Vintage and Classic Hondas

Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

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weaseltree19

Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

Hey there. Im riding a 1979 honda cb 750 k and I'm having some trouble. I can start the thing if I jump it with my car (not running of course) but once I kill the bike I generally cant start it again. When I hook it up to the car it takes a bit of holding the starter to get it to start, with the starter turning real slow at first.

So what do you think? I was thinking alternator, but I'm no expert.

Thanks mates

TOOLS1

Re: Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

Administrator

Most likely charging system, but I would recommend checking the ground cable first. It could not be making a good connection, or be corroded causing your slow cranking.
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1976 CB 750-A X 2
1977 CB 750-A X 4
1977 CB 750-K
1976 CB 750 F
1981 CB 750
1966 Kawasaki SG 250
1981 KZ 750 LTD
1973 CB 350
1979 CM 185 Twinstar
1982 Honda XL 80
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weaseltree19

Re: Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

Sounds good! Any hints on where I might find that?

TOOLS1

Re: Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

Administrator

The large wire going from the negative terminal on the battery to an engine mount.
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shinyribs

Re: Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

Administrator

In reply to this post by weaseltree19

Yeah, most likely not the starter. Your battery is obviously weak, but you need to figure out why. Either it's a weak battery itself, or it's just not being recharged. Easiest thing to do is see how much voltage the bike is generating and that will tell you if it's not charging or simply just not holding a charge.

weaseltree19

Re: Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

In reply to this post by TOOLS1

Check that, was clean and on there real nice and tight. I just jumped it and took it for a spin around the block, it died when I went to slow down and my headlight was flicking on and off if thats any clue

weaseltree19

Re: Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

In reply to this post by shinyribs

Sounds good. Any tips on how to do that exactly? (I am really new to all this)

shinyribs

Re: Either battery, alternator, or starter is giving me trouble.

Administrator

You really need a meter to check the battery voltage. See what the voltage is it rest directly at the battery terminals ( key off ) and then again with the bike running and revving at 2500 rpm+. These bikes dont start charging until 2000 rpm minimum.

A quick test, if you dont have a meter yet ( harbor freight will sell you one for $5 though) is just start the bike and rev it while watching to see if the headlight get brighter. It wont tell you how well it is, or is not, charging. But if it brightens then you know it still has the ability to charge.