Topic: Bike is still dead after battery recharge.

[felicious]

Hi,

Total bike noob here. I have a 1978 CB550 that I tried to start with the kickstarter as the battery was pretty much dead (lots of short rides at the moment). It died on me pretty quickly as the choke didn't work properly (choke cable is broken). When I tried to kickstart it again, I ended up dropping it. So much about the embarrassing part of my story.
I removed the battery as the bike wouldn't show any signs of life anymore, to fully charge it with a trickle charger. The battery is now fully charged again (according to my brand new charger), but the bike still shows no signs of life.

I don't have a multimeter until tomorrow so I can't trace the problem.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Felix

[kghost]

Check the fuses for starters.....

[USCG_C130]

also this happened to me and i learned the hard way NOT to buy a cheapo battery from batteries plus, now i only buy YUASA batteries, but any ways when you get your multi meter and put it on the battery it is possible that it will read full then kick on you ignition or lights or anything to put a load on the battery and see what it reads, i charged mine and it appeared good, as soon as i put a load on it it dropped to like .33 volts. just a tip in case if reads full without a load

[Johnie]

Welcome to the forum...agreed on the battery issue. I had a new battery from Batteries Plus that showed volts on my meter, but would not product any amps. The thing was dead. All my bikes also sport a new YUASA now too. Like kghost said, check the fuses. And don't just look in the fuse glass. Good idea to change out those old fuses as they can break in areas you can not see. Also check for corrosion on the fuse contacts. Once you have that all sorted and working we can move on from there. Can you give us a little history on the bike. When was it run last, mileage, etc. Is it all stock or did the previous owner butcher the wiring? And we really like pics too.

[nccb]

Hi,

Total bike noob here. I have a 1978 CB550 that I tried to start with the kickstarter as the battery was pretty much dead (lots of short rides at the moment). It died on me pretty quickly as the choke didn't work properly (choke cable is broken). When I tried to kickstart it again, I ended up dropping it. So much about the embarrassing part of my story.
I removed the battery as the bike wouldn't show any signs of life anymore, to fully charge it with a trickle charger. The battery is now fully charged again (according to my brand new charger), but the bike still shows no signs of life.

I don't have a multimeter until tomorrow so I can't trace the problem.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Felix

Just in case, check and make sure you turned your kill switch to "on."  Its happened. . .

[jneuf]

Are any of the indicator lights coming on when you switch the key? (i.e. neutral light, oil light, etc...)

If not, check the 15a fuse.

[bollingball]

Hi,

Total bike noob here. I have a 1978 CB550 that I tried to start with the kickstarter as the battery was pretty much dead (lots of short rides at the moment). It died on me pretty quickly as the choke didn't work properly (choke cable is broken). When I tried to kickstart it again, I ended up dropping it. So much about the embarrassing part of my story.
I removed the battery as the bike wouldn't show any signs of life anymore, to fully charge it with a trickle charger. The battery is now fully charged again (according to my brand new charger), but the bike still shows no signs of life.

I don't have a multimeter until tomorrow so I can't trace the problem.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Felix

What type of battery is it? Did you lose any fluid when it fell? Care to tell what caused it to fall was it in gear or what? From what little I know about your bike and the type of riding you do your going to need that charger just about every night. I would think it can be made to work a lot better than it is with some good cleaning and checking of the charging system. Has any thing been changed from stock on the electrical system? Headlight? The more we know about your bike the more we can help.

Ken

[TwoTired]

An engine obeys all the laws of physics, and needs four things; fuel, air, compression, and spark properly timed

If it doesn't run, you need to find what is missing.

There is no magic required.  Just a methodical collection of reliable data about the machine.

