Major Help Needed!!!

Hi Everyone

I have recently purchased my XJ 600. After buying it off a dogy guy i have found that my new bike has some diffrent problems.

The previous owner has used the cut, twist, tape and pray method on the wireing under the seat. There is no fuse box but there is the broken fuse clips ( All of them that i have found) wired together using some tire wire and then taped up.
Tomorrow I plan to buy a few inline fuses and try to clean up the mess.

The main problem I am having is for some strange reason the bike will not turn on at times. That is to say that after buying a new batterty and installing it the bike started first go, now after lettiing it idle for some time I turned if off ( oh yeah the kill switch doesnt work at all either) then later when i went to take it for a quick ride the bike would not start. No lights on the dash nothing its like there was no battery installed at all.

Is this a common problem with the 84 XJ600 series.

What could it be???

I have used a circit tester and checked the earth (it is OK)
Brand new battery.
All i can think of is a faulty ignition barrell. (it dose look like someone has tryed to start it with a screw driver).

If you know of any other means of testing I can do to discover the cause for the fault I would be glad to hear them.


Thanks
Andrew

 

The power comes from the battery to the fuse block and then on to the rest of the circuits. I suspect the shoddy repair method used by the PO is mucking up the works. Your initial desire to replace the fuses is a good one. Do that and see if the problem persists. From your brief description, it sounds like you may have more issues, though.

(Yet more evidence that some people shouldn't own tools. Tie wire fuses? I wonder what the amperage rating on one of those is? 200 Amps? 500 Amps? 8O)

 

Thanks for your advice.

I dont have a repair manual for my bike nor any idea of what fuses to use. as i stated before the is none inplace

15, 20, 25. 30???

 

I used to have an old Suzuki GS that had its electrical system Frankensteined similar to your XJ. I think the best thing to do is to find a fuse box on Ebay and get a good manual with wiring diagrams and trace the whole system. It's amazing how many things can be affected and/or damaged by crossing the right wires. With a little time and patience you should be able to get it straightened back out.

 

I've put together a How-To on this very subject. Hopefully it'll answer all, or most, of your questions.

P.S. Here's a link to many XJ wiring diagrams. Your bike should be in the list.

 

OK then.
I'll run down to the shops now and get one. But before I start ill take some pics to show you what a mess it is.
Thanks again, I give you updates as soon as I have them.

 

The XJ750 I bought last fall also had an electrician's nightmare under the seat.

I installed a new battery but very little of the circuits (lights, flashers, ign) worked.

On redoing all the 'wound together & taped' connections (soldered & shrink wrapped) everything worked ok. The PO had not mixed up any of the circuits, just done an absolutely unsafe job with his connections.

I did not buy a new fuse box but 4 inline fuses.

 

Hello everyone this is the update I promised.

This first pic show the fuse box wireing under my seat on my XJ600 and what I had to work with.



As you can see here it is a complete mess.

The next pic is the new installed fuse box that i was suggested to install. I dont think i did too bad on the wireing (please feel free to coment on my work)



But alas this did not reslove the issue im having with the bike not starting or even showing dash lights.
Some time after a few rude loud words, double checking the wireing diagram with my trusty circut tester i found that the fault was the ignition barrell or rather the wireing attached to the ignition barrel.
So after removing the head light and then the fairing (oh yeah i snaped one of the old rusty bolts clean that sit behind the headlight that hold the fairing on so any good ideas on how to get it out would be great)

When tracing the ignition barrell wireing I found this



the main igintion wire had come out of the 4 port plug or rather it was just sitting in there not connecting propley which is why, now this is just my best guess is why my bike would run and then stop and then run and the stop like i have exlpained in my previous post.

One simple fix later



And my bike startes first time everytime.

Thats one big problem down ( i hate to say it but im so proud of myself. This is the type of thing i would take my bike to a pro for. all of you guys who have replyed have been a big help so THANKYOU!!!)



Now the next fault is to work out why the brake light comes on when ever the ignition is on, not just the tail light the full glow of the brake light and when i use my brakes the light does not go dimm or go brighter.

PLEASE dose anyone have a pdf copy of the manual for my bike or know where to get one???

Please comment and let me know what u think


Andrew

 

Good job on the fuse box! You weren't kidding about the rat's nest of wires you had to deal with. Holy cow! It certainly does appear the PO thought "good enough" was the rule and not the exception. If you've got the time and patience, I'd recommend continuing with your wiring inspection. I'm willing to bet you'll find more disturbing fixes. Better to find 'em in the driveway then on the side of the road.

As for the brake light being on permanently, it would either have to be the hand-lever switch or the foot-lever switch. I'd guess the foot-lever switch. It probably just needs to be properly adjusted. See Rick's post for adjusting up the rear brake correctly.