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Finally got the bike on the stand this weekend. Not much to report but this is what I have so far.
- Tried starting it just to see what would happen. In hindsight putting a battery back in the bike might not my brightest idea... The auto breaker tripped. It wasn't doing that before. It did reset after a few seconds.
- Pulled battery back out and started inspecting wiring I could see. Couldn't see any thing burnt or damaged. I haven't removed any loom or protective casing yet. Positive cable from battery to solenoid looks ok on the outside. Ground cable from battery to frame does have a very small nick in it and the bolt to the frame was slightly loose. I could move the cable back and forth on it. I'm going to start by replacing these cables.
- I need to pull the gas tank. I rewired this bike a few years ago. There was a substantial amount of wire damage from rubbing between the tank and frame. I think I had it wrapped and placed well but we'll see. Before I rewired it the ignition wire had been rubbed through and replaced with a jumper(?) wire.
- Not very professional but I was sniffing around the bike trying to locate the burnt wires. Only place I can smell anything is on the right side by the starter.
Pulled the tank this weekend and found the ignition wire from the switch down in there. I didn't even realize it was missing when I inspected the switch. First place I go when I have an electrical issue. Usually one end breaks and it's obvious. These connectors breaking is an ongoing issue. Still need to make new + and - battery cables. Should have it back together for testing sometime this week.
My '76 shovel one time was giving me a hard to figure problem. Running at night it would suddenly die. Switch it to "ignition without lights " ( jumper wire removed from switch) and it would run just fine. Usually switching it right back would keep it running as well. Really irritating.
Finally found the ignition wire for the "ignition with lights" to be broken enough to make contact until it decided to not.
Kinda like the new switches better, but way harder to disassemble and clean than the old ones.
Made new positive and negative battery cables. Ensured ground was secure with good contact. Replaced broken ignition wire at the dash switch. Tried to start.
- Starter motor turned over but really struggled to turn. Bike did not start.
- Tried a couple of times.
- Started to check voltage at the solenoid but I could smell plastic cooking. No smoke.
- Breaker did not trip
- Cable from solenoid to starter got very hot. I think this is what I'm smelling
- Positive and negative terminals on the battery got very hot
- Going to get someone smarter than myself to come over and take a look.
What are incandescent bulbs but a controlled short?
AS for motors (assuming you are talking about electric motors) there is way more going on there than electricity passing through it.
The man has an '87 EVO good luck finding a factory fuse on that bike.
You will however find thermo brakers that are supposed to stop working when they get hot and start working again when they cool off.
If they are original who can say how well they are working.
I still say that with wiring getting hot enough to melt the jacket or smoke he has a short.
Also the battery terminals getting hot is a dead giveaway.
My 2 cents . . . if you can bypass the solenoid with direct path from the battery to the starter . . . if starter spins with force like it's suppose to then the solenoid is suspect.
If starter still struggles to turn motor over . . . then you have a bad starter issue.
Got a new battery when the issue first started. Took it back to get load tested as suggested and it tested good.
Originally Posted by texashillcountry
What are incandescent bulbs but a controlled short?
AS for motors (assuming you are talking about electric motors) there is way more going on there than electricity passing through it.
The man has an '87 EVO good luck finding a factory fuse on that bike.
You will however find thermo brakers that are supposed to stop working when they get hot and start working again when they cool off.
If they are original who can say how well they are working.
I still say that with wiring getting hot enough to melt the jacket or smoke he has a short.
Also the battery terminals getting hot is a dead giveaway.
I haven't melted any jacket (that I've found yet) I think it's just getting hot enough to smell.
Originally Posted by SparkyD
My 2 cents . . . if you can bypass the solenoid with direct path from the battery to the starter . . . if starter spins with force like it's suppose to then the solenoid is suspect.
If starter still struggles to turn motor over . . . then you have a bad starter issue.
Is my thinking correct . . . ???
I did jump the solenoid previously and that worked. Haven't tried again. With cables and wires getting hot I'm hesitant put power to it right now.
Have someone going to come take a look when the timing works. Will follow up.
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