Ok here's the deal, everything has been running solid and all and on the way to work today as soon as I shifted down to stop at a red light it just started sputtering and died. I tried kicking it over and it just started for a second then sputtered and died again... There is plenty of gas... The carb set up has been running perfectly fine for the past few weeks... And I haven't made any changes. So what could be the cause? Is it battery or cool related??? Please need help! So I can have a ride home!
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Need urgent help!!!
- Thread starter mattg666
- Start date
smurfy71
XS400 Addict
Dirt in the carb? It sounds like a gas issue. Do you have an inline filter on it?
I have a filter, now that I look, I believe it is a gas issue, there was gas in the bowls but doesn't seem to be getting to the motor and the gas levels are staying the same in the line what could it be in the carbs? I assume just the fuel line?
Filter plugged. Petcock plugged. In tank filter plugged. Plugs fouled. Points burned. Battery dead...
More diagnosis required.
More diagnosis required.
So it's definitely battery related... I put it on a tender and it kicked over fine and idled fine...and so I'm wondering if it's hanging related... Would that just be the stator? What is all entailed in the charging sytem for a 1980 xs400?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJ5KE9A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I picked this up. its is fine for a quick read, when you not on the bike, and etc... you could mount it somewhere usefull, but I just got mine to tell me while I am trouble shooting mode, if i am at 12 volts, or whatever (idle, 2k rpm 4k rpm...) There are many thread on how to diagnose your charging system.
(since you have a battery tender, this should work for you)
I picked this up. its is fine for a quick read, when you not on the bike, and etc... you could mount it somewhere usefull, but I just got mine to tell me while I am trouble shooting mode, if i am at 12 volts, or whatever (idle, 2k rpm 4k rpm...) There are many thread on how to diagnose your charging system.
(since you have a battery tender, this should work for you)
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Ok, blew out the carbs and fuel line and so it rules out that. I have not looked at the spark plugs yet, I'm assuming this new battery I bought a couple days ago is just to small. Is that a thing? I mean I literally only have two small lights on my bike and it's kick only... So I'm not using much juice at all! But could it be a thing where the rectifier or regulator won't allow it to charge properly if it isn't spitting out enough amps? I'm clueless to the charging part so I'm trying to get this down. And I haven't checked the plugs yet. But they are eSentially brand new. And I checked the coils just a couple months ago right before I put them on. But with coils I wouldn't get a half ass job from those right? They either work or they don't correct?
Your battery if new is probably fine.
Need to hook up a multimeter to the battery. At idle the voltage can be fairly low, but rev it up and see what kind of numbers you are getting.
Need to hook up a multimeter to the battery. At idle the voltage can be fairly low, but rev it up and see what kind of numbers you are getting.
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Yup, you got to do that, The Battery, if it cannot keep juice up, if the power falls below 9 volts, then it stop on you. The TCI (brain) needs over 9 volts to keep the bike firing.
theory goes
12 volt battery, to starter, bike starts up, Headlight turns on.
Bike starts, Stator is creating energy (AC volts)
Stator to rectifier, energy turns to DC Volts, about 12.1-.5 about.
Rev engine over 2k RPMs, kicks DC Volts to 13.1 or so
Brake lights on, or HI beam headlight uses more juice, Regulator sense the power draw
Voltage reg kicks the magnet on, so the stator creats more energy to keep the power at 12+ volts
Generically (my opinion) all of our bikes have a weak spot, the wires from the stator, to the first plug in. generically (not specifically yours) are toast on the back bottom of the engine, where the duck out, and go up the back side. They are crispy, you will hear them crackle, and if you ohm them out, they will get worse as you test them. (press on them) (comes from being 30+ years old) Fix, follow drewpies re-wire.
theory goes
12 volt battery, to starter, bike starts up, Headlight turns on.
Bike starts, Stator is creating energy (AC volts)
Stator to rectifier, energy turns to DC Volts, about 12.1-.5 about.
