need help!!!!!!!!!!!!

my 86 xj700 will not start. rebiult starter and was not the problem. it was just clicking when starter button was pressed. replaced solenoid with universal one and now it wont even click!! put charger on battery to make sure it wasnt that. the only thing i can figure is the old solenoid only had a blue with white stripe wire coming from it and the universal has blue with white stripe and a red with yellow stripe. i hooked blue with blue and nothing so i swapped them still nothing. the dealer told me that the blue was a ground and the red was to go to switch. is the blue with white stripe on the bike the wire for the switch? im lost so any help will be great!!!!

 

Did you jumper the old solenoid to see what it would do before you replaced the solenoid?? Whats your battery voltage?

 

i have no idea bout voltage. i hooked charger up to it but that didnt help. should i put old one back on and try jumpering it? i am new to bikes so i have no clue.

 

It would be a good idea to know where your battery is at. A Mulitmeter is a valueable tool when working on these bikes. If your battery is bad you may be just chasing your tail replacing parts and such. Jumper the solenoid means putting a screw driver or a heavy wire arcoss the large terminals so you are putting battery voltage right to the starter. It will spark when you do this so be aware of gas and flamables. IF the starter turns the engine over your solenoid is bad. If it doesn't your battery is the problem. You can pull it out and take it to an auto parts store (Auto Zone) and get it tested. It may be bad, if its more than two years old just replace it anyway.

 

found something else out. while pressing the start button, if i tap on the starter it turns over. is it time for a total rebuild and not just a cleaning?

 

Your first post said you rebuilt the starter. Thought that was already done and eliminated as a problem.

 

i took it apart and cleaned it real good and everything looked new on the inside. is there any parts that may go bad and cause this problem. i guess i should have said that i simply cleaned it real good. sorry. i am just at my wits end with this. it was starting fine then every once in a while it would click but i could rock bike back and forth and it would start fine. sorry if i misled about "rebiulding" it.

 

When mine did what yours is doing recently, it was the starter.

You say you rebuilt it? Did you replace the brushes?

 

No big deal. When starters do what you are describing means there is a bad contact somewhere. The brushes sit on the armature and if the mica is higher then the brass segments the brushes don't make good contact. You may need to either repalce the starter or take it to a motor rebuild shop and have the armature checked. Good Luck

 

thanks for the info!! im going to get a rebuild kit and try that. once again, thanks!!!!