[KnucleBusting360]

Guys ... I've been rebuilding a '75 CB360T all winter and have the bike rebuilt, with the exception of the electrical system ... I have been studying the wiring diagrams (actually sometimes wondering if I am looking at the right one!) ... and am running into a couple of perplexing problems. I'll just start with the most intimidating one first ...

I bought a new Rectifier / Regulator from Rick's and have been trying to follow the instructions on wiring it .... I get the Red & Black leads as Positive & Negative respectively ... however, the other three leads are white ... when I disconnected the wiring harness, I marked each connection, that I disconnected with a number (ie. A-A, B-B, C-C, & so forth ...) ... I figured when I put it back together, I could just reconnect the letter / numbers to their corresponding match (which will still work mostly) ... as I look at the regulator, there are three wires coming from it ... black, green, and yellow ... my current assumption is that I should connect the three white wires from the new rectifier / regulator to the three wires the old regulator was plugged into ... is this correct? (See photos) View attachment 74247 View attachment 74248

That leads to my second problem ... my old rectifier is not stock ... and instead of having 4 wires (pink, green & yellow)coming from it ... there are only two yellow wires (which of course I tagged with corresponding numbers when I disconnected it ... there are also only two wires coming from the alternator, both black, that plug into the two yellow rectifier wires. (See photo)


Can someone please provide some guidance on this? Has anyone ever seen this before? I would really appreciate any advice you're willing to offer ...

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Looks like my first two photos didn't make it ... here they are ...

 

[66Sprint]

Before you fry something, post the schematic or color code you got with the rectifier/regulator....
Typically, on Hondas, Black wires are battery positive after the key switch (Red to the key switch/black after)
A 5 wire single phase R/R unit usually has the following connections:
Two AC wires (often both the same color, usually Yellow or white)
Two DC wires (Usually Red to battery Positive and Green to ground/battery negative)
A "signal wire" which reads the battery voltage going TO the bike and determines when it becomes excessive, shunting that excess to ground.....

You have a single phase alternator.....The R/R with three white wires is for Three phase output.....
It would be possible to use it IF you still had the original 3 output wires...(Pink, Yellow, and White)

You MAY phone...540-525-5199.....Steve

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Steve ... thank you for reaching out ... what time would be a good time to call? I appreciate the assist ... Bill

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Steve ... is this the one I should have purchased? (minus the stator)? Rick's Motorsport New Charging System Honda CB350 CL350 CB360 99 101 | eBay

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Hey Steve ... I talked to the Rick's tech guys today ... they said that the R/R I bought won't work w my bike too ... for now, I'm going to put the old stuff back on the bike and get it running ... will make changes later ... Thanks again for offering to help! I appreciate it ... Bill

 

[66Sprint]

The stator looks like the one you have...... SO does the R/R unit......
Two Yellows, one to each of the two stator Blacks (does NOT matter which to which)
Red to Battery positive (directly) and Green to Battery negative (directly)....Case ground/heat-sink the unit (bolt it to metal touching the frame) for cooling.....
Looks like the only reason it wouldn't be working is a bad component or a BLOWN FUSE on/in the Red wire (which seems to be missing from yours).....

Don't forget to reconnect the green with red stripe neutral light wire to the main harness.......
Phone if you want to test AC output or DC output from the system.....

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Per the above conversation, I have an aftermarket rectifier which only has two wires coming out of it ... as I was hanging my wiring harness last night, I realized that I no longer have the Red/White wire that used to come out of the original rectifier to enable the starting switch ... which explains why the former owner had jerry-rigged a start switch off the starter switch terminals (shown in the attached pic) ... I still have the original rectifier pig tails in the wiring harness (they are not connected to anything) ... and I am wondering how I can reactivate the start button on the right hand handlebar switch now?

Do you have any suggestions?

I've attached a pic to try and help explain it ... I really appreciate the help!

 

[66Sprint]

Phone me Monday evening......540-525-5199.......Steve

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Steve ... nice speaking with you this evening ... thank you for the help ... I appreciate it! Regards, Bill

 

[KnucleBusting360]

OK my electrical gurus ... as I have not been having any luck getting my electrical system back up and working ... I thought I would highlight the electrical diagram as related to my current set up ... I am pretty challenged in understanding this stuff, so please have patience with me ... check out the diagram posted here ... this is for a 1975 CB360T ...

Some notes:

I have an aftermarket rectifier/regulator that only has 4 wires coming from it ... (red, green, and 2 yellows) ...
I have eliminated the tach and the indicator lights ...
I eliminated the regulator ...
I also have a new right hand switch from Common Motor ... it only has 6 wires (BK, BK/W, Y/R, BR/W, G/R, BK/R) ... I eliminated the Y & Y/W wires as I don't believe they do anything with the new stator in place
I do not have a functioning neutral switch indicator ... LG/R wire is still in the harness, but isn't connected to anything.
The R/W wire coming from the starter switch exists, but it not connected to anything
The clutch lever switch does not appear to be connected to anything ...

