XJ700 Maxim X cuts out in wet weather :(

Hi all,

Last nite I was riding home from work on the motorway in wet weather for the 1st time since getting my Maxim & she started to cough & splutter, so I came off the motorway & used the back roads to get to my workshop. I get to about a mile from my destination & have to almost stop for a junction & she stalls. She wouldn't restart & I ended up have to push her for that last mile!

The bike also ran poorly after I washed it, but was fine the following day after she'd dried out.

Luckily I had an airline at the workshop & eventually managed to dry it out enough to get it going again, athough it ran rough all the way home & would bearly do 45MPH in 5th gear

I'm guessing that the problem is something to do with the sparking department?!
Is this a common fault with the XJ700Maxim X please?
I've tried to see if there are any tech articles answering this problem but can't find any. If there are already can some kind soul point me in the right direction to them?

If not, I'm assuming that water is either getting into the plug leads or coils? Does anyone have a solution to this please as I intend to use my bike for work (as well as rideouts) in all seasons & don't want a repeat of last nite's misery

Any help would be much appreciated in resolving this

Many thanks ... Rick

 

There have been quite a few posts on Maxim-X troubles with hairline cracks in factory coils. Search for "Coil Surgery" or look check out HAP's page on dyna coil conversion.

Dave

 

Thanks for the reply Dave

This is my 1st foray onto bike electrics/sparking so please bear with me on this!

As the XJ700 Maxim X wasn't sold over here in the UK, will I be able to get the correct coil packs to replace mine? ... as from all the drying out I had to do & reading others problems, it looks like I need to replace my coils.
What are the recommended replacements, the dynacoils? If so are the ones I need common to any other models that might be available in the UK please? Also looking to get the replacement coils without having to upgrade anything else expensive, so I suppose stock style coils are what I'm after?!
If not could you please advise (with a link) to the correct replacements on a US website (or Ebay) so I can get myself some ordered so I can get back to riding without the fear of wet weather riding!!!

Many thanks again buddy .... Rick 8)

 

babylon..before spending on new coils, spend some time taking out the terminals in coils and all connectors, blow dust with compressor and apply dielectric grease and put them back on...you may then have no problem. In canada with some humid days my XJ700N had same issue, 1 cold morning it didnt start...after the above treatment it starts every single time...maxims tend to retain moisture due bad weather, aging electricals.

 

something in the coil circuit is getting wet. I'd try new spark plug boots first, and go from there. Dyna coils are only like $150 usd I found out yesterday. Maxim x's had an issue with cracking coils

 

something in the coil circuit is getting wet. I'd try new spark plug boots first, and go from there. Dyna coils are only like $150 usd I found out yesterday. Maxim x's had an issue with cracking coils

 

I have four spare OEM coils on the shelf and all of them have cracks.

I put Dyna coils on my recent project just for the piece of mind but be warned....they take a little work to mount them. A cut here, grind there, and a couple brackets and you are set.

You'll have to make new wires for the dyna coils, but that's not too tough.

Some others have patched the stock coils by grooving the cracks out a bit and filling them with a good epoxy sealer.
I would suggest that and then dip them in plastic-coat for an added layer of protection.
That's probably a $10 repair (plus your time)....if it doesn't work, you can upgrade to dynas
The OEM coils are CRAZY expensive so that's not a good idea.

 

Have you tried spraying down the parts in question with a spray bottle to try and pin point what parts are failing when wet?

 

Cheers for all the feedback fellas

I'm going to be doing the fork seals this weekend with a mate, so we'll have a look at sorting the problem at the same time.
I'll report back with what we find & the solution to fix it in case it helps anyone else out 8)

 

Babylon, here are some links for you

http://www.maxim-x.com/notes.html#wetcoils

http://www.maxim-x.com/service.html

a bunch of 'upgrades' and prevents ont he second link. Install dyna coils is there too. Like Mike said, they require a bit of work, and I'm not sure when Mike put his in, but I imagine that they are easier put in if the engine is out. I know when I powder coat my frame and components this year, that is when my dynas are going in.

 

Since I am on a tight budget I opted to do Ricks surgery method of replacing the wires, I then sealed with epoxy and then plasti dipped the coils with three coats of dip. if you get the smaller can it is a very tight fit for the coils. I ride the bike rain or shine as it is my only vehicle and have not had a problem since with the wet stuff.

 

I had the same problem with my Seca. The conventional wisdom says its the coils but I could never get them to malfunction even when I was spraying them with a garden hose.

This thread decribes what I found on mine and how I fixed it.

I like littlegiants recommendation on the dielectric grease too. If these bikes were built today, all of these connectors would be of a weather tight variety, but none of them are on our XJ's

Good Luck,

 

Afternoon Guys

Well It thought the bike would have been dried out since it's starting problems on Wednesday, so I was going to take it round my mate's to do the fork seals & look into the coil/wet problem.
Got the Maxim out of the garage & she still wouldn't start today

So thought bugger it & started tearing her down to have a look at the coils.

Well I think I found the problem ......



You fellas in the US think your the only ones with the Grand Canyon .... Well I have one running though both of my coil housings!!!

Been rummaging in my mate's garage this afternoon & think I've solved the coil problem with some others, but will keep my finding quiet until I have it all fitted up in the next hour or so & report back if they work then!

 

glad to see you got it figured out!

 

Right .....

Got the bike running eventually after the refit of the coils & radiator :roll:

Don't know if it was because the battery wasn't full charged or if it was still flooded from trying to start it this morning??? I'll try and see what the starting is like tomorrow after the battery is fully charged.

Ok then the coils my mate had under the bench in the garage were FZR400 coils which in looks are totally identical to the Maxim X ones & the nos. on the coils are 12-23 where as the Maxim X ones are 12-25 ... so we figured we'd give them a bash, except he could only find the one coil of the pair :?

Then he remembered he'd stuck one of them on another one of our club member's bike, so we called Ash up to come round so we could nick the coil back & fit an old Honda one on his bike. We had to do a little surgery & solder the connector on from my old coil as it had been removed & heat shrinked the connection for good measure!

After the initial restarting problem I took her out for a test ride. By this time it was starting to rain fairly heavily, so I thought that would be a good test! She ran well & seemed to me to have more low end power than before, which I'm guessing would be because of the damaged coils?

So as long as she starts tomorrow & I'll do a water test with the hose to make sure .... Looks like we might have sorted the problem out with only the cost of some new antifreeze to do the repairs .... Top result 8)

Many thanks to everyone for the advice & encouragement ....... Rick

 

that is great news! enjoy the riding!