[strynboen]

chinese batteries work fine for mee.. have them on all my bikes..even the cbx..have no problems

[felicious]

Thanks for everyone's help.
Let me shed some light one some of the questions:

- no indicator lights at all right now. was all fine before the 'drop'. bike was in neutral when I dropped it for the kickstarter.
- the bike was running fine until that day
- 30XXX miles and mostly stock. I would say any part that matters is still stock.
- the switch was on when I tried to start it up
- I have to check the battery. supposedly I was just replaced (according to PO). looks new.

If you want my gut feeling:
Something happened when the bike dropped or I made a mistake hooking up the battery.
The bike seemed fine until the day I dropped it (dramatic music).

I'm going to double check no.2 in the next hour or so by taking out the battery and putting it back in.

Thanks again,
Felix

[felicious]

Oh and I spilled gas when I dropped it. I would say a coffee mug full of it maybe?

Felix

[strynboen]

pull the fuse box..and thek the back side..korosion can eat it up from behind..and it still looks fine from autside

[TwoTired]

If you connected the battery with wrong polarity, even if briefly, almost certainly the wire harness is burned up somewhere.

Find the rectifier, if the red and green wires on it are scorched, they will have to be replaced along with whatever wires they touched.  Better test the rectifier, as well.

[felicious]

Ok I found the problem. The 15 amp main fuse's head came off when I checked the fuses (it was already partially off).
Got a new one and it's all good. Thanks for everyone's help.

The PO used a 30 amp one instead of 15 amps. Any idea why?

[Johnie]

He either did not have a 15 amp or was having trouble with it blowing and put the 30 amp in...not a good idea unless you want to fry something....like the wiring.

[bollingball]

Ok I found the problem. The 15 amp main fuse's head came off when I checked the fuses (it was already partially off).
Got a new one and it's all good. Thanks for everyone's help.

The PO used a 30 amp one instead of 15 amps. Any idea why?

Yes he is an idiot
Ken

[bollingball]

Just the more reason to check through everything and clean it up.
Ken

[felicious]

Yes I agree. I'm a total newbie so I'm still learning how to check my own bike.

[Bob Wessner]

Ok I found the problem. The 15 amp main fuse's head came off when I checked the fuses (it was already partially off).
Got a new one and it's all good. Thanks for everyone's help.

The PO used a 30 amp one instead of 15 amps. Any idea why?

Yes he is an idiot
Ken

The same people put pennies in the old home fuse boxes when they blew a fuse. 

[kghost]

Check the fuses for starters.....

Ok I found the problem. The 15 amp main fuse's head came off when I checked the fuses (it was already partially off).
Got a new one and it's all good. Thanks for everyone's help.

The PO used a 30 amp one instead of 15 amps. Any idea why?

Glad you know where they are at and got it sorted

[TwoTired]

Ok I found the problem. The 15 amp main fuse's head came off when I checked the fuses (it was already partially off).
Got a new one and it's all good. Thanks for everyone's help.

The PO used a 30 amp one instead of 15 amps. Any idea why?

If any of the plastic around the holder clip is melted, it is likely because the clip failed to be properly cleaned bright and shiny, and the std. fuse was melting due to the heat generated there.  A larger fuse takes more heat to melt.  But, it's like putting a band aid on a bullet hole.  The problem is still there and the fuse block will just get worse over time and then melt in rush hour traffic on a bridge with no turn outs.

[bollingball]

Ok I found the problem. The 15 amp main fuse's head came off when I checked the fuses (it was already partially off).
Got a new one and it's all good. Thanks for everyone's help.

The PO used a 30 amp one instead of 15 amps. Any idea why?

Yes he is an idiot
Ken

The same people put pennies in the old home fuse boxes when they blew a fuse. 

At least he didn't use a 22 long rifle 

[strynboen]

a sharp 22..then you can hear when it blow

[gto_ron]

Glad you found the problem.  Don't feel bad about the mistakes.  Every Forum member is an expert at something; so are you.  You just need to detemine what your specialty is.  We were all newbies at one time.

regards

Ron

[felicious]

Yes. Next thing is going to be an oil change.
My first one ever. Haha