only start when jumped

[suzu650]

First off, Im new here and had a question.

I went and put a deposit on a 83 suzuki 650 today ($50) and was going to bring him the rest when i picked the bike up.

It turned over fine, but he claimed it was out of gas so he filled it up and said he would need to jump it too. Why??? it was turning over fine just didnt start up. started right up when he jumped it. what is the problem here?

[omaharj]

Hello and welcome! Some tech gurus will be along to help soon. I just wanted to say hi. I have a 650 myself RJ

[wazz]

May be something as simple as a bad ground....

[Calvin Blackmore]

could be a simple draine dbattery issue.
could be low compression combined with messed up carburetion.

simple test is make him put a new battery in to prove it will start normally.

you could use jumper cables off a car battery e.g.

if it wont crank start then I would walk away.
unless he is giving it away and you have the time to put inot refurbishing it.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. suzu650,

Why does it need a jump?

1) Dead battery
2) Defective battery
3) Bad ground connections
4) Unhealthy charging system (would lead to a dead battery)
5) Corroded electrical connections all through the wiring harness (adds resistance causing less voltage at the coils, etc)

This is by no means an exhaustive list.

If the bike is not in "push the button and ride" condition, we call it a "project bike". Be prepared to sink time and money into it to get it back to serviceable condition. We can help. Just know that there are a lot of systems that will have to be checked, cleaned, adjusted, parts replaced, etc. There's more information in the two links below in your "mega-welcome". Knowledge is power. It's how I say, "Howdy!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Macguyver]

Greetings

Greetings,

Welcome to the 650 club!

If the battery is ok, then it may be a bad charging circuit, but let's think positively and hope it is only a bad ground, my 650 was doing the same thing when I got it, until I removed and cleaned all of the grounds.

If you do purchase the bike, the next step after checking battery condition is to clean the grounds. If you are proficient with cleaning grounds, you can ignore the rest of the post. I am feeling "typy" tonight, so here's a quick write-up if you may need some guidance on the general procedures.

Get yourself a few supplies first off. You will need:
-a spray can of electrical contact cleaner or a can of brake cleaner
-a tube of dielectric grease, it's also available in a pressurized can
-anti-sieze compound
-some fine sanding sponge, 3M makes great ones
-rags, lots of rags (ok, maybe 1 or 2 worn out T-shirts, white if possible)

Loosly wrap a rag around the ignition cylinder, and put one underneath it if you can, and spray some electrical contact cleaner in the ignition switch using the little red straw, let it sit while you remove and clean the engine ground using the sanding sponge.

Get the metal shiny on the wire end and the contact area on the engine. You can mask off around it with a couple layers of masking tape if you don't want to scratch the engine if the paint is good on it.

Apply about a pea sized portion of dielectric grease onto the contact end, and spread it evenly over the contact. Gloves recommended, but not necessary if you use a q-tip or keep your hands clean.

Here's where the sanding sponge really shines. Grab a hold of the threads on the bolt you removed to get the ground off with the sanding sponge on both sides and pretend like you are unthreading the bolt from the sponge.

This will clean the threads, and not damage them. The sponge will be forced to the bottom of the threads when you hold the bolt, and when you thread it "out", it acts like a soft file, and will make the threads shine!
Put a little anti-seize on the thread, and reattach the ground using the bolt.

Re-spray the ignition for a good 5-10 seconds, open up the right hand controls and clean the contact pads inside with the sanding sponge. Once again, we are going for shiny! Apply a similar amount of dielectric grease in here, and make sure all of the contacts are covered. Reassemble the controls.

Remove and clean one fuse at a time from the fuse box, and clean the fuse holder contacts too, making sure to apply a light skim of dielectric grease on the fuse contacts, and on the fuse holder contacts. Reinstall the fuse and proceed on to the next one until all are clean.

Spray a bit more contact cleaner into the ignition, maybe for a few seconds, it should be pretty clean in there by now. Check the rag you put under it to see the color of the crud that came out. If it isn't running out clean yet, respray as needed. Once clean, work some dielectric grease in there, it will grease the mechanism and keep it clean in there.

Next up are the battery connections, remove the wires from the battery and scrub them with the sanding sponge, or some 120 grit sandpaper(faster), grease them, and put them back on.

