,autozone O`Reilly`s,and a couple of motorcycle shops in town.None of other places Iention can do a load test because its a motorcycle battery and their equipment is setup for auto batteries.I have another battery that came with the bike that Im trying to revitalize by adding more battery acid and is on the charger right now.When it is done charging I will try it on the bike and see what happens if it reads at least 12.5 volts.
 
If your battery has fallen to 8v it is beyond a deep cycle recovery. It's in death cycle. Stop the CPR and pronounce it. Get a new one.
 
Leaving a battery out in the cold all winter is not good for them.
 
Yes it's your battery. 8v = deceased, dead, passed, to the afterlife, late, checked out, any way you wanna call it :laugh:

I have a yuasa battery which I like, and have also heard good stories about motobatt.
 
Well I bought a new battery yesterday so we`ll what happens today.Nobody ever answered my other question about the solenoid just need to comfirm that I rewired it correctly.If you don't mind looking up in my earlier post my question about it is in there
 
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Scorpio1963 said:
Willem you are correct everything you mention I checked except checking to see if I have continueity to kill switch.
It could also be the battery because it was low and I added some distilled water,then it dropped in voltage.So I charged it up to 13.7 volts this was about a month ago.I put it in the bike yesterday and it wasn't holding a charge.So I dumped some of the water out about half.I refilled with battery acid and checked the voltage.It read at 8volts.So I charged it back to 13.7 volts then hit the estart button nothing except the lights were getting dim.Also I tried jumping the solenoid and got no spark at all.Then I took the solenoid off and cleaned off the terminals.I put it back on then I was able to jump it and get the bike to turn over but it was slow like the battery wasn't fully charged.Also on the solenoid Im wondering theres a terminal that's silver and a wire that's silver.Im assuming these are ground?The other side with has the positive wire going to it has another wire that's brass which I connected to the brass terminal on the solenoid.That wire also has a protective rubber cover on it just like the positive wire going to the battery.Before I took and disconnected I marked hot and ground so I could remember what wire went where.
As for the switch there are two red wires inside there I checked contenueity which they both had power according to my test light.
At this point key on switch on enricher on hit the button nothing happened.I`ll take and have a load test done on the battery today and see if my battery is just dying,afriend /neighbor I talked to yesterday also mentioned to me about having a fully charged battery but voltage dropped significantly when a load was put on it.Other than that Im drawing a blank on why the switch wont work:shrug:
Click to expand...

had to search for it, but here's the question. I don't know the answer, but this will make it easier for someone else to find anyways :laugh:

might I suggest hitting return a few times when you ask? makes it a bit easier on the eyes
 
Thanks for highlighting I didn't think of that.Sometimes Im kinda under the influence when I come on here.In my mind I feel coherent enough to write and ask questions then the next day I go back and reread what I post I cant even understand my own writing :doh:Also for some reason my pc wont let me respond with quote when I reply ,technical errors:banghead:Another problem is operator error:doh::laugh:I realy need to change my ways and start using the spell check:doh::banghead:
 
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Ok guys $50 later fully charged battery and the same oh nothing sound.I can jump of the solenoid and it will turn over and wont try to start either.Im not concerned about that at the moment I just want find a salution to my electrical problem.Im going to take the switch apart and check everything in there again.This is BS bike was running great when I put it away for winter now this gremlin.:mad:
 
Ok guys another problem has arisen since my last post.The start permiter that holds it in place and now it wont stay in.Notorius problem for 34 year old piece of plastic.Can I replace with a flip switch?
 
Can anyone give any more helpful input on this thread.
Links to wire diagrams for the starting system
The blue wire that's positive and ground wire can jump the switch by touching them together?
Since I have the turn key start and kill switch can eliminate the ones on the handle bar

I have tried tracing down everything I can think of on my own and Im stumped
 
For a 81 xs400. I have never wired a starter on a bike so I wont be much help for that:( I would look at any changes to the bike you have made ( bars, switches and wires).
 

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:Holy crap I have to go back to school to learn how to read that diagram.As for any changes to the wiring when I changed the bars nothing was change everything is all the same.It was tested after I installed the new bars and everything worked just fine.Thats why it so baffling to me.I know now I have electrical issues on 2 different vehicles,my Jimmy Blazer and now the bike.
The wiring going to the starter is quite easy to figure out.its after going from _____from the starter.One wire goes directly to solenoid that'black.The other wire Iryed tracing it but lost where it goes to.:shrug:I have basically looked the entire harness connection points everything appears healthy,no sharding or broken /brittle wires anywhere I looked.Well checking out for now ambien is taking over.Check back tomorrow hopefully with somehelpful input that's desperately need,Thanks Aaron
 
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