Topic: Lost Electrics in the Middle of a Ride

[stackcollision]

I bought a totally unmolested '78 CB550 a few weeks ago and it's in beautiful condition.  Before selling it to me the previous owner replaced the battery and took it to a shop to have it looked over.  Everything seemed to be in working order.

This morning I drove it to work and everything was fine.  When I went to leave work I turned to key to On and no lights came on.  I turned it from Off to On a few times, and finally the lights lit up.  This probably should have been a warning sign to me, but I took it on a long ride anyway.  I figured that even if the battery was empty the kick starter should still work.

I got about 10 miles before the electrics up and quit at a stoplight.  I fiddled with the key like last time and it didn't help, and I had to push the bike to the side of the road.  The electric starter obviously didn't work, since there wasn't even enough power for the dash lights.  I put it in neutral and up on the center stand and tried to kick it over, but I didn't even hear any ignition followed by stalling.

The most frustrating part is that after paying for a tow to a shop I put the key in and the lights came right on.  Maybe wheeling it up onto the truck put a little juice back into the battery?

Any thoughts on what the problem could be?

[Don R]

Bad switch.

[DH]

Bad switch.

+1

[mrbreeze]

Most likely bad ignition switch but could also be a loose or dirty connection on a battery cable. Next time it does it do a wiggle test on the harness and/or like you did before.....wiggle the key around.

[Gene]

I had originally started a reply about a bad kill/run switch - but, you have NO lights.  Check your fuse connections and fuses.  Might just need some scrubbing - may need a new 15A.

[mrbreeze]

Gotta love intermittents. I had a battery totally quit last year but I wasn't far from home and I knew the battery was old. It blew the main fuse but replacing it did nothing. When I got it home it had a big fat zero volts. I put a brand new battery in and all was (and still is) golden. Electricity can be a beeatch sometimes!!!

[Bailgang]

Check ign switch and while you're at it check all your connections and make sure they're clean and I mean check/clean as many of them as you can get your hands on, I know it's tedious but those connections aren't getting any better with time and as old as our bikes are some may be worse than they appear and you may find your bike runs better after you've taken the time to clean them.

[martin99]

My 750 used to do this. Switch checked out fine, it was a poor/dirty connection at the plug that was the culprit.

[DH]

 

Gotta love intermittents. I had a battery totally quit last year but I wasn't far from home and I knew the battery was old. It blew the main fuse but replacing it did nothing. When I got it home it had a big fat zero volts. I put a brand new battery in and all was (and still is) golden. Electricity can be a beeatch sometimes!!!

When my 550's switch went, it was in the lot of the Honda dealer, while people,(including some of the mechanics)
came out just to see it. I felt about an inch tall. Then, before I even untied it from the bed of the truck at home,
the thing lit up the first time I tried it. It still took a while to finally chase down the culprit, connections, ground, etc.
Yup, intermittants can be a pain.

[stackcollision]

Thanks for the replies everyone, you're all incredibly helpful.  I checked for a lot of the things suggested above, and it looks like we have a winner in the very first reply:

Bad switch.

I probably wouldn't even have considered checking that, since the previous owner had replaced it only recently when he lost the key, so thank you.

[mrbreeze]

I'd bet he replaced it with an Emgo or some other cheap sh!t switch. Do yourself a favor and find a quality switch (OEM probably the best). It's well documented here that the Emgo brand is as useless as a screen door on a submarine. They can't take the load.