I am LOST!! Please help

I bought a XJ750 Seca (my 1st bike) that didn't run, it needed carb work (1st mistake), I have no clue on fixing bikes (although I am somewhat mechanically inclined), I had a mechanic/biker buddy at work clean the carbs for me, and replace some broken parts, I put it back on the bike with about a gallon and a half of fuel in the tank and... NOTHING! :?
It still doesn't work, any suggestions? My wife didn't want me to have it anyway, I can't get it running so its makes me irritated :x , I need some help before I give in and sell it :cry: (for something that run's already)

 

Don't sell the bike but give us some more info then NOTHING!! Is it cranking over. If it is cranking check for spark or fuel getting to the carb.

 

Spark, Fuel, Air.

First, check your petcock. Is it even letting any of that new fuel into the carbs?
Ask your friend if he checked the float height. The replacement kits don't have proper float-heights; they need to be adjusted.
Run a search on carb rebuilds, and RickcoMatic's nd others' how-to threads.

If you push the button and get nothing, check battery connections. Check your kill-switch is in the "Run" position. Check the key. The battery good? Check your fuzes. Sometimes its the smallest thing.

In the mean time, if all that checks out, if your petcock is letting fuel through, it's cranking but wont catch, you can begin by;

Check spark- take a spare plug, pull one of the plug-caps, plug the spare spark-plug into it, touch it to the frame while hitting the ignition, check all four. Plug should spark against the frame. If not, you need to troubleshoot the ignition system.

Check fuel- put some starter-fluid or propane in the airbox through the intake. If it kicks over, then you've got a fuel starvation issue.

If there is proper spark and adding to the airbox doesn't yeild anything more than before, it's not getting air.


Keep in mind I'm still an amateur(big time.)
Other than that, welcome to the wonderful world of XJ's. The carbs have to be(at least for me) the single most frustrating thing to get right on the bike. It's a huge thing as far as having the bike running properly. I've owned my bike over two years and have ridden it a total of about an hour and a half. You're going to need a tenacity to "Beat the bike" at the game, but once you've got everything put right, the bikes are tanks. Don't let the lack of mechanical knowledge get you down. Several people here started in a similar position, myself included.

 

Your not lost.. THis is callled the Internet.. and your... Just kidding...

As they mentioned above, start with the basics and drop some more info. Should be able to get you up and going in no time =)

 

First off, while you go thru the basics, find yourself a service manual. Both Clymer and Haynes publish aftermarket manuals, Chacal has factory reprints or look for a factory book on eBay. You WILL need a manual if you plan to keep this bike. Be aware of a few things: These bikes have a "safety relay" system that will not allow the bike to start in gear and will shut the bike off if you pull in the clutch while the sidestand is down. A malfunction in any of those components can cause a no spark situation. The XJs have a really crude fusebox that is subject to frequent issues and quite often has been hacked by a previous owner. There is quite a bit of adjustment and a bench-synch will be required if the carbs were apart. As suggested, you need to look up "old school carb cleaning" and double-check the work that was done. The vacuum operated petcock can develop a problem and not want to work properly (PRI is ok for running don't leave it there.) Remember the basics while you wait for the manual to arrive: Fuel; Air; spark. And the guys are right---we can help you but you haven't given us much to go on.

 

Sorry for the slow response and bad info, when I said nothing, I meant that when I bought the bike it turned very strong(like a car with no gas), but "it wasn't getting fuel because the carbs needed cleaning" was what the guy said.
My buddy cleans his carbs on his two bikes seasonally so I am "fairly" confident that he done them right (at least enough for me to get started).
When I got the carbs back on the bike, NOTHING (changed), it turns, but seems like it should be doing more, like its not getting fuel or something.
The fuel flows through the petcock, I guess as it should (what I mean by that is it comes out when turned on, and stops in the 'off' position), I am unfamiliar with the whole thing so I don't know if it should be coming out with pressure or just spilling through the line like gravity fed.
I cleaned the spark plugs, and sprayed starting fluid into the plugs and into the intake, with no change. I have not put new plugs yet or tested for an ark.
I have bought the download of the Haynes manual, and the English/French supplemental shop guide(s) in PDF format.
Thanks in advance

 

If fuel is flowing when switched to 'on' or 'pri' then this isn't the issue, but your comment points out another problem you have.

There are two hoses going to an OEM petcock: a large fuel line (goes to the fuel rail on the carbs) and a smaller vacuum line (goes to a nipple on an intake boot).

The stock petcock should flow when:
A. It is turned to 'On'
B. There is a vacuum on the vacuum line.

If you get fuel when BOTH of these are true then you have a 'broken' petcock. If left in the 'on' or 'pri' positions you risk having fuel leak from the petcock, through the carbs, into the intake, past the pistons and into your block, thinning your oil and doing bad things (tm).


Now my thoughts on the problem:
Are you checking this from the end of the petcock or the end of the hose? Any chance the hose is clogged?

How are your plugs after you crank it a few times? If they are wet then you know you are getting fuel to the plugs, if not...

Do what Marko suggests, check for spark.

 

Sounds like your not getting a spark.Easy thing to test for srark .Remove a plug ground it against the engine and turn over with it switched to run on your right side hand controls.You should see a small spark .Best to do with low lighting.

 

How much choke are you giving it?

I had a starting problem after I cleaned my carbs. The solution was as simple as adjusting where the choke cable attaches to the carbs. If you have too much slack in the choke cable you will not have much fun starting the bike when the bike gets really cold.

 

Yeah, lets think basics here: Fuel, air, spark. Need all three for fire.

 

Put new plugs in and there is not any spark... :x

 

You will need a multimeter. If you don't have one, you can get one fairly cheaply from Harbor Freight, Radio Shack, Home Depot, etc.

First of all, check whether you have 12V on the R/W wire that goes to the coils and to the TCI unit. If not, then your ignition is disabled somewhere (ignition switch, kill switch, ignition fuse or holder, etc).

The other thing to check is whether the B/W wire on the TCI unit is grounded. It shouldn't be... it should be floating normally, but it will be grounded if the sidestand relay is disabling the ignition.

If you do have 12V on the R/W and the B/W is not grounded, does the tach move when you're cranking? The tach is run from the coil drive for the 2/3 coil. If the tach moves then you should also have spark on 2 and 3. If the tach moves, but you don't have spark on 2 and 3 then I would suspect the 2/3 coil, but, the 2/3 coil and its circuit is largely independent from the 1/4 coil and its circuit.

Make sure you check for spark on at least one each of the 1/4 and 2/3 spark plugs.


If you got this far, the tach does not move, and you're not getting spark on either 1/4 or 2/3, then I'd say you've got a bad TCI or at least bad connections to the TCI.