Topic: New (to me) CB350F!

[Subotai]

Ok, so I just bought a CB350F and it's glorious. The bike is solid but there are just a couple finicky things that I want/need to address sooner than later in order to feel a bit safer while riding. All things (except one) relate to lights.

• The blinkers do not work. I know all lights work but blinking/turns don't do what they are supposed to. When I signal right, they light but don't blink. When signaling left, nothing. Any ideas on what the issue might be?
• I would also like these to stay lit all the time as running lights. I've heard that might be too much draw on the battery. True? Should I look into LED replacements? Any good kits out there for doing this? (I want it to look stock, just work w/ LEDs ideally.
• The taillight is only illuminated while braking. Is it supposed to act like a running light and have a higher lum for braking or am I missing something? Ideally, this would work as a running light/brake light also.
• The tach isn't working correctly. It is slow to respond and after riding a bit stays at about 4k regardless of revs. Could there be a short? Does it completely need to be replaced or could there possibly be a quick fix?
• Only have a right mirror (although they might fit onto either side fine). Anyone have a link to a cheap stock-looking mirror?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[mrfish2]

Not sure about your electrical troubles, more experienced members can chime in on those. As far as your tach it sounds like your cable is binding up somewhere. I'd start by replacing the cable and go from there.

[Flyin900]

I did a full restoration recently on a CB 350F and you should have a running light and brake light, so possibly one filament is burnt out or other electrical issues. With the signals acting up I would suggest that you get a service manual and start by trouble shooting/tracing the wiring circuits.
Depending on you level of electrical knowledge it really isn't that hard as these circuits are relatively straight forward.
For day time running lights on the front you will need to replace the front signal lights with a dual filament two wire light. I did that on my restoration and it was simple to wire into existing circuits inside the headlight.
I did a full removal and clean up of every switch component and every wire in the harness and reset the voltage regulator contacts back to factory specs. I upgraded the headlight to a 55/60 watt halogen bulb along with the day time running lights in the front signals and have no issues with the electrical system keeping up/charging.
I suspect the fact that I cleaned up every wire and circuit and I did the Hondaman dual relay mod for the headlight and I wired that directly to the battery may have helped the cause.

[carnivorous chicken]

Ok, so I just bought a CB350F and it's glorious. The bike is solid but there are just a couple finicky things that I want/need to address sooner than later in order to feel a bit safer while riding. All things (except one) relate to lights.

• The blinkers do not work. I know all lights work but blinking/turns don't do what they are supposed to. When I signal right, they light but don't blink. When signaling left, nothing. Any ideas on what the issue might be?
• I would also like these to stay lit all the time as running lights. I've heard that might be too much draw on the battery. True? Should I look into LED replacements? Any good kits out there for doing this? (I want it to look stock, just work w/ LEDs ideally.
• The taillight is only illuminated while braking. Is it supposed to act like a running light and have a higher lum for braking or am I missing something? Ideally, this would work as a running light/brake light also.
• The tach isn't working correctly. It is slow to respond and after riding a bit stays at about 4k regardless of revs. Could there be a short? Does it completely need to be replaced or could there possibly be a quick fix?
• Only have a right mirror (although they might fit onto either side fine). Anyone have a link to a cheap stock-looking mirror?

Thanks in advance for your help!

For blinkers, make sure your flasher unit is good, then check your connections and bulbs.

You can do LED replacements for blinkers, but you will need a different kind of flasher unit to make your blinkers work.

Your tail light should come on when your headlight is on. If not, check your connections and check your bulb. Because it is a 1973 or 1974, you have the option to turn off your head light and tail light. These things don't usually have the same kind of problems as earlier bikes with draw and you should be fine with these on at all times when riding. If not, check your stator output and your rect/reg.

Stock looking replacements can be had for pretty cheap, just keep looking...

[chewbacca5000]

If you blinkers light up when you put the switch on R or L, but don't blink then you need to make sure they are properly grounded.  They are either grounded with a green wire or by being bolted into the frame.  If they are loose that is your problem.

[carnivorous chicken]

I should also add: the wires from your blinkers are going to be black but with color coded bands around them (orange and blue) that will plug into the orange and blue wires for the front and rear blinkers. This has caused some confusion in the past...

Also: you hold your tach upside down and try dripping a little oil into it -- this sometimes helps free up or lube it enough to get it to work.

[Subotai]

This forum is awesome! Thank you all for the great responses. Going to get to work today!

[flybox1]

Go here and buy the good stuff from a forum member.
http://www.vinmoto.org/gallery/v/VinMoto-Garage/album03/Godfferys-Garage-123/Parts+and+service/

[Subotai]

For your tail light, look for the BROWN wire and be sure it's plugged and securely attached. The GREEN/YELLOW is the "BRAKE" wire. Solid GREEN is ground on Honda, everywhere. It could also simply be the bulb in the light fixure since the Brake light works.

So there are 2 bulbs in the brake light area? Hmmm, who knew! Thanks!

Correction: Or 2 filaments in the one bulb...

[Subotai]

To add some more info on the tail light issue... I see that I can get both filaments to light. If I brake, the brake light lights up great. If I turn the key past ignition, the headlight turns off and the tail lights shows (the other filament). So, I can confirm that it's getting power and the light works in both instances. Now, the million dollar question is:

How do I change it so that the running light is always on when the bike is running?
Thanks in advance.