Over voltage

Wilf · Post by **Wilf** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:07 pm

The starter solenoid is another place to look and a bit easier to rule out than the starter itself. When I opened up my solenoid the contact bar needed serious cleaning and smoothing to make sure it would provide positive contact. I know it's good now.

The starter motor is a bit more difficult to service, but quite do-able and well worth the effort. The old grease gets hard, the bearings may not be getting enough grease, the brush end of the shaft may be dry, and of course the winding contacts could be dirty or seriously scored.

I had a squealing noise every time I used the starter and even after replacing the broken starter clutch parts, the squeal was still there. I figured the starter wasn't spinning fast enough to keep the clutch fully engaged. After cleaning up my starter, the squeal disappeared.

Thanks for the link to your rectifier source. Although pricey, it should do the job just fine.

Looking forward to learning more about your progress.

Wilf

highskyflyn · Post by **highskyflyn** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:52 pm

Alright guys so heres what I'm thinking is the problem.

This has been a restoration project from the beginning and so I don't have previous issues, as to the bike has been in pieces for years.

About 2-3 weeks ago this problem occurred and around the same time I converted the headlight bulb to an H4 bulb. (getting the idea for the forums because the light bulb was dead.) So after some wealthy information on the stator, I have ruled out that being the issue. (thanks again to a well deserved lesson on the stator guys) I bought a new battery in the process and ran it for a couple of days. Heres the thing, I ran it during the day with the headlights on to get a full charge of the system and to see if it was draining. Which it was. Also, yesterday I had a spare stator that I put on and still the system was being drained after running for an hour.(reassurance on ruling the stator out)

Which leads to why my starter is quitting. The battery is being drained while running and there isn't enough juice for the starter to kick in the next time I use it.

So I started from the battery and followed the wires all the way through. I got to the starter relay, took it apart(looks fairly decent for being over 40 years old) cleaned it up, put it back together, and moved on to the rest.

Now heres what I'm thinking. I can't remember or retrace what wattage the H4 bulb was and Im guessing that is the link to the draining situation.

Wilf · Post by **Wilf** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 2:26 pm

The H4 bulb could indeed be your problem. I think it is rated at 60/55 watts and that is quite a bit more power than the 35/25 watt bulbs that came with my CB77. I'm not sure of the stock wattage for a Dream but I think it's in the neighborhood of the CB77 wattage.

Easy way to figure this out--you've got a new battery, new rectifier and you've checked out your solenoid so why not charge up the battery and run it for a few days, but without the headlight? See if it starts ok after that.

Wilf

highskyflyn · Post by **highskyflyn** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:47 pm

Wilf,

yep that was my next step. Ill keep you updated here in a few day on either my system staying charged.

Thanks

Snakeoil · Post by **Snakeoil** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 6:02 pm

You could probably check it right away as well by putting your DMM between the battery and the positive lead and set on amps. With the bike running and no headlight, you should see amps going into the battery. Then turn on the headlight and see if the amps drop or the polarity reverses meaning the battery is now helping to keep the system energized.

regards,
Rob

Wilf · Post by **Wilf** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 7:43 pm

If you're doing Rob's test, keep in mind that at idle your generator might not keep up with the ignition draw let alone the headlight, so run up the throttle to 3000 or so as you're watching the ammeter.

Wilf

highskyflyn · Post by **highskyflyn** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 1:49 pm

Well gentleman, My system still isn't charging. It just lasted a couple more days this time than the last trial because I wasn't running with lights on. I just went to the auto parts store and had my battery tested since I've ran it dead 3 or 4 times now and its still good. Im just puzzled on why I can't keep a good charge, but i will keep looking for different situations. Would y'all think it might be either the starter solenoid or the starter itself pulling power from the system while running? Also the starting sprocket seems to be slipping when its running, would that have anything to do with it? Ive ruled out the battery, stator, rectifier, headlight, brake light actuator, and ignition so theres not really much else to look. Oh also, one last question, can the starter solenoid connections from the bat. and the starter get backwards, or does that not matter.