86 maxim having electrical problems

Hi my name is Nick and this is my first post of many to come. I had hoped it wouldn't be a technical problem, more along the lines of how would I customize, that'll come later now

Bought bike few weeks ago, and yesterday I bought a new battery for it. after an hour or so of cruising I turned it off cause I had arrived and the bike sputtered a bit which I thought was weird so tried to start it again but it had no lights, no power.

I've attached some pics cuz I took it apart this morning, I think the ground was plugged into something (no idea what the wire was) and it shorted out the starter wire (I think) it's melted from bstteryt all the way to the front right side lil silver panel

It melted a few other wires but not all the way thru, I've never rewired something let alone this melted rats nest! I'll grab pics in a sec, apperently the ones I took are top big.

Should I push start it? Or rewire it first? I'm a starting newbie, I'm also starting motorcycle school in September any help would be greatly helpelful lol.

I have 3 other maxims so gotta start learning

Thanks!

 

Hello Nick,

Please include your model of bike.

Now, push starting is not valid, because if the wires are fried, there is no sense in trying to run the machine. I'm afraid you're in for a big task of troubleshooting and verifying what's what.

Get yourself a meter ( multimeter ) as it's going to be your best friend.

Get yourself a manual, or at least the wiring diagram. After you have a diagram, kneel down, intertwine your fingers, and pray to the motorcycle gods that the previous owner(s) didn't re-wire this thing to fit their twisted needs. It happens, and then you're stuck trying to re-engineer what they did, but without a map.

So now, you're going to have to trace down as many wires as you can, from end to end, seeing what's good, what's bad ( be prepared to replace these ) and what's questionable.

If I had to guess without any more info, i'd say that it's possible that a wire shorted somewhere ( probably from goofing around by previous owner (PO) ). Hopefully you can find this culprit and replace it. Then, I would trace each wire on the diagram to ensure you don't have other shorts / goofy wiring.

I would also expect to replace the rectifier / regulator. Also, you're battery, hopefully the stator is good. You're fuses are probably a blade type, as my 86 is, so your's probably is as well.

Good luck.

 

hey pj im attaching the pictures, maybe itll help! thanks for the tips!

Does anyone on here have a wiring diagram ? ill start looking

no goofy wiring that i can see, lil hard cause it is a mess!

the torched wire is the starter wire right ? (ill be asking alot of questions down the road too ) well it was plugged into a wire that was attached to the negative battery wire. and you can see in the pic which wire is burnt and runs all the up to the front.

the battery still holds a charge even though it was spitting acid and i get 1 click when i press start

hope this helps

thanks again!

im gonna try to seperate all the wires, see whats good whats done

 

Oh yeah and it's a 1986 maxim XJ700s

 

My first question is why the cover was taken off of the wiring loom. Because it is off you should treat every wire and electrical component as if it may be faulty.

 

There was a tube around all the wires, and they were all taped up with electrical tape, I took it off to get a better look

 

*UPDATE*
So I found an old wiring harness in mint condition and threw it on to replace all the other wires. Looks good and no rats nest! But it still isn't starting... It still just clicks once, tried push starting few times, different gears, faster speeds, just sputters a bit... Starter seems to work, grounds are connected, fuses are good, what's left? Ignition coils? It's where the torched wire led too, how do I test it

Thanks

 

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... agram.html


Sounds like starter motor solenoid to me

See also

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=27543.html

What does spitting acid mean. What is that all about? Sounds like a faulty regulator as well and the battery is boiling?