start button driving me insane!!!

Alright guys i need some help. I have an 85 xj700 i bought it and its been one hell of a hassle ever sense replaced this cleaned that on and on. Now my start button wont work it worked before. i've checked all the wires the fuses are good all of the connections are clean. it will start i can jump it off from the solenoid and it will start up just fine but i don't want to keep doing that. not good for the solenoid i know. i checked the connections under the seat and behind the head light everything seems fine used the volt meter it all checks out. when i hit the switch the oil light will come on but it's not sending a signal to the solenoid (no click) would it be a safety switch? i tested all of them and they seem fine neutral light comes on. i tried it with and with out the clutch engaged. i'm completely frustrated. any thoughts or anyone else had this problem? any help at all would be great guys thanks. :x

 

Have you considered that the solenoid may actually be faulty as everything else checks out? (If you get 12v to the small wires to the solenoid when you press the starter but it still doesn't engage then it is faulty)

 

hmm no would have never thought about that. thats the only way i can start the bike is off the solenoid. i replaced it i think that one is new but you never can tell with ebay.

 

Simple check anyways, like I say if it gets 12v to the small wires when you press the button but still no click, it's a dead 'un...

I think there's a "sticky" thread in one of the forums on how to rebuild a solenoid, if you have another one around you could try that & test it off the bike...

 

alright i'll get see if i can find that. i believe i still have the old one around somewhere. thanks.

 

Hmm, I just had a search around and can't for the life of me find it :?

Someone tell me I didn't imagine this? 8O

Make sure it's definitely that first though, IIRC it was a bit tedious of a job to rebuild it but would get you on the road if it was that...

 

i found it but mines completely different from his he has the square one i have the circle type with the bottom edges pushed up over the top a little to hard. for all of that. if it comes down to it after i get the vacuum dialed in i'll order a new one. i was thinking about just buying a push button start that bypasses alot of it. but i would like to keep it as original as possible thats why i wanted to fix it.

 

Cool. Oh and just for the record, the only thing that "jumpering" the solenoid is not good for is the screwdriver you use lol you won't hurt the solenoid even if it's good as all you're doing effectively is what it would do, but on the outside not the inside... (the nuts may be slightly damaged also but nothing horrendous)

So, for the moment you should be fine starting it like that as long as you mind your eyes & don't have any flammable liquids nearby when you're making sparks (you have no fuel leaks right?)

 

alright good to know. no no fuel leaks. i found out theres a bit of an oil leak. i have to figure out where its coming from.

 

If it's from top of the engine it'd most likely be from the valve cover gasket, people forget to replace the "pressure washer" donuts when they replace it after checking the valves... Chacal stocks the donuts & gasket, simple job to do & worth doing a valve check while it's open

 

yea i just replaced the gasket cleaned it up good. but i just parked it in a garage and came in this morning and there was a nice little puddle under the bike. i believe it may be coming from the crankcase. i'm hoping not.

 

Did you do the donuts too? Its those that press the valve cover down, not the torque of the bolts and when they've been squashed for 25+ years they don't do the job any more...

I'm hoping not crankcase too... :?

EDIT-: saying that, if it is from low down it could possibly be as simple as oil filter o-rings (another rubber item often forgotten) or sump plug washer...

 

yea i replaced it all.

yea i'm hoping i just need to tighten the drain plug or the oil filter. i just gave it an oil change i wont get to work on it again untill wednsday so we'll see.

 

Sensible man, doing the full job

If you can't trace the oil leak easily due to windblast making it spread, I've had success using talcum powder to soak it up & usually the source of the leak "bleeds through" after running the motor for ten minutes sat still...

 

sounds like a good idea might have to try that.

 

RE: solenoid. I just putzed around with one on a GS that I replaced, but it wasn't actually bad.

One quick way to test if it's working that I found:

with the solenoid out, touch the casing to ground ( or connect via wire w/ alligator clips ), and tap the little wire to the + on the battery. This should give you the 'tick' noise. If not, then you know it's not engaging the contacts, and it's bad.

If it ticks:

with the solenoid in place, connect the high current lines ( from + on battery, and solenoid to starter ) but not the small engage wire. Quickly tap the small wire onto the + of the battery and you should hear the contacts connect and the motor start to turn over.

If it passes the first test, then it should pass the second. This means without doubt that the solenoid is still good, and your problem is further upstream ( contact, safety switch, etc ).

On the GS, the battery 12v went through a fuse, then through the ignition switch, then through the kill switch, then through the starter button, then back down to the solenoid. Between the button and solenoid the wire was bad. Replace this and viola! working starter again. For our newer bikes, I'm gonna say there's a few extra switches to contend with.

I didn't totally think out the current path, so I replaced a working solenoid. I'd hate to see you do this too, if you're still questioning some safety switch.

So I'd suggest starting at the battery and working forward each step and joint, checking for 12v at each stop. Or, to be quick, you can disconnect the connector on the small solenoid wire and see if there's 12v there when the starter button is pressed ( an assistant is helpful here, as you're holding the meter leads ).

Also, a wiring diagram is pretty important. I used it a lot when diagnosing the GS.