alternator maybe

[Bigfoot]

Sorry to say that you sort of got hosed on the price of the battery. You can find them at most autoparts stores much cheaper as well. I am sure others have pointed this out but at idle, sometimes the charging system does not put out enough to charge the battery and it will slowly draw it down. When you get the bike going again, see if the headlight gets brighter when you rev the motor. If it does, the charging system is probably working correctly.

Also, these are air cooled motors. It is not a good idea to allow them to sit at idle for an extended period. You stated that you ran it for 3 hours, was that sitting at idle? If you need to do this for some reason, a fan blowing across the motor will help some.

And as Ken said, going through all of the connectors is a very good idea.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Read the post! He says it doesn't want to start. He doesn't say it's not turning over! Don't be so damned critical of others who are trying to help.
I'm not a motorcycle mechanic but I play one on the internet?

[QUOTE]but it won't turn over today and the battery was lagging while i was trying to start it yesterday and today.[OUOTE]

I did read it, so did everyone else!

[DGXSER]

I did read it, so did everyone else!

And yet you seem to be the only one who felt the input was without merit. When you can show us how you and Jesus are both the messiah, feel free to judge the rest of us!

[tarzan]

The alternator will make the signals work at a stop on my bike.If the charging system is working right there is enough to keep it going.

If I read this correctly you're headlight does not come on while running.Is this correct?If not does the Tachometer work?If neither works then you're bike is not charging and it is the rect/reg most likely.As the alternator on these nikes almost never fail.A short or intermittant short or open in the wiring could also cause this.

[blue giant]

[QUOTE=XSokieSPECIAL;244089]

but it won't turn over today and the battery was lagging while i was trying to start it yesterday and today.[OUOTE]

I did read it, so did everyone else!

I was responding to the first post from the guy and didn't fully read his second. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. I'll wait for you to respond to posts from now on so I'll know the answer and won't have to spend time trying to help!

Cheers,

[cywelchjr]

to the question about cost of battery. i actually called two places and both were about the same (neither of them were walmart cause i didn't know what i was looking for and didn't want to get the wrong one. should have gone there, but didn't) i got it at a yamaha dealership and it is the sealed variety.

good advice about the connections. after the charge and the volt meter, that'll be my next step!

g'nite

Walmart does carry a battery for our bikes. The price is reasonable and they seem to last well. I just went to Walmart auto section and looked up for my bike and it was listed, and the battery was in stock. They supposedly have a no maint battery for it too, but I have never found it in stock. The other place that doesn't seem to bad price wise if you have one in your area is Cyclegear. At least at the one here they also have the battery for our bike at a not too bad price.

[1st bike]

okay, so here we go. i actually left the house today without my wallet (so no volt meter so i guess i still don't know), but i did have the batter tested at auto zone. he could only tell me volts, but it said it was 12.5 volts, so i really don't know where that leaves me. I put the older of the two batteries i have on the charger when i got home, we will see what happens to that in a few hours. I am going to try to start it with both batteries tonight and see. but all of you give me hope, i am actually now thinking i can do more to the bike than i first thought. for instance it sounds like i might re-wire it. if i have to do some, i might as well put new in all of it, so i know it all works, right?

[DGXSER]

I think you are looking at ALOT of work that may not be needed. I would start with going through each of the connectors and cleaning up all the connection points.

Even on my project bike which started out with NO FUSES!! It took me about 4-6 hours of wiring to get all the jumbled up messes out of the thing. It is now properly wired with a fuse box.

[1st bike]

i would agree that it is a lot of work. i don't want to do it, and i am going to try everything else first, but i guess what i was saying is that this is a project, and if i find a whole bunch of connections that are bad, i might as well spend the time and do it right and end up with a bike like yours that is wired correctly and you KNOW it works... you know?

[cywelchjr]

i would agree that it is a lot of work. i don't want to do it, and i am going to try everything else first, but i guess what i was saying is that this is a project, and if i find a whole bunch of connections that are bad, i might as well spend the time and do it right and end up with a bike like yours that is wired correctly and you KNOW it works... you know?

In many cases all that is needed is going through and cleaning all the connectors. They get corrosion over time and just need a good cleaning and then some dielectric grease to keep the air off them so they don't corrode up again.

[1st bike]

that is for sure the first step. i don't want to go over board, i just want to end up with something i can be proud of.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

[QUOTE=blue giant;244119]

I was responding to the first post from the guy and didn't fully read his second. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. I'll wait for you to respond to posts from now on so I'll know the answer and won't have to spend time trying to help!

Cheers,

blue giant,

My apologies if you felt that is what I meant. I merely did not connect what you had posted to what I was getting from the posts I had read.

A simple answer to my question of why you thought the carbs had aything to do with this would have sufficed.

I would still like to know, if you would like to explain your thinking so that I may understand, Why the carbs when the orignal question was about a charging problem.

Again, I apologize for the misunderstanding on my part.

And yet you seem to be the only one who felt the input was without merit. When you can show us how you and Jesus are both the messiah, feel free to judge the rest of us!

DGXSER,

Ditto to you.

I don't understand why the sarcastic, hateful words toward me.

I thought you and I were on the same page here.

Again, I must apologize for my apparently misunderstanding and asking for some explanation as to why the carbs would be involved in an electrical issue.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

1st bike,

I agree with all here about checking all plug connections, I would add to check all grounds also. Rusted grounds can cause all sorts of strange problems. I have a 80 special and the headlight should come on when the engine starts. It won't come on if you just turn the key to the on position.

Also, I assume you have checked all fuses. I had one in mine when I got it that looked good but was not making connection inside at the end where you couldn't see.

You can get an inexpensive multimeter at most hardware stores, or auto parts stores. I got a digital one at Home Depot for about $12 that measures volts AC/DC , ohms, and millivolts. Handy to have around for a lot of other things also.

I will also apologize to you also for the arguement that I seem to have caused over a question about carburetion. My intentions were not to contend with anyone.

Sorry for the hijack.

[crazy steve]

brand new. i literally bought it 2 days ago, and the dude who sold it to me tested it and said it was about 78% off the shelf....

At 78%, that thing had been sitting awhile. You should have charged it overnight before using (or I would have). I'll agree, that battery is suspect.

And $140 for a battery??? For what it's worth, you can get the exact same size battery from a lawnmower shop (the one I bought was virtually identical to the OEM unit) for about $70 as these also fit some riding lawnmowers.

'78E original owner

[1st bike]

yeah kinda got burned on the battery....live and learn. so here is the update. i put the new battery back on and it ALMOST started. i got a few put puts out of the engine, but it never really caught. the headlight came on, and would brighten as the engine turned over (so i think that is a good sign), but i still couldn't get it catch and run.... i cleaned the spark plugs (filthy, black, nasty...but not flooded, so at least i didn't do that) and i was hopeful but it was no use. also, on the right hand side of the bike connected to the positive terminal of the battery is a short jumper cable running to a square box. that box was extremely hot, and the jumper had a plastic cover on it, and that started to melt. perhaps that has something to do with it all. i am going to clean the connection from the short jumper to the square box tomorrow, but that is about all i have for tonight...does that help anyone?