Start switch no longer works and getting no spark

[Mitythor]

Just got my 81 400xs a few weeks ago. Bike hadn't been run in well over a year. I had the bike runnin and all seemed good until last weekend. Cleaned the carbs and was doin some final adjusting and out of nowhere a white wire starts smokin( a fuseable link?). Now the start button doesn't work and I am getting no spark. Any suggestions would be helpful. Bike is going to be a bobber come this winter but would like to ride it as is for the rest of the season. Could the cdi have fried? Wiring is a complete mess. And the wire that fried was located under the tank near the rear if that helps.

 

[dizzle]

have you checked the grounds?? and the fuses the old wire type can sometimes go and it is really hard to tell. look closely at the fusible link to see if it has gone if it did i am sure the wires would be burnt around the link under your seat coming off of the positive on the battery will be a solenoid thats your (starter solenoid) i am not sure exactly how you could test that but i am told that when u push your starter button you should be able to hear an audible click.. also can you kick start the bike if you cant kickstart the bike and the starter button doesn't work i would suspect that the started solenoid has gone and that you will need a new one, because from what i know is that solenoid controls your starter button, your kickstart and relays to spark.

there are defiantly more people on this forum that know a lot more than i do but i just thought i would try to help you our or try to point you in the right direction what i have learned is to start at the mot easiest place first hope this helps...

 

[ThePsuedoMonkey]

I don't see any fusible links in the wiring diagram, but there is an in-line diode there. If that diode shorted, then you might get some AC signal to the battery, and batteries don't like AC. The only other white wires go straight to the rectifier, so I can't think of any other reason one of them would start cooking.

 

[Mitythor]

I jumped the relay to get it to crank . This how I hd to start it when I first got it. The wire fried completely. I repaired it and its not shorting out but this whole no spark thing has me confused.

 

[Mitythor]

fuseable link is all I could think to call it.

 

[ThePsuedoMonkey]

Are you getting power on the red/white circuit (after the kill switch)? It powers both the ignition system and the safety relay.