Electrical problems ?

crazypj

crazypj

Split personality, I fake being smart
Nope, don't have any.
I'm just wondering how and why everyone else is having so much trouble?
Changing generators, coils, ignition, awful lot of faulty stuff?
I really don't think I'm that lucky to have the only old bikes without any problems?
I have 3 XS560's and they do have a generator rotor issue, but, I've only had one fail and it was well over 30 yrs old
Honda permanent magnet and Suzuki EMS, no problems
I'm beginning to think people are causing their own problems?
Battery isn't going to last forever but I have had 5~7 years out of most of mine (except in pick up, even Sears sells crappy batteries now, the 84 month battery only lasted 21 months >:( )
 
PJ, I own an MG in addition to my CB350F... And I have to say, I will take vintage Jap electrics problems over the Prince of Darkness, any freaking day.

That being said, some folks are just plain unlucky.
 
I think that there are a lot of people who don't know where to begin when it comes to diagnosing electrical problems, and they end up replacing a lot of parts necessarily.
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
I think that there are a lot of people who don't know where to begin when it comes to diagnosing electrical problems, and they end up replacing a lot of parts necessarily.
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That's me too unfortunately. Got myself a KTM enduro 2t which I drowned 7 months ago. Rebuilt the motor myself, bottom and top end but hadn't managed to start the thing since.

I replaced coil... Nope.

Suspected either stator or CDI, so went to a mates house and tested the electrics.

Two seconds at his house after tipping the bike over, it fired!!!!!!!

Turns out the float was stuck!!!!!

Hahaha, I'm such a twat!
 
Usually, you pull a plug and determine whether you have spark or not before you start randomly replacing ignition parts. ;)

The whole deal with troubleshooting is to use the scientific method.

State the problem
Form a hypothesis
Test the hypothesis through experimentation

When you start breaking down the problem in a methodical manner, you are able to identify the culprit, and ONLY fix what's wrong.
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
When you start breaking down the problem in a methodical manner, you are able to identify the culprit, and ONLY fix what's wrong.
Click to expand...

Usually the last thing you did ;D
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
Usually, you pull a plug and determine whether you have spark or not before you start randomly replacing ignition parts. ;)
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I know that now. My problem was I didn't really know what a good spark looked like. And aren't there circumstances where you can get good spark outside the motor, but a weak one under compression?
 
neevo said:
I know that now. My problem was I didn't really know what a good spark looked like. And aren't there circumstances where you can get good spark outside the motor, but a weak one under compression?
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Sort of.

It is possible to get a weak spark in open air that will be no spark under compression.

That doesn't mean that you don't bother looking at the spark. An experienced eye can see the difference between a weak spark and a strong spark.
 
This problem hits home for me. The electrical side of things on these bikes is my weak point. I just purchased this book here in the pic and have been learning a buttload. Drives me nuts when I have to rely on others to figure electrical stuff out.

Recently I have been having issues with my blinkers not working or sometimes working on my cb360. Finally, I was riding down the road and the bike just died. Walked it home (again!), started reading on here and in the book and realized I didn't ground the new rectifier I just installed. :-[ :o
 
I have kind of a leg up on electrical issues. I had two years of electronics theory in high school. It has helped me a LOT in understanding basic electricity. Sometimes I forget that not everyone has some sort of rudimentary understanding of electricity.
 
That Motorcycle Electrical Systems is pretty good for anyone who needs basics.
The Haynes book of similar name is more advanced, Motorcycle Electrical Manual (maybe too much for beginner?)
I think the latest reprint is Motorcycle Electrical Tech Book? (I got mine is 1979)
 
Tying to diagnose electrical problems is almost impossible without a good multimeter. I think many on DTT don't realize this. Its the first thing I grab for with any electrical issues.
 
Even the $3.99 meter from Harbor freight will work fine for almost all tests (just don't try amps on most of them ;D )
 
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