Topic: Help!! Bike quit while riding, now no power.

[aaverett]

Hey everyone,

I don't know if this has already been talked about on here (I did a search and couldn't find anything). I just registered my bike today  (1974 Honda CB350F) after owning it for a year and was riding it to the post office when it quit on me while riding. I was getting the Safety inspection done on it this morning and left the light on after we went through the lights and was waiting to get rang up and it died. Completely. So the guy pulled out a battery and was able to jump it back to life after a couple minutes. So then it quit earlier while riding as mentioned above and I rolled it into Checker Auto Parts. I pulled the battery and they charged it for me inside the shop but it topped out at "74%" - there was also some acid that had leaked out of the top corner and had run down the inside of the battery box. Anyway, I took it out and threw it back in after the "74% charge" and still nothing. No lights, clicks, current sounds, or anything! I thought I would at least get lights off of a little charge,  or something, but I didn't. I just wanna legally ride my bike now! haha Please help. They quoted me a new battery for $45 but didn't want to buy a battery without doing a little research first. Thank you! I'm a noob.

-Austin S. Averett

[JamesM]

Get a new battery.

[Sdsbassist]

[Kickstart]

Get a new battery.

+1

Also, you may have blown a fuse while taking it out or putting back in... check your fuses.  That might explain why you're not getting anything now.

[aaverett]

Thank you for the replies!

Update: I pushed the heavy biotch home just barely and threw it on a trickle charger. The battery percentage was at 50% and was coming in at 12.1-14.6 volts and still nothing. A fuse problem was my second guess. I just pulled it and it looked fine.  that probably means it's something bigger. I read another post on here that said the solders behind the ignition can sometimes become defective, which I think could possibly be the case since it was doing the same exact thing after I got my safety inspection done and then just randomly connected after a few tries.  Any suggestions would be great! Hopefully it's not the rectifier or voltage regulator.

-Austin S. Averett

[Hush]

Buy a new battery! Four stroke 4 cylinder bikes need really really good voltage, testing the battery outside the bike isn't really good enough. New battery and perhaps you cure all your ills. Sounds like your old one is on the way out anyway, every bike I have ressurected has needed a new battery, they last about 3 years sometimes longer.
I find the sealed batteries best, the older liquid leaky ones can make a mess of your bike.

[2wheels]

I think you need a test meter to measure voltage.  Start at the battery and work your way through the wiring.


Also be sure to clean both large connectors that go onto the battery, with sand paper or a wire brush or something like that.

[trueblue]

Get yourself a new battery, my personal preference is an AGM battery.  The old style wet acid ones are best kept away from bikes, they leak and generally make a mess of things.

[Kickstart]

As others have mentioned... first get a new battery to rule that out (and based on what you've posted earlier, you need a new one anyway).

Then you can start troubleshooting your intermittent electrical problem.  When you said the bike was dead, was that the whole bike (no lights, blinkers, anything?) or was it just not starting?

[DJ_AX]

Sounds like the battery is old (more than a few years?) and unable to take a full charge...
and you ultimately killed it when you left the lights on.

+100 on getting a new battery.
Otherwise ... waste your time trying to find another problem.

...remember to turn off your lights

[aaverett]

As others have mentioned... first get a new battery to rule that out (and based on what you've posted earlier, you need a new one anyway).

Then you can start troubleshooting your intermittent electrical problem.  When you said the bike was dead, was that the whole bike (no lights, blinkers, anything?) or was it just not starting?

Yeah, no lights, blinkers, horn,  or anything. It's just 100% dead black. Thanks for the posts guys, I'll get that new battery and start from there!

[aaverett]

Hey guys,

So I bought a brand new AGM battery, put it into the motorcycle, aaaaaaand nothing. :S WTF! How could it be running perfectly and then self-destruct while riding like this?? I pulled the rubber thing off the back of the ignition to check the solders and they all looked fine. What could possibly be wrong? Any advise would be great! :/

-Austin S. Averett

[72500john]

do a continuity check of your ignition switch. i may have given up the ghost.

