[corybailey]

I'm new to this site and was hoping to get some help with some electrical problems I'm having.

I got this bike 2 weeks ago. It had some carb issues but ran decently. I rode it for about 2 weeks without any big problems. One day, I parked it after about a 20 minute ride, came bak about 3 hours later to find that there was no spark. I bought new plugs, and a new battery. nothing. I can't seem to find anything online about my bike and it's getting very annoying. I was told to clean the points by a honda mechanic. I have cleaned the points on cb125's and 160's. I cannot find the points on my cb400. either they are in a very different spot than i'm used to, or, they look and function much differetly. I removed the stator cover and the clutch cover, to not find anything of the sort.

basically, I'm asking if there is anyone that either knows where I can find/dowload a service manual, or, knows where the points are located if there are any. I'm not familiar with any other ignition systems.

anyway, I thought i'd see what info I could get on this site before I throw money at a new coil and a stator.

I would appreciate ANY info at all. Thanks!

-cory

 

[66Sprint]

Note that because of the CDI ignition, the "kill" switch GROUNDS out the wire coming from the ignition (Unlike the battery ignition bikes where it simply breaks the connection to battery power)...... A short to ground anywhere along this wire will disable the bike......
If I had a schematic, I could tell you the wire color that does this, and simply unplugging it would allow a "test" ....Of course, it could be a bad "ignition module" or pick-up coil as well.....

 

[corybailey]

holy smokes thanks a ton guys! i'll stop looking for the points now haha.

 

[corybailey]

These bikes dont have points, they run a cdi system. There is a manual you can download in the manual section of this site. Your problem could be your coil, cdi unit, cdi pick-up, your stop switch malfunctioning or the wiring between all of these things. Hope the manual helps.

eh... I can't seem to find the manual section in this site. perhaps you have a link? or, maybe it's right in front of me and i'm not seeing it but if I could get my hands on a manual i'm sure I would have much better luck with this. thanks.

 

[Hazelscum1968]

You can 'Search' through the "Manual Section" on here and find a ton of them... viewforum.php?f=20

EDIT: Added a link to the section for you...

 

[corybailey]

So I bought a parts bike for my cb to replace the coil, cdi unit, wiring harness, stator, and a few other non electrical parts. first off, I have no idea if the parts I replaced it with were any good, but it was worth a shot.

I replaced everything BUT the stator because I can't get the bolt off the parts engine cuz it's rusted over.

so my question is, (reffering to my original post) does anyone have any ideas what my problem could possibly be? the bike ran fine, then it just stopped getting spark one day. My theory is that I burned out my stator, this is why: I was welding my frame hours before it stopped working. (disconnected my battery of course) BUT it did fry a ground wire in my headlight assy, which i didn't realize until a couple days later. BUT it ran with the fried wire, for about an hour. turned the bike off, then nothing. Is it possible that this fried wire burned something out, but allowed me to ride it in it's very last moments? if so, would the next thing that the electricity reached be the stator?

basically it's about 150 bucks for a new stator so i'm seeing if it's a good bet that i burned it out. or if this has happened to anyone if they have any ideas. thanks guys.

 

[corybailey]

finally got it! see you guys on the road!

 

[HerrDeacon]

finally got it! see you guys on the road!

What was the issue?

 

[corybailey]

finally got it! see you guys on the road!

What was the issue?

finally got the stator of a parts engine I had. It was super rusted and I broke two wrenches trying to get it off. Finally bought a strong enough impact driver and switched it out and got some spark! I can finally install my carb rebuild kit thats been sitting around for 2 months while i was trying to figure out the electrical problem.

finally finally finally

 

[Mars]

I bought this bike from Corey and found this post when looking for advice! I thought I'd just throw out that when I bought it, it was not running. It took some carb cleaning, new spark plugs and starter fluid but now it runs. I was convinced the electrics didn't work but that wasn't the case. Just figured I'd share a happy story.

 

[HerrDeacon]

Welcome to the site Mars, glad you found us. Great to hear that you got it running as well.

 

[Mars]

Thank you very much. When I say running, it's relative. I have it weakly idling. It bogs out when I rev it up. The carb has been top to bottom cleaned and where possible or needed replaced. I set to pilot screw to what the Clymer manual says (1.5 turns) but I'm having an issue... Maybe the coil is poorly grounding (it's suspect)? Or I've done the air to fuel mix wrong. It will idol with the choke fully on but when I turn it off it stalls. Also, starter fluid makes it rev up well. Just throwing stuff out there. Looking forward to this forum. Thanks!

 

[66Sprint]

Hate to say it, but it sounds like it's NOT getting fuel to the engine... When you give it some fuel (choking or spraying ether) it runs fine...Is there gas in the tank?... Is the petcock on?...
.....Sounds like clogged jets or passages to me...... Clean the carbs and blow through ALL the passages....

 

[Mars]

Well, 9 hours of work today has got me very little. The only improvement - a more consistent idle.

I cleaned the carb a while ago when I was just getting it running. Today, after coming to a conclusion that somewhere along the line the bike isn't getting enough fuel I decided to VERY throughly clean the carbs again.

I looked at an exploded diagram to see what parts could actually come out, and figured out that the below jet with the red arrow pointing to it would come out. It had previously not been removed. So, I tried to unscrew it from one of the carbs and it wouldn't budge. I tried the other and it came out fairly easily, so I went back and tried the stuck one again after a little penetrating fluid bath. It did not move and thus the slot which the flat head grabs was destroyed (brass is soft, what can I say?). Determined to get it cleaned out, I approached it from the top with strong wire and was able to, with a great deal of difficulty, push the wire through and pull it out the other side. I did this many times in a row, and then blasted carb cleaner and air down the hole, feeling comfortable because of the light I could now see through it. After cleaning all the jets again, using q-tips to be absolutely sure I got as much as I could out, and putting it all back together I threw it on the bike.

Then the defeat hit me like a brick wall. It made only a slight difference. It now idles a tiny bit smoother, with less missing, popping noises.

:|

 

[66Sprint]

Well, THAT would be because the row of holes on its SIDES are the operative factor... You'll HAVE to get it out or clean somehow.......

 

[Mars]

Damn... I figured that was the case but I was in denial. Learning by failure!

 

[MnBikeGuy]

I'm surprised you got the first one out. The manual states it can't removed because it is tight press fit.

 

[66Sprint]

Mike....You said, "The manual states it can't removed because it is tight press fit."....
I believe you are referring to the slow jet, which is under the rubber plug.....It IS a pressed in part and cannot be removed..... Both the primary and secondary main "emulsion tubes" (nozzles) CAN be removed and cleaned however.....

 

[MnBikeGuy]

ahhh good to know!

 

[Mars]

Well, it was the carb the whole time. I ended up buying a very clean set from North City Vintage Honda from a CM400. They went on great and I just took the bike out for a neighborhood ride. Still have some tuning to do because I'm getting backfires and lots of pops but that I can do.