Topic: Broke down in Utah

[fatmatt650]

So I was riding along and suddenly the electrical died
 No lights, no ignition, nothing. Fuses are good, no power at the fuse box. Only place I'm finding power is at the starter solenoid. After futzing around for a bit I found that if I ran power from the battery to a disconnected orange/white female wire up by the headlight the bike will run but it bypasses the key switch, kill switch still works and now the left turn signal also functions as a kill switch. I'm gonna head on to SLC like this and keep my fingers crossed. Any suggestions? 1976 cb750f

[scottly]

Matt, run a jumper between the starter solenoid post and the black regulator wire. This will bypass both the fuse box and the key switch. Remove the jumper to shut the system off.

[fatmatt650]

Thanks Scott. I just noticed I have power at the fuse box plug but not at the fuses so I assume I've got a bad connection in the fuse box.

[fatmatt650]

That's with the green and white wires, right?

[scottly]

You might also try running the jumper to the battery side of the main 15 amp fuse: this would allow the fuse to still provide protection and the key switch to operate normally.

[scottly]

That's with the green and white wires, right?

Correct

[fatmatt650]

Yeah. Jumping to the battery side of the fuse seems best. Keeps everything intact. The fuse box is one of the fee things I didn't strip off my parts bike before I sold it, Doh!

[fatmatt650]

You called it on the condenser Scott. Started losing power out in the middle of nowhere halfway to SLC. Popped a spare one in and off I went.

[scottly]

Did the one that failed have a logo like a three-blade propeller?
(picture courtesy of CycleRanger)

[fatmatt650]

That's the one.

[scottly]

What about the new one?

[fatmatt650]

What about the new one?

Hah! That's the funny thing. I put the old, crushed one back on because I knew it worked when pulled. I still have another daiichi as a back up in case that goes. After all the electrical issues I've been having on this trip I'm getting pretty stressed out every time I hit bumps or wind gusts, I keep thinking it's something else making lose power. It's been running well since I swapped out that condenser though. Thanks for the advice.

[scottly]

Has your gas mileage gone up since we re-timed the ignition?