XJ900S Starter Solenoid Query

[trikebloke]

Ello Campers!! Hi De Hi!!

So.… I bought a hard lifed XJ900S Diversion off a well known auction internet site with a grand plan of giving it a second chance of glory as a three wheeled wagon.

When I first got it, a few months ago now, I had the engine cranking over on the button, and it tried to run, albeit briefly, but the petrol smelt very very stale so I drained the tank.

I tried starting it again yesterday with a new battery and fresh fuel, but have nothing now, on the button.

I immediately thought of the starter solenoid, and it did look a bit manky, so I disconnected it and gave it a good clean up, then reconnected it, but still no sign of life.

I put a screwdriver across the two main terminals, and the starter sprang to life all ok.

Am I right in thinking that the solenoid is buggered?

One last test I did was continuity across the two terminals where the plug goes and they both belled out as being constantly connected. Is that right?

Thanks in advance.

[HRHpenfold]

It’s broken, replace it with a new one, if you can’t bear the Yamaha price, a pit bike one can be modified to fit.

[GAv]

Solonoids are fairly cheap, I bought one for my Aprilia Mille from China for £8 but had to wait several weeks for it to arrive, before after xMas about 4 years ago, still works fine. After the Jock run last year treated my Cagiva Raptor to a new one, cost around £35 pucker in the UK . Anyone His Majesty for instance know if its an easy fit converting my 350 Bullet to Electric Start, albeit after a good run alongthe East Coast Yesterday and leaving it out in the Thunderstorm yesterday she started after a couple of cranks with decrompression lever ets, fired first time, same after parking opposite the Quay in Harwich today, just as well as other bikes congregated and I do voluntary gate duty at a local Fort this afternoon thats being renovated, however she did need a few more cranks before firing when I was leaving, have to say I really like the old thing.

[HRHpenfold]

Jul 28, 2018 16:10:10 GMT GAv said:

Solonoids are fairly cheap, I bought one for my Aprilia Mille from China for £8 but had to wait several weeks for it to arrive, before after xMas about 4 years ago, still works fine. After the Jock run last year treated my Cagiva Raptor to a new one, cost around £35 pucker in the UK . Anyone His Majesty for instance know if its an easy fit converting my 350 Bullet to Electric Start, albeit after a good run alongthe East Coast Yesterday and leaving it out in the Thunderstorm yesterday she started after a couple of cranks with decrompression lever ets, fired first time, same after parking opposite the Quay in Harwich today, just as well as other bikes congregated and I do voluntary gate duty at a local Fort this afternoon thats being renovated, however she did need a few more cranks before firing when I was leaving, have to say I really like the old thing.

Yes it’s very easy,

Sell it and buy a later model 500 fitted with electric start,

Otherwise you just need a lathe, a milling machine, a tig welder, and the engineering skills of Allen Millyard, built up over a lifetime,

Otherwise it is quite difficult

[trikebloke]

Ok, so I had a go at fitting a new solenoid, decided to fit a "car" type one, thinking long term it might be more reliable....

Connected it all up and still no sign of life on the button.

Anyone got any pointers??

[GAv]

Jul 29, 2018 12:36:12 GMT HRHpenfold said:

Jul 28, 2018 16:10:10 GMT GAv said:

Solonoids are fairly cheap, I bought one for my Aprilia Mille from China for £8 but had to wait several weeks for it to arrive, before after xMas about 4 years ago, still works fine. After the Jock run last year treated my Cagiva Raptor to a new one, cost around £35 pucker in the UK . Anyone His Majesty for instance know if its an easy fit converting my 350 Bullet to Electric Start, albeit after a good run alongthe East Coast Yesterday and leaving it out in the Thunderstorm yesterday she started after a couple of cranks with decrompression lever ets, fired first time, same after parking opposite the Quay in Harwich today, just as well as other bikes congregated and I do voluntary gate duty at a local Fort this afternoon thats being renovated, however she did need a few more cranks before firing when I was leaving, have to say I really like the old thing.

