20 Most Recent 1981 Yamaha XJ 650 Questions & Answers

I had this problem last year. I was told by a reputable Yamaha service technician that I could "jump" the leads on the solenoid to unstick it. It worked. However, in retrospect, I wish I would have just replaced the solenoid, given that it is a relatively cheap component (~$40 new). Since then, I had the sticking and clicking problem again this past March right at the beginning of the season, and during my attempt to repeat the success, I shorted out the bike because I got careless about what my disconnected wires touched on the bike. Shame on me. So I'd recommend replacing the solenoid.

Starting doesn't go through the ignition switch it goes through the starter solenoid and the ignition switch controls that solenoid only about 5 amps.