Topic: HELP CB550 won't start

[sohc_this]

Hey guys,

I'm having no luck trying to start my bike. It was running perfectly fine but has been sitting for about a month, last week I broke my turn signal so I had it replaced and all my lights were working just fine. I want to let it be known that I did not start the bike, only turned on power to ensure that all the lights were working. This weekend I replaced my stator cover and now I have zero power. My push start does literally nothing, I hot wire jumped the bike and it was running, but this is obviously not ideal or a solution. My battery seems fine and is less than a year old lithium ion Anti-Gravity battery. I can't understand why it will run, the stator spins, and the battery seem to all have power. I'm doing a terrible job at explaining this problem but I don't understand what the problem could be considering all I have done is replace the stator cover and a turn signal. Yes I have checked the fuses and they are not blown. Could it be that the stator is not grounding out properly? or maybe something wrong with my reg/rec? I'm using a Rick's Motorsports combo. As I said before, the bike was running perfectly fine before this. I know usually the first thing to look for it the last thing you touched but I simply am baffled. Any help would be great, thanks guys.

[Stev-o]

If you "hot wired" the starter switch, then the issue points to the switch.
Is it possible a connection was compromised when the signal was changed out?
Did you check all connections in the headlight bucket??

[Richard L]

Hi
Your explanation is a little confusing, however I have a 550 and have had similar problems.
 I think the switch  is not your the problem I would look at the Starter solenoid, these can be fine today and left a period fail.
Bypassing the switch can give the solenoid a direct boost and make it work.
Check the Green and Red / Yellow and Red wire connection to the solenoid.
Regards
Richard   

[eigenvector]

Not much is needed to start the bike.  You don't need the push button to start it.  You need the key switch to work, the run switch to work, I think the clutch switch needs to work, then you need the starter to work.

I'd start with your black wires.  You were fiddling around up there, they're the most likely to get jostled and whatnot.

[LesterPiglet]

Make sure you haven't nipped any wires when you replaced that cover.

[sohc_this]

Hey Guys,

Just a little update on my previous issue, as well as a new problem to tackle. It looks like the aftermarket finned stator cover was using extended allen bolts. I cut down the ends so it would sit flush and didn't think much of it. Well, it looks like they weren't cut short enough because they were touching the stator through the cover and thus grounding out and not allowing me to start to the bike. I took the bolts out, inserted washers to allow more clearance and BOOM! We had life... For a while. I rode the bike from my parents to my apartment and decided to head out to pick up a bottle to celebrate. I was about 5 minutes in the store, came back out to start the bike and nothing. I'm again not getting any power, lights, push start... Absolutely dead. I'm curious if you guys think that the stator is not charging, or if I possibly shorted out the reg/rec when the exciter coil grounded out. I don't have a lot of tools at my place and would greatly appreciate educated opinions. Here's a latest pic of the bike as well.

Thanks in advance,

Ryan

[sohc_this]

UPDATE: Reg/Rec was not the issue, tried with a new electrosport reg/rec combo and the battery still doesn't remain charged. Does anyone know the stator tests I can perform to see if it needs to be rewound or the field coil is dead?

Thanks,

Ryan

[Stev-o]

UPDATE: Reg/Rec was not the issue, tried with a new electrosport reg/rec combo and the battery still doesn't remain charged. Does anyone know the stator tests I can perform to see if it needs to be rewound or the field coil is dead?

Thanks,

Ryan

Click the link for some great diagnostic info.  Is your battery good?

http://www.oregonmotorcycleparts.com/FAQ.html

[Spanner 1]

Looks like you mashed those long bolts into the stator and broke the windings... bummer
= no charging = battery dead after 20 mins. of riding. Connect a voltmeter across the battery and see what voltage you get at 2K, 3K, 5K rpm... should max. out at about 14.5v if the charging system is good ...

[sohc_this]

Pulled everything off and took a good look at the stator, looks like I had a crack in the wiring leading to the winding. I'm almost positive this was causing an arch and not allowing a charge. I'm going to have it rewound and repaired. Keep you guys updated, thanks tor the help!

[sohc_this]

Hey guys,

So i found that two of the wires in my stator male end plug were hanging on by a thread and not even connected. I fixed that issue, fired up the bike and ran a multimeter over the battery to test voltage. I got 13.5 and it went up when i was holding a rev at about 2K RPM. I went for a ride and my battery blew up, leaving me stranded for a good hour and a half. I'm at my wits end with this bike, especially all the charging system issues i've been having. Does anybody know why the battery would over charge like this? I'm running an Ani Gravity 12 cell lithium ion battery, electrosport reg/rec combo, and the stator is working properly as far as I can tell. Please help!

Thanks,

Ryan

[Restoration Fan]

The regulator is responsible for making sure the battery doesn't overcharge.  So if the battery went bad, it points to a regulator problem. 

Now that your stator was actually dumping electricity back into the engine (as shown by your statement that it was going above 13.5 when you had RPM's over 2000), if your regulator doesn't turn off the flow when the battery is full, it will cause overcharging of the battery. 

Initially, your problem was that the stator you replaced wasn't properly connected so it wasn't recharging the battery.  Then, it appears (to me, at least) your regulator/rectifier must have been damaged and didn't stop the flow and it then overcharged your battery.