Ignition Troubles

[blue giant]

Originally posted by Ryan Stanley
Yeah, I've been slowly working on the maintenance thing. So far, replaced the oil and filter, middle and final drive gear oil, gapped the plugs, ran some SeaFoam through it, rewired the headlights. Got air filters ordered.

Ryan,
Sounds like you're on the right track to getting her on the road. Have you pulled and cleaned the carbs yet?

Cheers,
Paul

[81xsproject]

hmmm... I can't say how many times I have jumped my bike or my buddies from my truck. At least I was smart enough to not have it running...most of those times...

[Ryan Stanley]

No, just ran some carb cleaner through so far. I might wait for that until the winter, since the bike is my ride to work at the moment. I've been riding it everyday since I got it, but I've recently been having to park it on hills so that I can pop the clutch if it doesn't start. Other than the ignition thing and the fact that I have no fifth gear yet, the bike runs incredibly well.

[Ryan Stanley]

One more question: Before I go buying a new battery, can I be sure that it's not an alternator issue? The reason I ask is that I've noticed that the brightness of my head and tail lights is noticeably affected by acceleration and use of turn signals.

[bikerphil]

charging

If the tachometer works, the bike is charging. The headlight won't kick on also if it isn't charging. Just to make sure, check the voltage at the battery. It should be 14.5V with the engine running at 2500 RPM. Wal-Mart has batteries that fit our bikes for about $40.

Another way to check for charging.... take a feeler guage, thinnest one, and hold it 'bout 1/2" from the right side alternator cover. If it's charging, the magnetic field will pull the guage to the cover.

[Hawkins]

if the headlight comes on, it's charging i think, but check the voltage on the battery with the bike running. I don't recall the exact numbers you should see, but with the bike above idle, 3000k or so, I imagine you would see about 14v at the battery. If not, then you could have a charging problem.

[Ryan Stanley]

Thanks!