Rev engine over 2k RPMs, kicks DC Volts to 13.1 or so
Brake lights on, or HI beam headlight uses more juice, Regulator sense the power draw
Voltage reg kicks the magnet on, so the stator creats more energy to keep the power at 12+ volts
Generically (my opinion) all of our bikes have a weak spot, the wires from the stator, to the first plug in. generically (not specifically yours) are toast on the back bottom of the engine, where the duck out, and go up the back side. They are crispy, you will hear them crackle, and if you ohm them out, they will get worse as you test them. (press on them) (comes from being 30+ years old) Fix, follow drewpies re-wire.
With a stock battery your volts at the battery should be 13+ at idle and 14.5-7 at 5k rpms. If you went with a smaller battery, what kind/size is it. If it is a small sealed acid 2ah or so make sure it has a charge rate of 14.5-15 volts or the bike will fry it.
yeah it had to have been the battery. it was a smaller gel type that i used just because i had to downsize because the gel one in the same size i had as the acid kind was wider and wouldnt fit in my box. so i downsized and it worked fine for a few days then shit the bed, and i knew it was a little small so i left it on the tender every night but i guess that didnt really matter. but as far as the volt readings... the new one i got is the acid kind 12n9...and it reads out at 12.5-7 at start up and seems to do fine(maybe because i really dont have much at all electrically, just an led tail light and two small stacked headlights that are halogens). BUT i also have another question. i saw the tech tips on going batteryless and after this event and reading up on just how crappy these charging systems are i really want to do this. yes my bike is kick only. and very minimal electrically so i think it would work good. but my question is this, since nobody has answered it yet in that forum. what is the supplies check list? is it the banshee stator, banshee flywheel, and new reg. rec.? i looked up banshee parts ad there seem to be different model numbers and in the thread it was stated that they are all the same, but im a little skeptical on that seeing as how they wouldnt have made up different model numbers...anywho, if someone could provide me with a very accurate supply list so i dont order the wrong thing, that would be awesome!!!!
If you think your current charging system is crappy, you haven't seen a PMA system in operation... There is a good reason why they aren't being used much anymore. Converting to PMA would be a step backwards.
The only advice I can give you is to get your system working properly. Convert to a solid state rectifier/regulator if you have a mechanical regulator. Going battery-less is going to take time and $ and cause more headaches than you currently have.
The only advice I can give you is to get your system working properly. Convert to a solid state rectifier/regulator if you have a mechanical regulator. Going battery-less is going to take time and $ and cause more headaches than you currently have.
How would it be crappy? Just curious... I have a kick only bike with very minimal electrics... So what would be so crappy about it if I don't have to deal with draining a battery constantly and draining my account for the batteries... I'm just curious as to what is not good about it? And I see lots of people use them on the 650s work pretty well...
Yeah. That's the thread I was referring to, It just wasn't clear on the exact parts he bought and nobody has responded in that comment yet so I'm just trying to figure out what exactly needs to be ordered, Nd the machine work isn't a problem. But now I'm curious on what the cons of this mod would be...
Looks to be low volts at start up with would make a tci bike hard to start. A points one would be a little easier but not perfect. Most bikes that are pma are single 2-stroke bikes and are easy to kick over fast enough to get a good starting charge.
Adding to what Chris has said, a PMA charging system is always operating at 100% capacity at any engine RPM. At lower engine RPM, it won't produce much power and the lights will dim and the turn signal flasher relay may not operate. When the engine RPM increases, the voltage will eventually rise to 14.5V (or what ever the regulator is set at), and then the regulator will shunt excess power to ground. This is an absolute waste of energy and as a result efficiency will suffer. If the wiring isn't up to the task, high RPM operation will burn it out, no different than overloading your current charging system by adding extra lights.
Ok so what about a capacitor? I have no turn signals so that doesn't matter... And my bike already doms with lower RPMS because it sucks everything from the battery and doesn't replace it. All I do is go to work and back in it as a daily commute and if there is time I go on a joy ride here and there. But the trip is not long enough to charge a battery...
