1972 honda cb500 electrical issue?
my bike has been sitting for about a month. i uncovered it today and when i went to start it, nothing happened. theres absolutely no power. oil light doesn't light up, headlight, tail light, etc., nothing. i thought maybe the battery was dead but, i checked it with a volt meter and it's good. it's just like the power isn't leaving it.
i was having an issue with the ignition before. sometimes the power would cut out for, what i thought was, no reason (sometimes while i was riding). turned out that if i jiggled the key around the power would come back online. maybe it's related to this but, i'm really not sure.
any ideas anybody?
Comments
Sounds like the ignition switch has crapped out. You can find out by simply bypassing it. Run a jumper wire from +pos battery terminal to the horn wire (feed side only, the other one grounds when you push the button). This will be just like turning on the key. I have to assume that you have already checked to make sure that your battery terminals are clean and tight, and that your main fuse is good with clean connections.
Make sure the battery is still holding a charge. A voltmeter is nice, but it draws so little current that even a nearly dead battery will show good voltage. Hook up your voltmeter, turn on the lights and see what it says. If it drops way down, it's a dead battery. If it never moves, then start checking the battery terminals for corrosion. Hot wiring over to the horn wire is an excellent idea and a good way to rule out the ignition switch.
72 Honda Cb500
Loose or dirty contacts inside the ignition switch.