Topic: Trying to start for the first time since ripping apart..no luck

[robdrobd]

Ok folks, I have a new battery, plugs,  and have good voltage all over the place but the bike has been sitting unstarted for over a year now. The thing turns over like there is no tomorrow, but will not fire. Is there something I can do to get it to fire so I can hear it run, or am I missing something? Is there a safety feature that honda built in that needs to be in place before it will start? Oh, 1975, cb550f.

[scunny]

new fuel ?  try some starter fluid.

[jacquesleclochard]

Remove the air inlet rubbers from your carbs and squirt in some WD40 and start again. That'd burn. If that works, you'll need to check the fuel injection.

[Pirate Gonzo]

Do you have spark to your new plugs?

[robdrobd]

Beats me. How would I know if there is spark?

[redbullssg]

  Three main ingredients, Air, Fuel, Spark...  It is possible that you are having an Air problem since it has been sitting, and especially if you still have an air box.  Make sure it isn't full of mouse nests.  This happened on another bike I had.  I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't start, I checked it out, and the box was full to the top with dog food, LOL.  If that isn't it, make sure your fuel delivery system isn't obstructed.  The most common thing is Spark.  Pull one of your spark plug wires and stick a spark plug in it, and rest it on a metal part of the motor.  Turn your motor over, are you getting a nice blue spark?  If so, then you could still be having a fuel problem, if not, then it is either your kill switch ( malfunctioning or off) or your points are dirty, or a wire has been severed.  
  There is another thing, but you said it was running before you put it away, so I doubt if you developed a compression problem.  If you don't have good compression, like 100psi or more, it will either run like crap or not run at all....

[robdrobd]

Compression is great, and I just went through every wire on the thing. The plugs are new, but I guess I will check for spark. Would the throttle need to be opened at all?

[robdrobd]

Ok, I didn't top off the tank so I switched over to the reserve to see if it woul get the gas flowing. Well, gas flew out of carb number 4 (right carb while seated.) Now what? I stunk up the garage and no start yet?

[Scott S]

 It's possible you've fouled a plug or plugs. Have you checked for spark yet?
 Pull the plug on the cylinder that had the overflowing carb and make sure it's not wet with gas.
 Did you check the points gap? Do the points need filing?

 If you have spark, try spraying starting fluid in from the air box. Use the straw that comes with the fluid and spray it towards/into the throat of each carb and then try the starter pretty quickly.
 
 Check your voltage. Is the battery fully charged?

[robdrobd]

Ok, I had one float that needed adjusting, but that's not the problem. I pulled all the plugs and none of them appear to have been fired at all. They look like they did when I removed them from the package. I'm no mechanic, so what's the problem now, and the best place to start?

[redbullssg]

They could be sparking and still look new if you just put them in.  Do what I said in an earlier post.  It is the easiest way to KNOW that you are getting spark.  If you have an extra spark plug, just pull one of the boots and plug the spare in, rest or hold the metal body of the spark plug against the motor and turn the motor over, either you are going to get a nice blue spark, or orange one, or none at all.  It should be BLUE.  If you don't have an extra spark plug, pull one out from the motor and do the same as above....  You need to know if for sure you are getting spark....  If you are, then you know that it is a carb issue.  If you aren't you know it is an ignition problem.  I listed just about everything you need to know above to get you going....

[robdrobd]

Ok, took out a plug and pressed it against the engine case and pressed the start button. No spark. Does the master cylinder or another element need to be wired and installed for the bike to start? Right now my whole front end is a ball of wires. Does a front brake need to hooked up as a safety feature?

[Scott S]

 The master cylinder doesn't have to be installed, but there are lots of wires in the headlight bucket. Any one of them being unhooked could be your problem.
 Do you have a wiring diagram? The coils may not be hooked up or grounded, etc. The kill switch could be off. How are you turning it over? Kicking or electric?

[robdrobd]

The master cylinder doesn't have to be installed, but there are lots of wires in the headlight bucket. Any one of them being unhooked could be your problem.
 Do you have a wiring diagram? The coils may not be hooked up or grounded, etc. The kill switch could be off. How are you turning it over? Kicking or electric?

