[AnalogLiz]

Took the bike out for a short street ride after some test runs - my driveway is too short to move out of first gear, so I took her for a spin up the block. 10 mins of riding - mostly idling, fidgeting with neutral (a little nuanced/elusive), start stop etc. - and the battery was too dead to start that last time and we rolled home.

Reading in old posts and I come up with two things I should do:
1. A draw test. Question: can I do this with a multimeter? If so, mine has little pointers, not a way to “connect.” Ideas?
2. drive faster for longer stretches so it’s gets to where it’s charging itself.

Anything else?

 

[mike in idaho]

Don't know what you mean by"little pointers", you mean it doesn't have wire leads you can connect? One way to temporarily increase the charging rate is to pull the headlight fuse, of course that's assuming it's legal to ride in your area with the headlight off.

 

[DD23]

Even with excellent condition system finding neutral could be considered to be an art...

Did you say earlier you had fitted a new battery ?

A good battery and charging system should cope with your bikes needs/laws and still have the capability to start the engine after numerous neutral trauma, assuming she is a good starter and cooperates.

Your multi meter...

What's its rating for ammeter function, the meter may be fuse protected.

A voltage monitoring test across battery from switch on would be informative.

Your lighting laws, bike on, headlight on?

Post a picture of your multi meter to help others.

So, you been riding up and down your short drive in first gear...

Other than neutral technique, how did you like your first ride...hilly area ?

Take great care out there.
Dd23😀↔↕↘↙↗⤵🔃↪🔄↩⤴😎😁🤓

 

[Bill H]

You dont say what bike you are riding. If its a CM 400 T you dont need a battery for the motor to run. You can kick start it. The battery is only for the starter and lights. The charging system on these old Hondas is weak at best . You need to get up around 3500 RPM for the charging system to start charging the battery. Short rides wont charge the battery. A good battery , fully charged should last longer than 10 mins. I would take the battery to an auto parts store and have it load tested. You can ,if you can make up some leads , test the battery at rest. if it reads 12 plus volts then hit the starter button ,If the battery is bad the voltage will drop off to just a couple of volts. If the battery is good you may have a short somewhere draining the battery.

Bill H

 

[AnalogLiz]

Thanks Bill, I’ll try to load test it or have it done.
1980 CM400T, but I don’t have a kickstarter. Will pursue the reading with start button and see what’s up. Would a couple of coated wires and alligator clips do the trick?

And DD23, whatever the laws are here, I’m breaking them a bit going for this ride - it’s registered as salvaged/NonOp. The lawlessness!! That’s why I’m only going around the block. Gentle incline, not hilly… and very exciting to have it run even if it did die out. Reminds me of the old joke: “how can you tell a happy motorcyclist?” More work to do but making progress!

 

[Bill H]

Sorry about the kick start. Some 400 t models had kick starters so I some times get them mixed up. You can make up some jumpers with number 14 wire that should do the trick. If you get the motor running again by say charging the battery you can check the charging system putting your meter in the battery and see what the voltage is . As you raise the RPM you will see the voltage increase when you get to the higher ranges it should show around 14 plus volts. Any thing over 14.7 volts there is a problem with the charging system.

Bill H

 

[Rockatanski]

Thanks Bill, I’ll try to load test it or have it done.
1980 CM400T, but I don’t have a kickstarter. Will pursue the reading with start button and see what’s up. Would a couple of coated wires and alligator clips do the trick?

And DD23, whatever the laws are here, I’m breaking them a bit going for this ride - it’s registered as salvaged/NonOp. The lawlessness!! That’s why I’m only going around the block. Gentle incline, not hilly… and very exciting to have it run even if it did die out. Reminds me of the old joke: “how can you tell a happy motorcyclist?” More work to do but making progress!

Laws schmaws.

 

[AnalogLiz]

 

[AnalogLiz]

Okay I believe I did a “draw test” and I get .01 which I guess is not zero ;p
so then you say start disconnecting things, by which you mean …? Sorry, I’m a super newbie
Would I start with the fuses, maybe? To narrow down where to go next?

 

[AnalogLiz]

Here’s a pic of my hookup for the draw test. Is that right?

 

[Rockatanski]

Whatever you learn, I stay away from those Chinese batteries and stick with Yuasa and Interstate.

 

[DD23]

Hi Al,

Picture not clear enough for me to see what you have done. The heavy earth wire looks disconnected ?

Cannot see what your meter is set to.

Cannot see electrolyte level between the low/hi lines on the battery.

Is this a new battery and it has electrolyte ?

I get new batteries from m and p and wemoto, British supplier of pattern type cheapo ( not exactly cheap ) Chinese but never had problems with them...

Over.....