Raksha
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Joined: 01 Dec 2014
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grr666
Super Spammer
Joined: 16 Jun 2014
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 Posted: 20:47 - 01 Dec 2014  Post subject: Re: starting bikes |
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monkeybiker
World Chat Champion
Joined: 23 Sep 2014
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Raksha
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monkeybiker
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Raksha
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Baffler186
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Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
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Posted: 10:11 - 02 Dec 2014  Post subject: Re: starting bikes |
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| Raksha wrote: | Hi guys
first time here and a new rider |
Really?We'd never have guessed, you seem to fit in so well....
| Raksha wrote: | Occupation: gimp at a werehouse |
| Raksha wrote: | it wouldn't start using the starter switch. so I had to bumb it. |
I think the tip is that you probably need to take the headsman's hood off when checking the chain...s... 
| Raksha wrote: | Lexmoto Street 125 ...... gave it a lot of love, care, foul langue and dad gave it some repairs and a respray.... |
.. err.. this starts to hint at level of mechanical dexterity ad priority the things receiving....
| Raksha wrote: | we checked the electrics as best we could.
so the light all work fine, horn fine indicators fine. |
This more so... WHEN were they working 'fine'? Engine on or off?
If the engine was running, then generator was making electric to power everything.
If the engine was off, then electric had to come from the battery. NOW.. you probably have a pathetic little 25 or 35w headlamp bulb in there, and that will be the highest power bit of electrical equipment in the system, bar the starter motor... Watts = Amps times Volts.. you have 12v electrics so the headlamp draws something like 3A max.... this is not a lot; about 1/3 of the total system draw which will be something like a 10A main-fuse.
The starter-motor on the other hand? Well, it has a 'relay' to by-pass the main-fuse ad take its amps direct from the battery, because IT will draw something over 30A.. at least 3x as much as everything else on the bike if all switched on together.
Which means, checking the lights does NOT tell you if you have a 'good' battery... just that it has enough chrge to light lights....
| Raksha wrote: | we undid the batter checked the fuse that's OK |
well, if the lights and indies and horn and everything worked, bit of a redundant check really...
| Raksha wrote: | then checked the coil that had a lot of rust/ condensation on it so OK we got a wire brush and sorted that. |
Why? The coil is a inert device. Its a bunch of iron plates with wire wound round them to make a transformer.
You test t by looking to see if you have a spark at the spark plug.
Fact that you can bumb(p?) start the bike and make it run, suggests you DO have a spark and this is NOT a problem...
| Raksha wrote: | so I have order some new bits a new battier new starter and new coil but do you have any idea what it could be in the mean time? |
So in short, you are diagnosing the thing by voodoo and fiddling with random stuff in the optimistic hope that by pure chance, the problem goes away...
1/ BUY the Haynes book of Chinese Bikes.
This should be your first port of call for any and all problems.
2/ Check the Electrolyte level in, and CHARGE, the battery.
Its probably fucked; but you never know. They do loose charge holding capacity with age and wear and tear, which is why they need replacing from time to time;
BUT, Small bikes, small battery; small generator; if you ride with the headlamp permanently 'on', as you were probably advised on CBT, then you will be drawing at least that 3A all the time.Meanwhile the generator is probably NOT making 3A all the time; when the engine is at idle or low revs, it is probably not making enough amps to power even the headlamp, let alone charge the battery, WHICH was drained pretty heavily when you started the engine;
SO short journeys, lots of stopping and starting with the engine turning low revs most of the time, you are likely to never fully recharge the battery JUST from the engine running, and if you are using lights all the time, even less chance; and likely that overall, you are taking more out of the battery than the generator s putting back in, so its getting gradually flatter and flatter; while old and cold battery? It'll need a bit of help from the mains to keep it fully charged.
New battery will almost certainly help; but f short hop riding with lights is what you do, even THAT might need a periodic top up on a charger.
3a/ IF with checked & charged battery.... the problem goes away.... STOP FIDDLING.
3b/ IF with checked & charged battery.... the problem doesn't go away.... fit new battery
3c/ IF with new battery.... the problem doesn't go away.... Check and charge! They usually come 'dry' and will usually need filling with acid that may or may not be supplied with the battery. And once filled, they then need charging for perhaps 12 hours before fitting to the bike.
3d/ If with new, checked and charged battery,problem persists.. THEN you might like to start fiddling with the electrical system...
HEED 1/ first and buy the bludy manual! AND for about a fiver an electrical multi-meter.
Manual will advise what checks to make, BUT first one will probably be to bridge the solenoid... a device that is not inert and far more likely to need replacing than the coil... which I advice you leave in the box when it arrives, until such time as you have an 'ignition' fault it might cure... swapping out random components for the sake of, is merely likely to MAKE faults, not cure them, so if it ent broke, DON'T fix it!
And welcome to the mad-house, BTW.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
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