Yes it’s very easy,

Sell it and buy a later model 500 fitted with electric start,




Otherwise you just need a lathe, a milling machine, a tig welder, and the engineering skills of Allen Millyard, built up over a lifetime,

Otherwise it is quite difficult

Yep thanks HRH , however after taking the beast for a bit of a blowout she is now starting much easier, as with my knee surgery I was worried about kickback, which it has done a few times but even leaving her out in the Torrential Thunderstorms it started first kick, after a couple using the decompression lever. 

[trikebloke]

Ok, so days later and im still no closer to getting the engine to turn over on the button. 


Ive changed the solenoid, ive checked the starter button and kill switch, checked fuses/relays, checked side stand switch over and over again as I have removed the sidestand as part of prepping for the trike conversion. 



When Ive been shorting the solenoid with the screwdriver, I noticed that the universal joint of the drive is going round with and without the clutch pulled in. Should it be doing this? Ive tried turning the U/J by hand it rocks back and forth but wont turn 360 degrees again with or without the clutch pulled in. Ive tried the gear shift and it clonks down and clonks up fairly positively.


Any advice? :/

[m40man]

Jul 31, 2018 16:39:23 GMT trikebloke said:

.. Ive tried turning the U/J by hand it rocks back and forth but wont turn 360 degrees again with or without the clutch pulled in. Ive tried the gear shift and it clonks down and clonks up fairly positively.


Any advice? :/

I think this might just be sticking clutch plates, not uncommon if the bike has been left standing a while.

[crickleymal]

My twopennorth. I presume you have a multimeter so can check the voltage at different points down the chain. The starter is still ok? Can you measure voltage going to the starter switch? What about after it when you press the button? And so on down the chain. You should be able to hear the solenoid pull in, I would have thought, so is there voltage reaching it and is it grounded OK. Is there voltage reaching the main contacts of the solenoid and passing on out to the starter motor.

Sorry if you've checked all this.

Whereabouts are you?

[trikebloke]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

After much piddling about with different bits, I found out its the neutral switch disabling the starter, as I found out after unscrewing the connector to it and earthing it out.

I now have the bike turning over on the button, as it should, but the universal joint is still going round with/without the clutch lever pulled. (The rear wheel is currently off the bike)

So now the engine is turning over, I put the tank back on, put fresh petrol in and it wont fire. I checked the voltage on the black/blue wire from the main relay to the pump and 0 voltage when ignition on/engine cranking.

So I put 12v across the pump and its clicking/tapping. I disconnected the pipe from the pump to the carbs and put 12v across the pump and its pumping petrol out.

Any new ideas??

Thanks all.

[spike240]

Reading back through the thread leads me to believe the bike has been stood. As M40 man mentioned the clutch will be stuck together and will require freeing. There is a recent post covering this if you search. Also depending how long the bike has been standing the carbs will require cleaning - someone may be able to advise. Have you checked for a spark at the plugs. You have got it turning over on the button - now check for a spark, then check that fresh fuel is getting to the combustion chambers. Try and work methodically. If you have spark and fuel it should at least fire or splutter.
Good luck.

[trikebloke]

Hi mate.


Thanks for the input.



Im not overly worried about the possible clutch plates stuck at the moment as it will be a while yet before the drive is reconnected, so can look at that when ready.


Next step, Im planning on taking the airbox right off tomorrow and pouring a capful of petrol straight into the carbs, see if it tries to fire. Then, if it does fire briefly, I can look into why the pumps not working when it should be, if it doesn't try to fire then I will look at plugs/leads/coils etc.


Will keep you updated.

[trikebloke]

Once again, thanks for all the advice so far, im sure im gonna need a lot more yet. lol

Quick update....

As per my last post, I went out to the bike this morning, 

I took the tank off, took the air box off, poured a drop of fresh petrol down each of the carb ports, tried starting it, cranking over, but no sign of firing.

I took each coil off and cleaned up all the connections, just as a precaution.

Taken each plug out, one at a time and held it against the engine whilst pressing the start button, and low and behold, no spark, same for all four plugs.

Wheres the best place to look next? 

Thanks.

[trikebloke]

Quick question....

Whilst tinkering around checking fuses and relays, I pulled out 4U8-02 relay to check it, the one that's connected to the neutral switch, and the clutch handle switch, and I noticed that when checking the terminals of the unplugged relay, two of the terminals are showing continuity.

Am I right in thinking that it shouldn't be?

Thanks all.