super newbie

Hello Everyone. I just bought a 1982 Yamaha XJ550 yesterday and it was running perfect in the person's yard that I bought it from and I had a friend drive it home for me, but lo and behold when we got it home and I jumped on it wouldn't fire up. It wasn't getting any power, so I put a battery charger on it overnight. When i woke up it fired up. I went to work, came home and it fired up. I cut the grass and then tried to fire it up, but nothing. It is getting power and trying to start, but will not. Sorry for the play by play, but i'm a super newbie. Any ideas? Much appreciated!

It does have gas, in neutral and in the on position. (that much i know, haha)

 

Get some meter data on the battery, see if it is draining, also charge it & take it to the shop for testing.

 

Sounds very much like old dying battery symptoms. A fresh battery should make a huge difference.

 

yeah, I'd suspect battery first. These bikes are pretty simple to work on for the most part, too. Now, for the battery, the bike doesn't take much juice to turn the engine, so that can turn over on a really weak battery. But, there's got to be some 'oomph' behind the battery to create the spark. Next time the bike won't start, put a meter on the battery itself and find out what it's cold voltage is. Then charge it up and start the bike. Once it's running, check the voltage at the battery terminals again. Let us know what the numbers are.

You're onto a great site, and the knowledge base here is incredible. We don't need repair shops anymore.....heck, the shops don't want us, either.

 

Thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it. Well, I put a new battery in today and nothing. It's the same old result. Tries to start but doesn't.

 

Hey northofthedelta (can I call you Nod for short )

This link XJ Owners Electrical FAQ gives some great information about the overall eletrical system.

I also recommend Gamuru's excellent post on testing the starter circuit

 

HA. Yeah NOD's cool. Thanks for the awesome info! Will check it out

 

I second the bike shops not wanting to work on our bikes but, who cares when we have XJBikes !!!

 

So what happened with the new battery. Also what are the condition of your plugs, and are you getting good spark? Got the same bike and love it man, you will too, mine was always a bear to start, until i did a full carb clean/rebuild, new battery, new plugs, and now she will fire up anytime, anywhere. Good luck and let us know.

Kevin

 

mine wouldnt start for a while of sitting, and it was as simple as a new batter and new gas.
if your battery is good, try draining the gas out and throwing something good in there.

 

Thanks guys.

I changed all of the plugs and the battery and VROOM we're in business. Can't wait to get out of work to go ride!

 

Well idid have a fun day after work doing some riding around, but i spoke too soon it seems. I went out to the garage all excited to get going again this morning and it wouldn't start again. It tried and fired up for a second, but then again would not start. Damn, WTF?

 

if new plugs and new battery worked for *awhile* then, it's likely that's where your problem is:

take a look at those new plugs now that you've got some miles on it? are they all fouled and black? if they are, you found the problem, if they aren't, then you know:

the bike isn't charging the battery. could be the alternator brushes are worn out. also could be you aren't revving the engine high enough (i'm assuming your 550 charges the same way as my 750). the bike doesn't really generate any of it's own electricity until you getup over 3k rpms - if you let the bike idle a lot and cruise around at low rpms, your battery will die.

any backfiring?

 

thanks for the comments skeeter. i think you were right about cruising around at low rpms. I charged the battery up, been riding to work almost everyday and minimal problems. Although it did seem like it had low power this morning until i revved it up for a few.