I am using the electric start. The starter is turning like a champ, and the coils worked great before so I think it is something else. I haven't hooked up the headlight or anything yet so there is a bunch of disconnected wires that would normally reside inside the headlight, but according to the wiring diagram I don't think any would effect the bike firing up. I will double check all of the connections to the points right now to make sure they are tight with no shorts. I have waited a year for this day to come and now the bike won't start. What a bummer.

[robdrobd]

Just got done checking the wires that reside in the little bulb near the battery (points and front stop switch wiring.) When I pulled the wires out, the yellow points wire was just hanging there. I don't know if it was disconnected the entire time, or if I disconnected it when I pulled out the group of wires. In either case, I can't try to start the bike right now because my wife and kids are asleep right above me Guess I will have to wait until morning (I probably won't sleep a wink.)

PS- the stop switch wire isn't hooked up at all, could this have any relation to starting? It is a green/yellow wire and a black wire.

[redbullssg]

  Yes, the stop switch "KILL SWITCH" needs to be wired, if it isn't making a complete circuit, it will cut all the power to the coils.  Also, if the 12v leads to the coils aren't hooked up, it will not fire the coils.  As for the Kill Switch, it doesn't necessarily have to be wired to the switch, as long as the two wires that would be going to it, make the completed circuit. 

[Zaipai]

Make sure you have as many of the wires as you can correctly connected on the wiring harness. The black wire from the Emergency Switch goes in (under the tank I believe) so that black wire needs the rest of that circuit to be complete.

GL hope she fires up for you.

.: Scott :.

[robdrobd]

 Yes, the stop switch "KILL SWITCH" needs to be wired, if it isn't making a complete circuit, it will cut all the power to the coils.  Also, if the 12v leads to the coils aren't hooked up, it will not fire the coils.  As for the Kill Switch, it doesn't necessarily have to be wired to the switch, as long as the two wires that would be going to it, make the completed circuit.  

Ok, let me ask one more question. The kill switch wires in the area of of the headlight need to connect to the three way joint of the master cylinder for the circuit to be complete? Here is a pic of what I am talking about. If I throw this joint on the bike and hook up the green/yellow and the black to it I will have spark? I don't have to hook up the MC though, right? It is the only thing related to the stop switch that isn't wired yet. I tried to circle the connection I am referring to in the pic.

[Zaipai]

Well if you look over the wiring diagram, the black wire coming off the kill switch connects to a black wire that heads back tword the battery. The stop switch you reference should only effect the stop light and not the kill switch.. However you are correct, you should not need the MC to be hooked up when you plug in the wires to the stop switch you pointed out.

Note: You should also make sure your Blue and Yellow wires are connected to the points correctly. That one bit me when I was trying to get mine started. The wires were not connected correctly so they shorted out the circuit and left me with no spark. All I had to do was put the ends so they were connected to the points and not touching the plate the points where on..

.: Scott :.

[robdrobd]

Ok, I took the points cover off and there was spark between the points so I tried to start it again. This time I got a couple of deep putt putts out of the muffler! Of course I killed the battery trying to get it to finally fire up. Everything seemed to be in order. Why would it almost fire this morning, but not even be close yesterday? Do I have a short somewhere?

[Scott S]

 Item #2 in your diagram is just a pressure switch. It turns on the brake light when you pull the lever/activate front brakes.

 Charge your battery. It probably won't start with low voltage.

 Do this:
 -Kick bike over 2-3 times with kill switch/key off
 -spray a little starter fluid into carb throats
 -Turn on petcock and key/kill switch
 -kick again

 Try kicking to start it. Your leg may get tired, but if you kill the battery with the electric starter it'll never start. Be sure the battery is charged. Do you have a trickle charger?

[robdrobd]

Need to pick up some starter fluid. My kicker is tough! Lots if compression. I'll end up with a sore ankle for sure

[robdrobd]

Well, with a charged up battery and a little starter fluid she started right up. However, she doesn't stay running at all. The carbs have been professionally cleaned, but the throttle and other adjustments haven't been touched in years. Any idea where to start to get this bike to STAY running and idle?

[Scott S]

Idle air screws 1.5 turns out. Have someone close by to adjust the idle stop screw once it starts.
 What position is your choke in?

[robdrobd]

You might as well be speaking Japanese. Where are the idle screws? I messed with the choke in almost every position until it fired up. No clue where it was, but I am assuming I want no choke at all when its running well, right?