My first bike

[Salsa]

I've been looking for a bike for a while now.
My dad found a 1983 Maxim 400 at auction. The bike was being ridden when impounded. I haven't been able to get it to start since my father brought it home. It will crank, but not start. I've had it on a trickle charger for at least 24 going on 48 hours. When I use a spark plug tester I get an orange flash. When I take the charger off the battery, it clearly does not have enough juice.
My dad said to take the trickle charger off the battery and put the full size charger on it. Then to hook the trickle charger up to the coil. However, I have not been able to find where the coil is on this bike.

 

[16VGTIDave]

Welcome Salsa!

Don't try what your dad suggested! Unless he has a spare ignition module in his pocket. That would be a $100+ mistake.

You can find service manuals here, that include detailed wiring diagrams and drawings of the component locations. But to save you a couple hours, the ignition coils (2) are located in the frame, above the engine and under the gas tank. Make sure that you never 'dry fire' the ignition as it can damage the ignition module. Always have a spark plug connected to the ignition wire, and the plug grounded to the engine.

As you know, an orange spark is rather weak. I'd suggest checking the battery cables, and the ground connection on the engine when you replace the battery. A good battery is required. Also drain the carbs and tank, then refill with fresh gas. Stale gas will make it hard to start. New spark plugs are cheap and will help get the bike running.

Then you can spend hours searching here to find the answer to every question you may have. We have likely discussed it before. When you read things like "clean the carbs again", we aren't joking around.

 

[Salsa]

Thank you.
We've cleaned the post and put the battery back in, after charging it off the bike. I have determined that at least one fuel line is not passing the gas to the carb. I will change the spark plugs soon. A friend who rides and works on his own bike suggested draining the carbs and making sure nothing is clogged. Then put fresh gas in. That will be my next step. When I went to see about removing the tank, I have to take the lines or switch for pri,res, or on off the tank. When I started to unscrew the screw holding it in place gas started leaking. So until I can get the other line off I'm at a stopping point.
Hopefully, Saturday I can do that.
I did find out that out of 4 fuses, there are only two there. So, I bought new fuses, but haven't put them in. The clip for the headlight fuse is broken, on one end.

 

[levdir]

If you've still got glass tube fuses in your bike, an easy reliability upgrade is a marine fusebox with automotive blade fuses. The stock fusebox in our bikes is notorious for shedding fuse clips, rendering that fuse useless.

For the fuel petcock, if it's set to ON fuel should not flow. It's a vacuum-operated petcock, so if the engine is off and not making vacuum it should not be open. If it's flowing in the ON position your petcock should be rebuilt. It's not hard to do and your local Yamaha dealership should be able to order you a rebuild kit; I got one from my local vintage bike specialist shop. JARichmond did a great pictorial rebuild guide a while back which you can read here.

 

[Salsa]

It's not flowing with me trying to start it with the line off. I can't tell if it is flowing with the lines on, since they are yellowed. I'll look for that marine fusebox to replace the one currently on my bike.