XJ 550

Hi guys, I have an issue, I have been rebuilding my XJ550 from scratch(except engine) Now it wont start when pushing the start button, there is a spark, engine turns fine but wont start, when I push it it´s start almost directly! I have replaced the "start solenoid" with a new one from ebay! Fresh battery.. MAybe it wont give enough power to ignition? Any ideas..HELP!!!

//Björn

 

1 start by checking your battery voltage if it drops below 10 volts while starter is spinning motor will not start because tci needs at least 10 volts
2 charge up battery .
test your running battery voltage
From information overload
Starting Load Test:

a) Adjust voltmeter to DC volts (20 volt range).

b) Place voltmeter leads to the battery terminals (positive to positive and negative to negative) .

c) Watch the voltmeter as you start your motorcycle, but before the engine is running.

d) If the voltage drops below 9.5 volts, the battery has very low capacity and should be replaced.


For all XJ-series models, the maximum available charging output VOLTAGE should be as follows (all values are approximate):

* approximately 500-2000 rpms: 1.8 volts gradually increasing to 14.2 volts
* 2000+ rpms: 14.2 volts up to about 14.8 volts, with a maximum of 14.8 volts (all models except XJ700-X and XJ750-X)
* 3000+ rpms: 14.2 volts up to about 14.8 volts, with a maximum of 14.8 volts (all XJ700-X and XJ750-X)


NOTE: the voltage reading must be approximately 14.0 - 14.5 volts to properly charge an AGM battery......anything less, and you will quickly kill these type batteries!

 

read this thread lots of information
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/

The World’s Greatest XJ550 Seca Wiring Diagram:
http://www.frankjohansson.com/stuff/xj550/XJ550ElectricalDiagram.html

 

But why will it start directly when pushing it in second gear?
I do have a good battery...
I do have the original wiring..
Everything else, like headlight, turnsignals, brake light and so on is working, runs ok when it´s started..
I bought one of these..could that be the issue.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Starter-S...XJ550-81-84-/150868805244?hash=item23207b467c
//Björn

 

when you hit the starter you get a voltage drop, starter will spin at less than 10 volts and spin and spin and sound strong but not enough voltage to triger transistors in the tci unit. 1 volt will make the difference, can you charge your battery? or try jump starting from another battery.

you said "MAybe it wont give enough power to ignition? Any ideas..HELP!!! " you were spot on with that thought.


i am guessing you do not have a meter to read voltage , find one check out your voltage
hook meter to battery get a reading of the voltage drop when pushing starter button.
some times batterys new or not fail

you also need to test your charging voltage , how long did you run bike after push starting it?

use enrichment circuit (choke) keep the rpms at 2000 let the bike charge up.

 

pressing the starter does nothing else in the start cycle but ground the coil in relay in the solenoid which closes the contacts and sends voltage to the starter. it is possible that your starter is going bad and drawing to much current droping your voltage to low to let the tci energize

 

Hi, sorry for the late answer.. Bike is running! I Went out in the garage starten from the beginning, checkad spark on all four, 3 was fine, 1 not! IT was the cap!!! No connection, fixed new caps, checked the compression at the same time, fine! Tied again to start, voilà! Crap, gas where pissing out from the second carb! Teared it all down to tiniest pieces! Cleand them all up with ultrasound! Nog it's running nice... Thanx for the help! Cannot uppload a pic from My iPad.

 

another xj550 up and running again. good luck.

 

Gött å höra att det löste sig Björn...

 

Even though jt starts well, my XJ550 has been sluggish and stuttering all summer at cruise, with really bad running at high rpms. I thought I had a carb and fuel issue on one cylinder. After reading above I checked my spark plug caps with an ohm meter. Like yours, 3 were good (10k ohm for XJ550), but one read open, infinite ohms.

Wonder how it even ran at all, must have been getting some spark through it on #2, albeit a very poor spark.

New cap on order. In meantime, I bypassed cap and put in 5kohm resistor plug. A run around the block has gotten me optomistic about the results.

Everyone, if you have stuttering or misfiring, check the resistance on your spark plug caps!!!!!

 

mine ran great on 3 cylinders. resistor had split

 

New 5kohm NGK cap came today. Installed with DR8EA NGK 5k resistor spark plug to bring resistance to 10kohm factory spec to match other 3 stock cap/plugs.

Holy cow, the bike is really runing well. I had been thinking it needed some carb work, but not anymore.

I right away ordered 3 more 5k caps and resistor plugs so that each cylinder uses the same combination. I don't think future spark plug changes could go well if I have a mix of resistor and nonresistor spark plugs. (Not to mention the white letters NGK on the caps look cool.)

Everyone, if your bike is missfiring, sluggish and surging, check each plug cap resistance.

 

Yeah, that NGK cap looks pretty cool. Or hot. Or, you know, just the right temp!
Ooops! Saturday night sillies again!