[aaverett]

I hooked up my charger to the battery and it was reading like 12.5v, so I turned the ignition to on and there was absolutely not change to the voltage, so I am assuming my ignition switch is it. I am a total noob.. How do I go about checking the continuity to just my ignition switch? Thanks a lot for the help!

-Austin S. Averett

[72500john]

remove the tank and the connector from the ignition switch harness. with a meter and the switch in the on position you should have continuity between the black and red wire and between the brown/white(stripped) and brown wire. switch side of the harness of course. set your meter to the x10 ohms scale. if all else fails and you do not have a meter jumper the said mentioned pins on the harness side. and see if it works/lights and such. hope this is the same as a 500 wiring, do not have it for a 350.

[scottly]

You said you pulled the fuse and it looked OK. Sometimes a fuse can fail and still look OK. If you have a spare fuse, try replacing it. In order to properly trouble-shoot your electrical problem, you will need some sort of multi-meter. From what I hear, you can pick up a cheap one at Harbor Freight for less than the price of a big-mac combo meal.

[aaverett]

I just went and grabbed one from my neighbor. Assuming I did it correctly, I have continuity in both sets of wires. Does it matter which "meter stick" goes to which wire or do I just stick either one on the end of either wire? I guess my next step will be getting a new fuse and trying that? I am so confused.

[scottly]

The "sticks" are called probes. Lets start simple: with the meter set to measure DC volts, place the black probe on the battery - post, and the red probe on the battery + post. What does the meter read? (If you're unsure how to set the meter, post a clear picture of the front of the meter and we can talk you through it)

[cameron]

ok, player... slow your roll.

Scottly gives good advice.. but if I were you, I would do this:

Take 30 minutes. An entire 30. And search this site on this problem. Use the google custom search bar on the main page.
If you run out of ideas.. search on "charging system" problems. This is just to familiarize yourself with things.

There are a number of tests, and a number of likely culprits that may be the thing here..... but that 30 minutes of reading will really elevate your overall satisfaction - and ours.. . so dont get excited and run off trying things.. just read.

Also- read this:
http://learn.adafruit.com/multimeters/continuity

THEN.. go look at your bike. Do whatever you want.

When all that is done.. come back.. and tell us what you know, and someone walk you through the next steps. You >SHOULD< be able to get pretty far on this problem without taking anything apart.

[aaverett]

I read the multimeter article and am now researching other threads on the forum.

Here is a tid bit of information that I maybe failed to mention. I changed my handlebars two weeks ago and ran the new wires through the handlebars, the same as the stock ones. So I was thinking maybe I did something with the rats nest inside of the headlamp that could have been the cause but didn't really think anything up there would be detrimental to the entire electrical system. Am I wrong? The bike was running great when I took it out the few times from then until now.

Checked the continuity on the 15 amp fuse under the seat and it's fine. Are there any other major fuses I should check? :S Sorry!

[scottly]

Did you check the continuity of the fuse with it removed from the fuse holder?

[Spanner 1]

First, never ride your bike without a spare fuse  ... also never ride your bike unless your sure your fuse holders are pristine shiny and grip each fuse tightly.... or your pushing it home 
In other words Scottly +1... and some.

[aaverett]

I did check the continuity of the 15 fuse under the seat, with it removed and it's golden. Does it matter which way the fuse goes in? It's really hard to pull out and pretty tough to push back in. I also checked the continuity of the black and red wires from the ignition switch to the battery with it on and the black has continuity but the red wire does not have continuity.. :S Gggr. I just want to ride her!

[Spanner 1]

Great !... now with the ign. switch 'on' do you have 12v ( or whatever your battery volts are ) at the Red wire @ ign. switch ( meter set on D.C. volts, lowest setting above 12v ) ? Do you also have the same voltage on the Black wire ( Ign. still 'on' ) ?

[scottly]

There are many ways to trouble-shoot a problem; all may be correct, but not where mixed. I prefer to initially make voltage, rather than continuity tests, especially with the type of issue presented here. You have already wasted money buying a battery you may have not needed, due to some dubious advice...