82 XJ550J Maxim - Starting Issues

My 82 Yamaha Maxim XJ550 has this problem where it'll sometimes start up perfectly fine (well as perfectly as an 82 can start up these days) and other times I can't get even get it to turn the engine (as if it were completely dead; not even a click). Even when it does start up, it is prone to dying. I'm not an expert, but it sounds electrical to me. The horn/lights still work fine when it's in this state. The reason why I think it's electrical is because when I tried to start it up today, it turned the engine for maybe a second and stopped; the starter became unresponsive.

It was working wonderfully yesterday but today it seems to have gotten worse. It takes a bit of moving about and patience to get it started. In its state, I'm afraid to hit the streets and stall out somewhere too far to push it back.

Any ideas of where I should begin to look? I believe the battery itself is fine, the previous owner had replaced it less than a year ago.

 

My neutral light is finicky, i have to bump the key around a little bit to get it to come on sometimes, i have to crack open the ignition switch and do some cleaning.. Does this sound similar?

Lots of bikes this old need the buttons and switches taken apart and cleaned, contacts get corroded with use and moisture.

Maybe its me, but when i cleaned a switch, it seems the others would need a cleaning, which means everything gets cleaned at one time or another haha

 

Things to check!
cluch lever switch needs cleaning
nutrual safety switch if you start it in nutrual
all main wires from battery to starter and grounds


I once had the same problem and it turned out to be the steel clip that holds the starter cable plastic housing where the cable goes into the starter. The guy who owned it before me over tightend the cable and cracked the plastc alowing the clip to fall inside and flop around sometime landing in a way the grounded the starter coil. It worked most of the time but not always I would shake it in gear and it would move the clip and it would start agen.

Good luck

 

These bikes have a safety interlock system consisting of a sidestand switch and its own relay, a neutral switch, a clutch lever switch and the safety relay itself. A problem with any of these can cause your issue; for troubleshooting purposes you can unplug the safety relay to see it it suddenly starts working.

I'm at work so I can't tell you where on your bike that relay is; if you want to PM me with your email address I can send you a set of component location diagrams for your bike. You should invest in a service manual if you don't have one.

 

Good suggestions; it's a little late for me to poke around now, but I'm gonna dig into the Clymer and see what I find.

Thanks!

 

I had similiar issues with my Seca 650 and it turned out to be the starter button itself. Took it apart, cleaned up the contact and it worked fine again.

Another way to start the bike when it is behaving like this is to turn the key on, and jump the two poles on the starter solenoid with a screwdriver. A little scary the first couple of times but very effective.

Ken