1982 Seca ran great and now won't start

Hello. I have 1982 Seca XJ650RJ. I have been working on it for a while now and finally got it running. Took a few tests rides and outside of an occasional miss it ran really well at highway speeds until I hit a bump in the road and the motor died. Now it won't start although it does turn over. I am thinking it's a loose wire/short but am not sure what to look for that would allow the starter to crank but not allow it to start. Note: I don't have a functioning headlight or forward turn signal and the wires are all hanging loose in front. Also sometimes the high beam indicator works and sometimes it does not. The left turn signal lights up but doesn't blink. The right turn signal does not light up. I am fine checking wires but wondering if someone can make suggestions on where to start. Thanks in advance for any troubleshooting tips!

 

With all that stuff loose and disconnected you probably have loose or disconnected things related to the side-stand relay and side-stand switch... like the diode block, which is probably in the headlight bucket. See if you have a black wire with a white stripe connected to the TCI. If you do, it will have a bullet connector a few inches up the harness. You can unplug it to see if that's blocking spark. It's part of the safety circuit to prevent you pivoting your bike over because you started off with the sidestand down.

If you don't have a meter, get one.

Make sure turn signals have the right bulbs. You may need to disassemble the sockets and clean up springs and washers inside with a wire brush. Clean up most of your connector contacts with a wire brush and apply dielectric grease. Apply it to the bulbs and socket parts as well. Non-functional headlight could be a bad alternator, or bad contacts in the rectifier plug, or just a bad switch or bulb.

 

Thanks SQLGuy. My apologies for not being more clear. I should have said my headlight is missing. The bike came with a fairing that I disconnected in the hopes of going back to the original looking headlight. But acquiring that has been difficult so for now I just have a mass of wires hanging out of the front headlight bucket. Both front turn signals are also missing. Thanks for your info as that gives me a few things to try.

 

Ah. I see. I would think that eBay and Len (XJ4Ever) would be able to provide most anything.

Turn signals will not work on a side without both of them in place, with the correct bulbs.

If you remove the self-cancelling module and switch to a 3-wire aftermarket electronic flasher module, then you can have them flash with different bulbs or missing lamps. Sounds like you're working on restoring the bike more to original, though. If so, good for you!

 

Check your fuses

 

Thanks. I will check the fuses. What strange is that it went from running at highway speeds to not running after hitting that bump although the starter stills turns it over. If anyone else has thoughts let me know. I appreciate the discussion.

 

Not strange at all. Especially when clips break and fuses get loose. This is why the blade fusebox upgrade is a great upgrade

 

Hey guys..great news. I was checking fuses, wires, etc. and figured I'd better give the whole bike another look over before getting too crazy with electrical troubleshooting. While doing this i noticed the gas line had kinked. I'm not quite sure how it kinked while going 60 mph but oh well. I recently added an inline filter and didn't trim the existing gas line enough to prevent that from happening. The kink was right below the filter. I'm back to a running bike and now need to "only" need to get my headlight and front turn signals in place. Thanks all for your help.

 

Heat from the engine can soften the fuel line and cause to kink .

 

I like your theory..makes sense. I appreciate the input.

 

Odd. If that’s what happened, then check to make sure your tank is actually bolted down with the correct plate,etc.... if it isn’t, then yes the tank CAN bounce just enough to cause that, and I’ve had it happen even though the seat is still on. The tank can shift, but at least you don’t have to worry about it coming off....

 

Tank was bolted down. Gas line kinked after an hour plus of test rides up and down the highway. I'm inclined to think the inline filter caused the kink when the heat softened the line just enough. I am rejoicing that I don't have to look for an electrical issue.

 

Ok