Follow the black wire off of the regulator/recifier, unfasten it, clean it, grease it, and reattach. Consider running a new black wire from the same grounding point, right to the battery negative.

Here is where you have to choose how in-depth you want to go with initial contact cleaning. The previous steps should get you going in a pinch, and I am sure others will jump in if I missed anything, but it is almost mandatory to clean all of the connections on the bike. This will save you many headaches later on down the road. Especially with charging issues.

You can expect to spend at least a few hours, to possibly an entire afternoon seperating all of the connections on the bike, cleaning and greasing them. Depending on how easily they come apart, and wether or not repairs or replacement connectors are needed.

I have replaced all of the original bullet style connectors on my bike with weatherproof ones, it can costs a tidy sum, but is definitely worth it in the long run.

Hope this helps, and post pics of your bike! We all love looking at pretty pictures.

[suzu650]

Thanks for the welcome and help guys. I have a maxim 550 that I bought for 50. I cleaned the carbs, new battery and clutch reservoir/line, and tinkered with the brakes a little and it runs great now. I was going to bobber that bike but it was in too good of condition, so i think I will bobber this one.

The guy I'm purchasing it from said he rode it all last summer and fall, which i believe. So im sure it cant be too serious of an issue.

I am not too worried about it at all. I will keep you guys updated. I am picking it up this weekend but will not be able to work on it until my spring break(the 12th) as I am at college.


holy writup! THANKS!

[Macguyver]

I am not too worried about it at all. I will keep you guys updated. I am picking it up this weekend but will not be able to work on it until my spring break(the 12th) as I am at college.


holy writup! THANKS!

You are welcome,
Hope you enjoy your 650 as much as I enjoy mine. We share knowledge like it's going out of style around here, so feel free to ask any questions you may have. All that is asked in return is that you share some pictures of your new project when you get a chance.

Best of luck,

[Steve]

All that is asked in return is that you share some pictures of your new project when you get a chance.

And don't wait until you are done to get those pictures.

We like before AND after.

.

[gggGary]

I'm with you no worries ,you now have a GS group approved Service tech write up trouble shooting guide to boot. What could go wrong? That is an example of the perfect used bike. It runs but really made the owner look bad in front of a buyer. Easy fix and the price was dropping like a prom dress at 1AM.

[1_v8_merc]

Atleast your previous owner wasnt using starter fluid to start the bike, like mine did!

I was kind of shocked, but i wanted to trade my old car really badly.
Plus the bike was in pretty good shape, and ran good.

All it needed was fresh gas, and new spark plugs, and it fired up on it's own.


The ignorance and stupidity of some people is beyond me.....

------
I also have a slight Starter problem sometimes....90% of the time the switch works, but every once in a while, it does nothing.

I've already had to push start the bike a couple times, because the battery wasn't holding a charge.

I bought a new charger at wal-mart for like $20 or so, battery holds perfect now.

[Macguyver]

------
I also have a slight Starter problem sometimes....90% of the time the switch works, but every once in a while, it does nothing.

Pull apart the right hand switch, my buddy's maxim was doing the same, the contacts had worn through, so most of the time they would "wiggle" enough on the button press to work, but every now and then, the stars and the contacts would align so that contact met air instead of matching contact.

I made a new set of contacts from a couple copper box staples. Easily twice as think as original contacts, same width, works perfect every time now.

[recycled64]

Car jump

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it inadvisible to jump from a car battery? Thought I'd read that here on a couple of occasions. I've jumped a bike to a car, to boost the car's weak battery, but I thought the
amp difference could cause problems going the other way.

[Calvin Blackmore]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it inadvisible to jump from a car battery? Thought I'd read that here on a couple of occasions. I've jumped a bike to a car, to boost the car's weak battery, but I thought the
amp difference could cause problems going the other way.

as long as the car isnt running it should not be a problem.

[BassCliff]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it inadvisible to jump from a car battery? Thought I'd read that here on a couple of occasions. I've jumped a bike to a car, to boost the car's weak battery, but I thought the
amp difference could cause problems going the other way.

Hi,

It's OK, as long as the car IS NOT running when you jump the bike.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff