mudcedes2k Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 So it warmed up enough today for me to try to start the toys. Got a can of starter fluid, charged the battery and tried to start the Maxim. It was cranking and firing off starter fluid but just wouldn't get to idle on its own. After a few tries it just quit responding to the "start" button. It wasn't a gradual quit, just stopped at once. I push it and the headlight dims but it doesn't attempt to turn the motor. No sound. I also noticed that when I flip the kill switch I don't hear the little "click" right now that I usually hear. I'm guessing I fried something but don't know much about motorcycle ignitions or wiring. I checked the fuse box and there are 4 fuses in there, one is ignition and doesn't look fried. Guess I could swap it with another to verify it's okay but other than that what is the typical issue here? Some type of relay? Sorry if this has been covered hundreds of times here, sometimes searching gives too many unrelated results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted February 6, 2009 Moderator Share Posted February 6, 2009 Try charging the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted February 6, 2009 Moderator Share Posted February 6, 2009 Definitely make sure your battery is sorted 1st..... Then move onto the fuses If symptoms persist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudcedes2k Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 The battery was fully charged, the fuses are good. I actually had the charger on the battery (only on 2 amps) while I was trying to start it, maybe this fried something? I'm thinking it's the starter solenoid, is there a way to test the solenoid or bypass it and jump the starter directly from the battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bralkan Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 The battery was fully charged, the fuses are good. I actually had the charger on the battery (only on 2 amps) while I was trying to start it, maybe this fried something? I'm thinking it's the starter solenoid, is there a way to test the solenoid or bypass it and jump the starter directly from the battery? Unplug the starter motor's positive cable from the solenoid and touch it to the battery. It will turn the motor if its not dead. Does the solenoid click when you hit the starter? It should if its in working order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudcedes2k Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Unplug the starter motor's positive cable from the solenoid and touch it to the battery. It will turn the motor if its not dead. Does the solenoid click when you hit the starter? It should if its in working order. No click when I hit the start button, the headlight dims a little (like normal) and that's all. Also, the kill switch used to click when I'd flip it and now I don't hear that at all either. I'll try to bypass the solenoid tomorrow and see if that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbaszxs400 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 No click when I hit the start button, the headlight dims a little (like normal) and that's all. Also, the kill switch used to click when I'd flip it and now I don't hear that at all either. I'll try to bypass the solenoid tomorrow and see if that works. I had a similar situation with my 81 XS400. Turns out the starter had a something hanging it up, and it wouldn't turn. Pressing the starter button would only draw current and eventually kill my already weak battery. I had to pull the starter to confrim that it was jammed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted February 10, 2009 Moderator Share Posted February 10, 2009 if its jammed, try rocking the bike in gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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