Topic: Electrical issue

[Fran Fitzpatrick]

Gentlemen,

     You all have provided great guidance in the past and I hope you can provide it again.  I have a 1978 CB750A that died on the side of the road.  The bike was running fine up until it just stopped running.  The electrical system just seemed to die.  The engine cut off along with the lighting system.  I tried trouble shooting on the side of the road but found no blown fuses, burnt wires, loose connections... Power still travels from the battery to the starter motor, I found this out when I touched the starter leads with a screwdriver. This afternoon I started to pulled the bike apart to trace wires, but soon realized I really don't understand electrical systems and may not recognize a problem if I seen one.  So in review... Bike running fine then all lights and engine cut out.  No blown fuses, burnt wires, loose connections.  Power still getting to starter motor.

Thanks,

      Fran Fitzpatrick

[raymond10078]

Some fuses can open (blow) on the ends, so you can't see the melted element.

Some fuses also have solder joint issues on the ends.

I'd start with the main fuse - make sure that it is good.  How you test the fuse depends on the tools you have available.  No tools, then temporarily jumper across the fuse (but don't try and run with the jumper in place as your system will have no protection).