Brought it on myself.

This morning, I pushed the starter button. MY XJ900F started first turn, as usual. As I pulled away, I noticed that the odometer had just rolled past 126,000km. I congratulated myself on the reliability of this machine. 40,000 of those kilometres are mine, and I've never done anything much beyond routine maintenance.
The gods were looking down though, and when I left work this afternoon I turned on the ignition, pressed the starter button and PRECISELY NOTHING happened. No whirring, no relay click....NOTHING. Battery is fully charged and fairly new. Bike started very easily with a bit of a bump, but the starter remains DEAD. Fuses are all intact, according to my multi meter.
My guess is that it's a defective relay, but where would you start? What order would you check things in?

 

I would make sure the battery connections are good. Then check the starter solenoid (make sure it clicks when you hit the start button) If it doesn't click, you can jump across it with a heavy wire to activate the starter. Or it may be the starter button itself. They do have a history of going to hell once in awhile. Oh ya, check your fuses if you haven't already(no brainer)
It's also possible that there is a bad connection between the plastic plug in your headlight bundle. They can get corroded from moisture and actually melt the plastic in some cases. I would look at them anyways if you haven't for awhile. Just a thought. PD

 

Relay does NOT click. When I press the starter, the oil light comes on, so the switch is doing something. (I pulled down and cleaned the right hand switch once before when the kill switch went awol. What a chore!
Looks like the relay then, doesn't it.

 

Relay or solenoid is my guess. Keep us posted on your findings for future reference. PD

 

Boy, I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this picture...



If the starter cranks after you do this test, the starter is good. (Make sure the bike is in neutral.) To check whether the solenoid is the culprit, we need to test with a voltmeter to see if your solenoid is getting a signal from the starter safety relay. If you look at the above picture, there's a pigtail coming from the solenoid with two wires in it. If you stab the red/white wire and hit the starter button, you should get 12 volts. If you don't, you've got other issues. If you do, either the solenoid is bad, or your starter button is bad.

For more on this topic, see my write up on HOW TO: Test your starter circuit.

 

Thanks Gamuru! A picture is worth a thousand words, or atleast a long parograph.

 

Thanks Don. That's the sort of advice I've been looking for. The only problem is, I've been all over the bike, and followed the wiring diagram, but I can't find the Shameless Plug! Spark plugs yes, but Shameless, no. Is it possible somebody stole it? Do any of our members have a spare one? I had very similar problems to this on my RD350 when I wanted to alter the power band. Couldn't find it anywhere.

 

Too Funny! :lol:

 

You know, the oil light coming on but nothing happening at the relay sounds like a safety circuit to me. I believe my 650 will do that if I have the side stand down and the bike in gear.

You might want to put a meter on the primary wires to the starter relay. Make sure when you push the start button you get juice there. I believe Don has another picture that shows the leads I mean.

I'll place my money on the side stand switch.

 

Thanks guys! You're all saving me the trouble of thinking this thing through, and at my age, thinking logically is nearly as painful as climbing stairs.
MiCarl. I agree that if it were a faulty sidestand safety, that's exactly what it would look like. Problem is, my bike has no sidestand safety! I should have mentioned that.
Using Gamuru's excellent photo advice, I shorted out the relay (No "cheap screwdriver for me-I used a good Stahlwille!) Engine turned over perfectly but did not start. Put voltmeter on appropriate wire, pressed starter and a lordly ONE VOLT coursed through the veins of my once mighty steed! Various random points in the system are returning 12.5V so I guess I can look forward to a rather boring day of cleaning switches, connectors etc etc.
I'll work backwards with the meter until I find 12.5 volts and then start cleaning forward. Unfortunately, the previous owner has done some (very neat) re-wiring, but he only seems to have owned two colours of wire-red and black.

 

Right. Use of jumper leads shows that relay is working perfectly. MiCarl, you were definitely on the right track. There is only the faintest trickle of vital electrical fluids reaching those wires. Definitely 12.5v across the main fuse. I am now looking with GREAT SUSPICION in the handlebar area.
Hope you don't mind me posting all the time. Once you're over 60 all your friends are down at the bowling club with their wives, rather tha standing beside you with a beer and saying "You're doing that all wrong you know!"

 

Just to clarify: The red/white wire should have ~12 volts showing without pressing the starter button as long as the ignition switch is on, the engine kill switch is on, the side stand is up, and the clutch lever is pulled. If all of these safety switches are set and you still have no or very little voltage at the red/white wire, you've got problems with your starter safety relay (located by your TCI) or its circuits. If, however, you do have ~12 volts, you then should be looking at your starter button, wiring, and/or grounds.

 

TCI? Please, remember I go back to magnetos and manual advance /retard levers.

 

The one with the green sticker is your module. It doesn't matter, though. The relay is what you're interested in.

 

Relay may be in a different location on different model bike.

 

I just thought people might like to know how this one turned out. My repair is a bit drastic but it simplifies things a lot and has worked well for several weeks.
Patient searching revealed that there was not a great deal of electrical fluid reaching the starter switch. Rather than plunge unto the rat's nest of wires lurking in the headlight area (I have large, fat, clumsy thumbs and fingers) I decided to short circuit (literally) all those unnecessary safety features and what were probably very dirty 24 year old connections. I snipped the two wires coming out of the pigtail and earthed one. I bought a waterproof momentary switch and fitted it low on the left hand side cover, where it is almost invisible, then led one wire to the other relay wire, and connected the other to the downhill side of the main fuse.
Now, to start up, all I have to do is reach down and press a convenient switch down by my left leg. I swear it spins the motor faster than the old one did, it's still fused, and if anything goes wrong there sure as all Hell isn't much to check!!

Many thanks for the help guys. Thanks to you, the whole fix cost me $3.95, which was the price of the switch.