alternator maybe

[1st bike]

okay, so now i have an oil change, but here is my next problem. i know she is old, and i am going to love on her, and hope she loves me back, but she doesn't like to start. i think the alternator might be bad. anyone have any experience changing one of those? should start, i have it on a charger, but it just doesn't want to start.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

okay, so now i have an oil change, but here is my next problem. i know she is old, and i am going to love on her, and hope she loves me back, but she doesn't like to start. i think the alternator might be bad. anyone have any experience changing one of those? should start, i have it on a charger, but it just doesn't want to start.

what kind of shape is your battery itself in?

[1st bike]

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, so let the bike run for awhile when it starts. so I had it running for about 2 hours straight the first time i got it started, and it ran for a total of about 3 hours that day on and off, and for about 15 minutes yesterday, but that is it. nothing today so far. but it won't turn over today and the battery was lagging while i was trying to start it yesterday and today.

[slow mo]

hi and welcome

when you were running your bike did you have the choke on??

[blue giant]

Has the bike been sitting? It is possible that you have plugged the carbs with crap from the gas tank. Might want to check the spark plugs as well. Dry = no gas Wet = flooded!

[XSokieSPECIAL]

when you were running your bike did you have the choke on??

Has the bike been sitting? It is possible that you have plugged the carbs with crap from the gas tank. Might want to check the spark plugs as well. Dry = no gas Wet = flooded!

What does not turning over have to do with carbs?

Check your charging voltage.


It should be between 14.2 and 14.8 volts with the engine running at about 2000 rpms

[1st bike]

yes the bike has been sitting, but it is a brand new battery (literally i just bought it), and the carbs have been cleaned and synched before i bought it. and i started the bike with the choke totally out, and pushed in 1 click to run for a minute and then pushed in all the way (no choke) and ran the bike in that position for the duration. i will check the plugs tonight after the kids go to bed.. thanks to everyone, i am really looking forward to the adventure of turning this into a daily ride, and i appreciate the help!!

[DGXSER]

Check the battery voltage before you try to start it, and after.

If it had that much charge when they sold it, was it a "used" battery? As in they sold it to someone who decided it was bad but they felt it was still ok so they sold it to you? Maybe the first purchaser was right, it is bad??

Also check the voltage when you are trying to crank it.

[1st bike]

right now i have it on a trickle charger and i'll let that go overnight and see in the morning.... I should prolly buy a volt meter and check it all out, so maybe that will be my starting point. this is so frustrating but fun! Thank you all for the suggestions, it turned over right away with the new battery, and it was a little sluggish yesterday to start and today....nothing. sad.

[DGXSER]

My money goes on the battery. Sounds like it is losing charge with time, not so much running.

[1st bike]

damn....just spent $140 on it!

[bikerphil]

If you are getting less than 14+ volts when revving to 4500 RPM, the alternator connector plug (3 white wires) is probably corroded. It's behind the fuse block mounting panel.

[DGXSER]

Did the bike stop running and then nto want to turn over, but did better after you let it sit? This would indicate charging system problem.

Or did it turn over fine and keep runnign until you hit the kill switch, but not want to start or turn over well after you let it sit a while? This tend to indicate battery issue.

Take it back and have them check it, they should give you a free replacement if it is bad.

[1st bike]

to answer, ran fine until i hit the kill switch and let it sit over night. if i shut it off, and started within an hour...no problem at all. if i let it sit over night, it was hard to start after sitting the first night...almost didn't start. after i ran it only 15 minutes and shut it off for the night , it won't start today at all and the battery is winding down. so let's hope it is a battery issue.

[DGXSER]

Yep, now I lay 2-1 odds on the battery Take it back to where you bought it, let them load test it.