Runaway throttle...

This good start for me, let me work on this. Will have to be tomorrow or next night as work gets in the way. I am not getting oil light now, and I wondered where that went? I only have neutral green light when key on, battery connected. I will post again in couple days. Thanks.

 

if no oil light it is a burnt out bulb or bad starer button.

button could be dirty and corroded or the ground wire came off of the controller.or handle bars are not grounding

try this
with key on attach a ground jumper to the blue/white wire at harness connector when it is disconnected from solenoid. if oil light lights up bulb is good and starter button grounding is bad

 

Replace start solenoid ...they are cheap if you can jumper it and starter cranks ...I think I paid 11.00$ for it.

 

yes cheap part to replace but his oil light should come on if starter button is working properly. he can test solenoid right on bike before buying anything. and the bulb with a jumper to ground hooked to the blue/white wire( L/W) with key on.

also make sure the starter cable and battery cable connections on solenoid are clean that will stop it from working

 

Hello. I disconnected the small connector to the solenoid, hooked meter up and do not get 12 volts when I pressed the starter button.
When I press the starter button, the oil light does not come on.
Took 2 jumper wires from the battery and attached to small connector on solenoid and it turned over !!! That was nice.
I have cleaned the connectors on the solenoid... bright and shiny.
Carefully connected a wire from negative battery post to blue/white tracer in connector at solenoid harness connector, no oil light with key on.
Back traced continuity on Blue/white wire to connector in headlight housing that leads to starter switch and got continuity buzz. I previously got a buzz when I tested the starter button on the handlebars at the connector in this plug. I could more thoroughly test that connector in the housing...
I do have continuity through the stop switch. Seems I should be looking for 12 volt power somewhere... ? This is great... much farther along than I was before..

 

Unreal!. Cleaned the connector in the headlight. Standing there and saw some blade fuses. Thought I will swap out the ignition fuse.. again.. ( several months ago). Bike turned over. ? Stunned. I must have replaced the bad fuse with a bad fuse way back when. Still in shock. Now I need to check and tighten down things and sort out first problem of why it didn't start. I can start a new thread for that, or continue this one. I am idiot, and should have double checked this months ago. Will charge battery tonight and update this again in couple of days.

 

or you could continue in this thread
https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/runaway-throttle.113460/#post-581931

 

starter issue thread
https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/cannot-get-starter-to-crank.125132/#post-629811

 

These thread things seem to go around and around...look, that was mee i now I am wondering how fuse blew in first place. Hmm... Want to have full charge when I use new multi-meter on spark plugs and coils. Will continue here and hopefully have some success getting it started so I can ride it this summer . Thank you XJ550H.

 

1. A single thread per bike makes it much easier to keep track of what has, and has not been done so we can troubleshoot more effectively. The machine is a system of systems, and symptoms can be interrelated.
2. The original fuseboxes have clips that can (really will) become brittle with age and crack, causing intermittant contact. It''s best to either replace the fuse clips with new, or switch over to an AGM fuse block.

Your Fuse Box -- A Ticking Bomb??? By: Rick Massey

HOW TO: Install an aftermarket fuse box

 

Merged.

 

Ah.. that makes sense. It's certainly a bunch of systems. Thank you explaining and merging threads. The fuse box disintegrated before I discovered the XJ Motorcycle Forums. I replaced with blade waterproof fuses several years ago, kinda wish I had gotten the fusebox thing, as it kind of a rats nest of wires, but it works. Will update soon with next issue.

 

Your carb intake boots will be a problem in the near future. Your a few long rides away from a renewed vacuum leak because of your carb boot cracking. Before you consider replacing your carb boots read as much info on here as you can. If the boots are original the bolts holding them will basically be welded into your engine block due to corrosion. Some people have sealed cracks on the exterior with some success. I replaced all of mine; they looked like yours and then cracked while on a long trip. Bad thing about cracking through on a long trip is getting the bike started and running right for the return ride home. I had three bolts break in the block during the replace and took a long time working that problem out. If you don't take long trips you may have a season left. High heat accelerates the cracking.

 

If your running PODS and do not have some type of strap or bracket to support the back of carbs , boots that are are already cracked and relying on the intake boots alone can lead to cracked boots and the possibility of carbs literally falling off.

 

Seems like good advice. I will worry more about the cracks in the carb intake boots down the line. I was prepareing to just seal them several years ago, but didn't and I don't think they are leaking yet. Bolts broken in the block are a nightmare that I remember from an exhaust bolt experience earlier. I am still using the original air box with a new filter that I would like to get some use out of before switching that out. More pressing is that now the bike turns over well but does not start, I did one juice with starting fluid last night, but nothing popped. I have 11 volts at battery when cranking, but not sparking on no 4, but haven't checked other plugs yet. Could I get pointed to the thread that best details how to proceed with a voltage check to see why not starting/sparking? I am thinking fuel isn't an issue, but I guess I need to check that too. I have it hooked to the bottle now for testing. Oh.. I am getting the oil light to light up (feeble) when cranking. Thanks...

 

Fuel will not matter if there is no spark. Check other plugs to determine whether there is spark on the others. Dim oil light? You sure your battery is good?

 

Battery new last year. I think I am going to clean connectors for a while, check voltage levels, and chase wires to the coils and plugs. I will get back to you.

 

Hello all. Update on no spark. Cleaned connectors and thought about systems. Checked voltage to coils, ? nothing. Discovered short in wire leading from my home-made fuse box. Had voltage and spark, then no spark. By now battery too low. Charged it up again and it started. Tuned with gauges and glow plug. Starts right off, and runs good (not great yet, but I'll get there), but battery went out again. Realizing now my problems have been battery all along. At the beginning last spring, when it was cold and battery dipped down too low to fire TCI. That lead to me messing with wires and causing a short which blew a fuse, and who knows if I then moved the rat's nest of wires in the home-made fuse box and caused the coils to lose power. And of course I have been leaning on the starter and starter clutch for quite some time. Battery low causes it to make loud grind. Battery charged, it seems fine. Have ordered new fuse box from Len two days ago, and a new battery tonight. Think I am back on the road again. Well worth the money to buy a decent analog multi-meter, and well past time to learn how to use it... I will try to get a photo up sometime ... Thank you everyone for helping.

 

There should be a ground strap on the back of the engine that connects to the f rame. If it's there make sure it is making good contact. If it's not there you'll need it.

Gary H.

 

How to Use a Multimeter and Read Schematics and Wiring Diagrams.