Cold starts

[garylamanilao]

That's quite odd... it cranks good but won't fire up - but when you jump it on your car it runs well.

Corect me if I'm wrong but are CB-1s are supposed to run even when the R/R is defective provided that the battery has adequate charge? I though about of this since as I traced the wires from the R/R 3 of them came from the stator, 1 goes to the battery (via main fuse), and 1 goes to ground (via chassis). So every voltage requirement is sourced directly from the battery. Again I could be wrong.

The way I see it, maybe you've got some high-electrical requirement component such as an HID light or something that is sapping so much power that the coils can't fire up. Still that should atleast slow down the starting/cranking operation...

[bbanna]

I just about give up on trying to figure out what is going on. Now that the temps stay above 65 degrees, the bike fires up just fine. If the temperature drops below 65, the bike just cranks and will not start. All the mechanics I have talked to are baffled by it.

Below 65 degrees I have to jump it with a car and it fires right up. Above 65 degrees the bike fires up on its own with no choke

Anyone care to take a stab at why this happens?

Brian

[jjasher]

Um,i'd take a shot at it though am having the same difficulties{i was about to go buy a new battery cause i just figured the one on it wasn't holding a charge.{for some reason it's just doesn't like the cold!  After the bike had been ran wamred up driven,no probs---though from a cold first start below a certain temp then the battery was just drained.I was thinking about replacing the regulator though at this point i think i'll wait to see what your outcome is

[jjasher]

So i went and bought a *new* battery<------the guy at the store said charge it a bit{cause they don't keep charges on them}So i set my charge on {reading said battery was full---though i let it trinkle charge a couple of hours} Put it in the bike and the next thing i know i've ran this battery down trying to start the bike{I got a couple of low sounding muffles though it wasn't persistant enough to keep it running.....I was in a garage so the temp wasn't too cold though I've sent off for the voltage regulator soo we'll see from there...My friend said he would just run and pop the clutch once battery is almost dead and the thing would fire up for him{though i'm looking to get this bad boy to start when i push the button.... Soo I'm hoping the regulator is going to be the way to go. Update ya when i get it put on. :>)

[jjasher]

ok---put the regulator in and didn't really do much for my situation.....
putting in some new plugs and wires{I had pulled the plugs and they weren't burnt or anything though i did the old start the bike with the plug out and grounded and found no spark...So no i'm going with new wires -new plugs{Hotter} and in the process of checking the air filter i stripped the screws{it's like they were impacted into the box...though bought some special extraction tool and will be relieved to clean off the air filter{it was bad though it's the idea that i'd like some assurance it's cleaned}...I did check the fuse and the bike caught some want to puffs though never fully engaged...

[jjasher]

ok got the air filter box off,switched the plugs,found rust on two of them Sprayed the carb and put everything back together and poof my bike started without any hesitation{it was pretty cold here as well}So the next day went to start the bike and the battery drained again....sooo**** Does anyone have any ideas???{is something draining the battery???and if so any clues???****   I'm having wires and a Super Smart Battery Tender Plus shipped...So perhaps that will help with the charge part of it...

[mrbones]

What's the voltage on the battery with engine running at a about 6000k rpm? If its higher than 13 or 14v the regulator is bad and is overcharging and killing the battery. It happened to me once while riding and smoked the battery!

[johnchris]

I got the bike started on Saturday. It took about three drained batteries.

I used the choke on full. No start. After charging the battery for the third time, I used jumper cables and jumped it from my car. With the choke on full, it took about 5 minutes of cranking and then it fired up. I let it run for about 20 minutes. Rode it around the neighborhood. After shutting it down, I let it sit for a couple hours. Tried starting it again with full choke and it took a couple try's and it started. Hesitantly, but it started. Let it run for a little bit and shut it down. Later that night just before turning in, I tried to start it again and it drained the battery.

I need to make this bike reliable. Any suggestions on any electrical parts I need to replace to make them better? Or is it possibly not even an electrical problem? Once the bike is running, it runs great! I just need to make sure it starts each time without draining the battery. The battery is only about 6 months old.

Thanks.

Brian

Maybe this has to do with the spark plugs replacement.
May I ASK also, since this is related to electrical, I just want to ask you guys where the fuse box for this bike is located, ive blown a fuse, got no lights , thx.

[sachiwilson]

The fuse box is behind the right side cover.

It strikes me that your problem is not necessarily ONLY electrical, but in the carbs.  If you do not need to choke it to start it when cold, the cold start circuits are set way rich.  That suggests to me that the carbs can use a good cleaning.  I just bought a CB-1 that had not been used much for a while and it had the same problem -- it ran fine once started but was terrible to start when it was even mildly cold, and I could not use choke.  It wasn't as bad as yours, but the symptoms are very similar.    (Mine also had a bad regulator - it's in the shop now getting those carbs cleaned and a new regulator installed.  I could obviously do the reg myself but I'm no good with carbs!)

As for the electrical issues, if you are losing battery charge over night you have a short to ground.  It should be easy (if tiresome) to find, and kind of fun.  (Hey, look at it that way!)  Start by taking off the bodywork of the bike - tank, seat, tailpiece -- and start tracing wires.  Try to ensure that you can see no frays or uncovered wires anywhere.  Be careful to check every place where the wires cross over the frame or other grounded metal.  Also, check the ignition switch - it could either be defective (I had a *Ferrari* that fried $1800 worth of electrics because of a defective ignition switch) or you could (ahem) be leaving it on overnight.  (BTDT too.) 

Best of luck.

[johnchris]

The fuse box is behind the right side cover.

It strikes me that your problem is not necessarily ONLY electrical, but in the carbs.  If you do not need to choke it to start it when cold, the cold start circuits are set way rich.  That suggests to me that the carbs can use a good cleaning.  I just bought a CB-1 that had not been used much for a while and it had the same problem -- it ran fine once started but was terrible to start when it was even mildly cold, and I could not use choke.  It wasn't as bad as yours, but the symptoms are very similar.    (Mine also had a bad regulator - it's in the shop now getting those carbs cleaned and a new regulator installed.  I could obviously do the reg myself but I'm no good with carbs!)

As for the electrical issues, if you are losing battery charge over night you have a short to ground.  It should be easy (if tiresome) to find, and kind of fun.  (Hey, look at it that way!)  Start by taking off the bodywork of the bike - tank, seat, tailpiece -- and start tracing wires.  Try to ensure that you can see no frays or uncovered wires anywhere.  Be careful to check every place where the wires cross over the frame or other grounded metal.  Also, check the ignition switch - it could either be defective (I had a *Ferrari* that fried $1800 worth of electrics because of a defective ignition switch) or you could (ahem) be leaving it on overnight.  (BTDT too.) 

Best of luck.

Thanks for the reply...
Ahm, can you be more specific? right side cover where? ???thx

[sachiwilson]

Take off the cover, man.  It's hard to miss once the cover is off.     And I mean the side panel on the bike, by the way - that metallic thing down below the seat and behind the engine.