Ingah Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 I've had nothing but problems with my CB500. The latest is that I am now sat on the bike waiting for homestart breakdown to arrive as ignition lights are on, but engine won't get started. The starter button results in silence. With bump starting it gets as far as making a turning over noise but will not fire up. Maybe i'm destined to ride my trusty old CG forever (now there's a scary thought). Does anyone care to make a stab at what's broken? Quote
Guest Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 Kill switch, sidestand switch faulty, clutch safety switch,.try pulling the clutch in, bike in gear and sidestand up, kill switch ON, then kill switch OFF, any difference... Quote
Ingah Posted September 11, 2009 Author Posted September 11, 2009 I've got fuel. It's not the kill switch on by accident. The problem is occuring constantly, although it does seem to be fine and start as normal on a very rare occasion. It is silent either way Frankie. Any more ideas? I have replaced the battery and it's still the same. Quote
Ingah Posted September 11, 2009 Author Posted September 11, 2009 Have also checked fuses as per haynes manual, and they appear fine. Still nothing Quote
Guest Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 to get nothing, sounds electrical. Could be a bad earth or a short.. time to get multi meter out.Haynes manual does have a good trouble shooting section. Give that a go m8. Quote
Ingah Posted September 11, 2009 Author Posted September 11, 2009 On finally getting it started (no the problem isn't fixed I just got lucky this time), i've found the rear brake light doesn't seem to work and neither is the horn working. Engine off, engine on with no problem again, now off again. And now it's refusing to start once more. grr. . Am running through that section on the haynes now. . . Quote
Ingah Posted September 11, 2009 Author Posted September 11, 2009 Checked the starter relay. Accidentally let it touch the wire next to it, which caused a loud pop, a spark, and the bike's engine to start turning over. Suprising that happened as the ignition is off. Made mental note to be more careful and went on to check that relay. It seems to be clicking only intermittently (rarely). Not sure what this means but haynes wants me to test it with a multimeter. Edit: Have given up for tonight as it's so dark and the haynes got too complicated. Quote
Guest Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 the starter relay without ignition on will fire if you sonnect the two conacts, have done this with a screwdriver to check the starter.. but yours seems intermittent..HAVE YOU DONE ANY WORK TO THE BIKE...??? sorry to shout, but some people forget the obvious, yes i was working on ..... and now XYZ?loose connections inside the headlight maybe.... Quote
Ingah Posted September 11, 2009 Author Posted September 11, 2009 Well i had the ignition barrel changed this morning (professional). But the problem was occuring before this too. I think i changed the air filter about a week ago? (me) I don't think i've done anything else recently, and definately nothing electrical (this battery change was the first electric thing i've ever done).Yes it does seem to be some sort of connection problem. Have decided to take it down (probably have to push it again. *sigh*) to my local garage before work, hoping that they can shed some light on it. My wallet is cringeing already...It might be telling when i go to take it tomorrow - i live at the top of a very steep hill so maybe i can get some proper speed up and try to bump start it again... Quote
Guest Posted September 12, 2009 Posted September 12, 2009 checking the relay with a multi meter is well easy m8 .. the relay itself could be knackered ...edit: I mean to check it is easy. You do need a battery and some test leads though.... tis explained in haynes Quote
Colin the Bear Posted September 12, 2009 Posted September 12, 2009 Have you eliminated a faulty safety switch as mentioned earlier? Side stand and clutch. Quote
Ingah Posted September 13, 2009 Author Posted September 13, 2009 (edited) Haven't done that as of yet colin. However a guy at work today was confident that it's my regulator/rectifier and so I have removed the regulator/rectifier from the bike and my multimeter in resistance mode isn't picking up anything between any of the terminals, including the ones that should show a measurement. Does this mean my regulator/rectifier is what's causing my intermittent starting problem? If so it looks like an ebay job.Edit: Have read on the internet to put my multimeter into "Diode test" mode when testing the regulator/rectifier, which i didn't do (as above, had it in resistance-measuring mode). So i've since tested again - results to follow in next post. Edited September 15, 2009 by Ingah Quote
Colin the Bear Posted September 13, 2009 Posted September 13, 2009 Fixing the wrong thing won't make the bike go. Eliminate the obvious first. If the starter button doesn't turn the motor over , but direct wiring it does turn it over, I'd be looking at the side stand switch or the clutch switch.You could let the tyres down and then blow them back up......that won't work either. Standing on one leg turning round three times and shouting perkipsee may work but probably not.Be logical. Diagnosing the fault is 99% of the problem.Pulling random parts off the bike will merely result in unmanufacturing the bike Quote
Ingah Posted September 15, 2009 Author Posted September 15, 2009 By pure randomness the bike is starting every time again, and the horn has started to work again (?).However, my brake light is still not working, and my headlamp sidelight has also stopped working now.I've done a few more tests anyway:Clutch safety switch when measured with a multimeter doesn't seem to be working properly - i seem to get random fluctuating values going through, both when the clutch is pulled all the way in or out (no noticeable change to values)!Have re-tested the regulator/rectifier (in diode test mode this time) - i do suspect this part causing a problem because my bulbs seem to be failing:- probe to A, + to B: 501- probe to A, + to C: 506- probe to A, + to D: 502- probe to A, + to E: 781- probe to B, + to E: 500- probe to C, + to E: 497- probe to D, + to E: 501Those are all the combinations that gave a reading. NB: Reading sometimes seemed to spend a little while fluctuating before it settled - it's the settled reading i've taken.The haynes says the range is 500-1.5k i think - but it does say to ask Honda to check.Will do the sidestand safety switch later - it was too dark to spend long on it last night! Quote
Guest Posted September 15, 2009 Posted September 15, 2009 However, my brake light is still not working, and my headlamp sidelight has also stopped working now.not wishing to state the obvious, but have you checked the bulbs, as they may have blown.... Quote
Ingah Posted September 15, 2009 Author Posted September 15, 2009 I planned to check them today if i have the time (going uni tomorrow so have to prepare). I reckon they have blown.It's just that i've read online that bulbs blowing is another possible symptom of a faulty regulator/rectifier, and that the biker at work was confident it's my reg/rect at fault with the starting problem, and he didn't know that the bulbs were blowing too. Quote
Colin the Bear Posted September 15, 2009 Posted September 15, 2009 The clutch switch controls the ignition/starter circuit. I'd eliminate/rectify the fault you've found before condemning any other parts on hearsay. Quote
Castro12 Posted November 29, 2022 Posted November 29, 2022 Long time ago I know! Did you ever figure this out? Was it a duff starter relay? Having the same issue. Quote
Davidtav Posted December 1, 2022 Posted December 1, 2022 Perhaps he is still waiting for the recovery truck 1 Quote
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