Hey I'm new, and I already have a problem!

Hey guys,
First of all let me say hello, and I'm glad there is a forum for xj's! A user from Yamhaclub pointed me in this direction! I'm looking for some help with my 1996 xj600s and I'm going to just copy what I posted in the other forum in hopes that someone here may know more about my bike and it's problem

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, and streetbikes in general. I have 1996 xj600s and I bought if from a friend last week. i rode the bike for 2 days with no problems, on the 3rd day I was walking it backwards out of my car port and we both tripped and fell down. The very same day I tried starting it with the kickstand up which killed it instantly, and it would not start again after that. It turns over but just really weak and slow, after about an hour passed and it cooled down it started again. Ever since then It won't start after its been running for a bit, it's the same thing, it just turns over really slow like the battery is real weak until I let the engine cool for an hour or so. Now today we had a very cold night and it did the same thing, it would not start today it just turns over super slow like the battery is dead. The PO said he had replaced the battery recently, but is there a chance it's the problem? Another friend suggested that maybe the valves need adjusting causing the bike to get too hot to start, I know my old crf250's sure were hard to start with bad valves, but idk if that is the case with this bike? Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated! Im a noob with this bike, I feel like a baby again

Ps now even in warm normal weather I have to push start, and it push starts pretty easy! Thanks again

 

The first thing I'd do is check the battery. Check for cracks, cells are full, loose/corroded connections, fully charged (12-13volts) and how far the volts drop when cranking. If it drops below 9 volts from fully charged = bad battery.

 

when you and the bike went tumbling down the hill, which way did you fall? did the bike land on the battery side? not to say its not an issue either way, but if the bike fell on the battery, it might have broke or cracked, as previously stated ^. sounds like something got wacked on the way down. id take the time to examine everything. all wires and plugs for charging system ect ect... good luck, and welcome

 

Hey guys thanks for the reply! Well we didn't exactly fall down a hill, more like slowly fell over in the driveway, and the battery is tucked up in the middle under the seat on this model. This afternoon (just now) I took it over to autozone to have a load test on the battery, and the battery tested out fine! What I failed to mention is that the PO could not get the start button to function so he wired a push start button on the side of the bike, I just noticed that it gets really hot and the wires actually melted the plastic wire housing a little bit around it and now the bike doesn't turn over at All when I press the button, it just dims the lights right away. But the bike still push starts real easy, so I think I am narrowing down the problem to be electrical for sure, what do y'all think?

 

sounds like a real good find!!! you have to try to find a wiring diagram. sounds like there might be a bad wire somewhere or the wrong wire hooked up to the button. way too many scenerios to diagnose. was it just the button that you can replace on the bars? was it a bad solenoid? a cut wire somewhere inbetween?

 

Well idk I am going to have the PO come over and tell me exactly what he did. He said he could not get the original button to work so he wired a button (just a typical push button from autozone) in place of the original and it hooks in front of the tank by the horns. And I don't know if it's the wrong wires because it started just fine for a long time for him, I think maybe it just shorted out somewhere? I barely got the bike a few days ago, and I knew I'd have to fix it up a bit, I just wasn't expecting this so soon

 

lol. yes but its a somewhat easy fix and you found it on your own. you have your on off switch, your solenoid, your actual starter switch.. ect ect... i can tell you that sometimes its the easiest things you dont think of... i spent 200 bucks when mine didnt start all the time... come to find out... the lead weas loose that goes from the selonoid to the battery. gave it a tap and vroom. good luck;

 

Thanks! We are going to check it out tomorrow! I'll keep you guys posted , I really appreciate the help

 

When the bike fell it's likely that somehow, somewhere his aftermarket wiring job got pinched. You have a short and it's just grounding the battery voltage instead of delivering it to the starter. Trace the wire, inspect the switch. If I were you I would get the OE switch back to working, either buy a new or used one and undo the current setup.

I'm sure you realize this now, but you gotta be extra careful trying to move a bike around if you aren't sitting on it. I will go forward off the seat but I don't like going backwards unless I'm sitting on it and checking my mirrors.

 

Hey mercury! Thank you for the informative post, hopefully tomorrow i get off work in time to trace it and fix that switch, at least until i can buy the original part. And you are very right, i will never push a street bike backwards again, its definitely not like pushing my yz250f backwards, its a whole new monster, i learned that the hard way! But thats why i got this starter bike i suppose

 

X2 - Great info.

 

Hey guys! Changed the starter button and the problem is fixed! Thanks for all of the help, I'm sure I'll need more sometime again haha

 

If you keep experiencing "starts fine cold, won't start once hot" then check your valve clearances.

 

Thanks! Ever since I changed the switch it's been starting nice! Take a few min to warm up in the cold but other than that seems good

 

OK, but if the valves need adjusting, they need adjusting. You might want to at least check them, since it's the most ignored maintenance item.

Ignore them long enough, and it WON'T start hot, trust me.