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Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: makenzie71 on June 04, 2008, 05:55:11 PM

Title: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: makenzie71 on June 04, 2008, 05:55:11 PM
     
She cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks but refuses to start.  She has good compression, fuel, spark, and air.That leaves timing, but if timing were bad then she wouldn't run at all.  If I push her, she'll start, but that's it.  After she starts she runs great.

Where do I begin looking?  Is there anything that would really cause the bike to only start with a good push?
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: scottpA_GS on June 04, 2008, 06:08:24 PM
EDIT

Never mind...
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: bluelespaul on June 04, 2008, 06:36:03 PM
a weak starter is the only thing i can think of if its not a bad battery.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: ohgood on June 04, 2008, 06:45:51 PM
i was thinking weak battery. you know, takes a little juice to spin the starter, a little for the lights, a little for the ignition.....

got me man
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: makenzie71 on June 04, 2008, 07:03:25 PM
starter and battery are both good.  Can jump it or run it off the booster and it still doesn't start.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: ben2go on June 04, 2008, 09:39:17 PM
Sounds like something is grounding/shorting when you hold the starter button.Could be a bad ignition switch or kill switch.Have you tried bypassing them.It's a long shot but all I can come up with this late.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: sledge on June 05, 2008, 05:07:01 AM
All the electrical problems you having and have had with the CX are almost certainly down to a faulty stator. Its a unique system that uses 3 separate windings, one for charging and one each for high and low speed running. No other bike uses this system and Honda soon dropped it becuase of the problems, they are notorious for failing particularly the earlier ones (pre 81). This link includes a detailed test procedure, think I sent it to you once before. However winding faults tend to be intermittant and a good static test does not mean the stator will function correctly when its in use and becomes hot and subject to vibration.

http://www.elsham.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cx500/stator/

Look at it logically....the battery is ok, the starter-motor is ok. The bike starts and runs so the CDI and wiring must be ok........only thing left is the stator  :dunno_white:

I will have a guess why its turning over but not catching and say the starter motor is drawing all the available current/voltage from the system, because the stator is faulty its not generating enough power to trigger the CDI and provide a strong spark. Push starting on the other hand does not cause such a demand on the system and consequently there is adequate power in the system to trigger the CDI, provide adequate sparks and allow the bike to start.

Bite the bullet......replace the stator.


Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: ohgood on June 05, 2008, 05:50:58 AM
Quote from: sledge on June 05, 2008, 05:07:01 AM
All the electrical problems you having and have had with the CX are almost certainly down to a faulty stator. Its a unique system that uses 3 separate windings, one for charging and one each for high and low speed running. No other bike uses this system and Honda soon dropped it becuase of the problems, they are notorious for failing particularly the earlier ones (pre 81). This link includes a detailed test procedure, think I sent it to you once before. However winding faults tend to be intermittant and a good static test does not mean the stator will function correctly when its in use and becomes hot and subject to vibration.

http://www.elsham.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cx500/stator/

Look at it logically....the battery is ok, the starter-motor is ok. The bike starts and runs so the CDI and wiring must be ok........only thing left is the stator  :dunno_white:

I will have a guess why its turning over but not catching and say the starter motor is drawing all the available current/voltage from the system, because the stator is faulty its not generating enough power to trigger the CDI and provide a strong spark. Push starting on the other hand does not cause such a demand on the system and consequently there is adequate power in the system to trigger the CDI, provide adequate sparks and allow the bike to start.

Bite the bullet......replace the stator.




nice logic :)

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d93/ohgooditsme/spock04.jpg)
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: makenzie71 on June 05, 2008, 03:36:28 PM
stator is new, passes all diagnostics, and the ignition system is battery operated (no battery = bike dies...not all the CX/GL's have the same style charging and ignition systems).  When supplied with 14.4 volts from a booster, it has all the juice it needs.  That problem lies elsewhere.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: mach1 on June 05, 2008, 06:17:31 PM
could be as easy as bad plugs or misgapped or the wrong ones. or can i can be as hard as you have a dead starting system(mechanicaly and electrically)
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: scottpA_GS on June 05, 2008, 06:54:40 PM

My initial post was Sticky valves?

  But i thought I diagnosed myself out of it so I deleted it  :icon_mrgreen: :thumb:
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: bluelespaul on June 05, 2008, 07:56:38 PM
how are all of the connections from battery to starter and batter to ground and everything like that?

Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: Jared on June 06, 2008, 07:06:58 AM
What color is the spark? Will it start on Ether? 