I would be very appreciative of any suggestions as to where I may have created problems ... the wiring continues to baffle me ... I have been tracing connections for two days and only my taillight seems to work?? Also ... I have noticed that my right side ignition coil / condenser seems to get warm when I turn the start switch to auxiliary ...

The starter switch does not initiate the starter at this point ... HELP!

 

[Gixxer-18]

Can you take a photo of your Lh switch, and showing the wires colours? Splay the wires so We can see the colours. Also do the same with your RH ORIGINAL; and the new Common motor switch. Have you got a clutch switch fitted in the LH Perch, And finally if you have a multimeter can you check that the neutral circuit diode works. It's just possible you have a switch fitted that is correct for a CB360, but not correct for your year of bike. Does your starter solenoid have a Y/R and a G/R, or a Y/R and a Bk wire. If it's Y/R and G/R, is the G/R connected to the harness G/R or to a Black wire? If it's connected to the HARNESS G/R; unplug it and connect it to a Bk press the starter button momentarily. Does the starter turn over?
Nigel.

 

[Gixxer-18]

Also do you have a working tail light? Does the brake light illuminate when you operate the front and rear brakes?
I'm guessing here; but you might have the same problem I have with my 360; and it's to do wth the headlight being always on. Those designers at Honda knew what they were doing electrically! Early models didn't have the three wire indicators with the position lights which stay on permanently except when you switch the indicators on left or right. Nor did they have the clutch switch on the handlebars, and even later the side stand switch, or the headlamp always on.
Back to the headlight. When the laws were passed requiring the headlight to be always on Honda had to fit an interuptor starter switch to cut power to the headlamp whilst the starter was turning as there just wasn't enough power available to light the lamps; fire the ignition and turn the motor over, hence the different switches. Your diagram doesn't show the interuptor switch. It is basically a DPDT double pole double throw switch. Until we know what the switches you have are, and the wire colours it will be difficult to offer you any helpful suggestions. But not insurmountable!
Regards;
Nigel.

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Hey Nigel ... thanks for the thoughts! ... I'm going to try some of your suggestions today ... and I will get back to you with some answers to your questions as well ... the one thing I thought of this weekend, that may make a difference in the "ground" situation is that ... I had my frame powder coated ... that includes the engine mount tabs ... I understand that grounds don't work so well through powder coating ... so today I am going to check all the mounting bolts and grind off the powder coating with a Dremmel bit where the engine meets the frame ... I'm not exactly sure if this will help as I don't know exactly which bolts act as ground ... though I suspect the rear engine mount bolts (under the carbs) as that's where Steve (66Sprint) told me to connect the main ground cable ... more to follow ... thanks for your help my friend! Bill

 

[Gixxer-18]

Any bolt connected to the frame can serve as your grounding point, but choose one that's hidden behind a side panel or the tank for protection from the elements. Electricity doesn't mind where it gets its return circuit from, but it doesn't like powder coating or rust which acts as an insulator! You could also run a single cable from your rear light mounts to the battery negative terminal, and forward to your headlight bucket. You're only bypassing the harness, but it will help with the brightness as you're not trying to burn through the rust, dirt; and patina of a 40 year old bike!. Once you've chosen your mount and made good the electrical connection, you can paint over the joint for additional protection.
By the way, where did you get your wiring diagram from, and have you got a good clear copy of it in PDF format? I've been looking everywhere for this particular one!
Regards,
Nigel.

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Nigel ... here is an unmarked version of my diagram ... took me a while to find this one ... but its pretty accurate to what is on my CB360T (USA version) ... hope it helps! Bill

 

[Gixxer-18]

Thank you very much Bill. That will really help me too!
Nigel.

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Progress! ... on the advice of my Dad (who is an electrician by trade) ... I finally purchased a circuit tester (like an ice pick with wires) ... and found that my grounds are indeed working. Handlebars, engine, ignition coils, lights ... all grounded. Also found a broken ground wire in my tail light which I soldered ... good news, at this point, my turn signals and tail light work properly and I even got the starter button on the right hand control to turn the motor over, so its working too. What I can't seem to get working is my front head light ... I know it works because it took a couple wires and touched it to the battery and it lights up .... checked fuse box and fuse is working properly as well.

Now ... if you look in the thread above at the wiring diagram ... you'll see that I eliminated the white and yellow/white wires that come from the right hand switch ... while there is a white wire in the head light mix, it appears to only go to the left hand switch (unless I'm missing something) ... which wire from the head light is "power" (blue or white?) ... thoughts?

 

[66Sprint]

BOTH..... Blue is High beam, White is low beam....(Green is ground).......
Power comes from the fuse block to the headlight high/low switch via the Black/Yellow wire.....
Headlight Fuse gets power via the Black/Red wire FROM the starter switch, which gets it FROM a Black wire when the push-button is NOT depressed

 

[KnucleBusting360]

Perfect ... I'm going out now to check it out & see what I have ... Thanks Steve!