Since it doesn't have the Hi/lo windings and it runs after you bump start it- I'd say weak spark-like the starter is using too much power or again...back to the battery. Bikes are hard to diagnose from a computer.....

You said you tried from a booster...what about a jump from a non running car/truck?

Clean every connection you can think of and grease them up -- probably already done...just thinking "out loud ".

Maybe look on here if you haven't seen it yet....  http://choppercharles.com/cs/forums/

Electrical problems are fun.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: makenzie71 on June 07, 2008, 09:17:03 PM
after going back and checking the stator again I only have about 25vac coming out on both sides...I'm putting a new stator in, again, and selling the bike.  I found a GS750 I'd much much rather have.  I can't wait to have a chain drive bike again...already got a Katana front end sourced and I can't wait to start on a single side swingarm...unless I can find 17X3 and 17X5 spokies...though a single side spokie would be pimp...beamers have those, don't they?
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: The Buddha on June 07, 2008, 09:28:22 PM
My nighthawk S did this same thing today ... still working on it.
My thought is some corrosion still on connections.
Does vaseline conduct electricity ??
Cool.
Buddha.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: makenzie71 on June 07, 2008, 09:31:28 PM
vaseline is non-conductive
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: yamahonkawazuki on June 07, 2008, 09:32:45 PM
uh oh buddha is getting kinky lol BTW mak, or anyone else, anyone have any idea how had it would be to do an SSSA on a gs?
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: The Buddha on June 07, 2008, 09:37:25 PM
Quote from: makenzie71 on June 07, 2008, 09:31:28 PM
vaseline is non-conductive

Yea, I got a good bit of it everywhere ...
Cool.
Buddha.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: yamahonkawazuki on June 07, 2008, 09:56:04 PM
TMI boss :laugh:
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: ben2go on June 07, 2008, 09:58:05 PM
Onto the next episode.  :laugh:

I agree TMI.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: yamahonkawazuki on June 07, 2008, 10:17:16 PM
Quote from: ben2go on June 07, 2008, 09:58:05 PM
Onto the next episode.  :laugh:

I agree TMI.
this site has an anti pr0n caluse so id not go there lol. anyhoo back on topic   ;) :laugh:
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: The Buddha on June 08, 2008, 07:54:15 AM
Clowns ... I sprayed the electrical connections with it ... all of them. You never know what is not connecting, I have 1/2 the thing I rigged up, cos I wired a nighthawk dash into a nighthawk S wiring harness ... its not even close freaking honda POS.
Cool.
Buddha.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: The Buddha on June 08, 2008, 08:38:26 PM
Its aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive ...
Here is the short list of what I did today ...
Cleaned the electrical doo hickieys ... evidently I only doused 3 of them ... its all good now. Not sure what this did, it still struggled to start.
I swapped out all fuses ... 24 year old round tube type fuses ... yea gotta go. This move got all the idiot lights and the gear position and fuel level working.
I checked the coils prior to checking spark and saw that some genius had wired each coil reverse ... like the yellow wire was to the - and the black wire to the + ... I said WTF and swapped them. This still resulted in not starting though ... I thought I could swap left to right coil ... and when I lay the wiring, it did not lay that way at all ... so I thought the  joker didn't swap them side to side ... OK ... Then it actually started firing 3-4 times and dying ... a few tries later it started up and I had the butterflies open by hand (no throttle cable) ... and it revved to 7K. I backed off and it promptly died. Then I tried a few more times, and it eventually started again, and this time I slowly let it down to 5K, then I cranked the idle screw to hold it ~4K, and that kept it running ... and a few mins of that later, I noticed it had spewed my wife's car with black peppercorn sized stuff and several leaf and twigs types. So it has a nest in the exhaust.
Anyway, I am going K&N on this, I get cables, new oil filter and what not and I'm in business baby. The exhaust has been cored, it sounds like a true sport bike ... pretty loud.
Cool.
Buddha.

Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: makenzie71 on June 08, 2008, 08:41:44 PM
Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on June 07, 2008, 09:32:45 PM
uh oh buddha is getting kinky lol BTW mak, or anyone else, anyone have any idea how had it would be to do an SSSA on a gs?

Hard, but I could do it.
Title: Re: Not a gs, but a CX issue...
Post by: Jay_wolf on June 08, 2008, 08:50:26 PM
The was one on a GS in the Uk .. looked so spot on .. And the Old Hmmmmz put a SSSA on his zx7r .. With a grinder and spacers  :thumb: