SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
400F1 headlamp
Bodd:
I have a multi-meter and a couple of long test wires with crocodile clips on each end that I made which usually solve most wiring problems, I just needed to know that it is supposed to light up on ignition without the engine running before opening anything up, thanks again.
Bodd:
The horn was a quick fix it was just a bad earth on the frame, must have been all the layers of paint I used, I still haven't got the headlamp working on main beam, I haven't got a new battery for it yet and the old one wasn't the best when I got the bike last year, it is now completely flat so I have been using an old one off my R1 and now that is flat too, I have been testing the wires with my multi-meter and I am getting a circuit at the bulb when I turn the switch on and the bulb is fine.
Lobo:
Hopefully its as simple as a dead battery.... but remember..
Multimeters are great tools... but they don't necessarily tell the full story. Electrical continuity, as measured by your meter, is simply passing a minute current through the circuit to confirm an electrical connection... but whether loom / connectors etc can actually conduct (say) 5 Amps is another story. (most multimeters are powered by an AAA cell or two... verifying indeed that they deal in small currents)
To clarify, imagine your starter motor had been connected with 2mm wiring. Using your meter all would check out ok... but in reality there'd be no hope of the starter working due those wires being insufficient to carry the required 120+ Amp load.
WAY too wordy Bodd, apologies... but hope it clarifies that sometimes meter checks on old looms can be misleading... you really do need to be sure all that wires, connectors, earths, switches etc are clean / upto spec.
Not denying tho'... wouldn't be without my 'meter.... it's a fantastic bit of kit.
Simon
Bodd:
Thanks Simon, not too wordy I'm grateful for all advice offered, electrics are the worst thing for me when restoring bikes. I charged up the old R1 battery and had another go, what I found was if I connected one end of my wire with the crocodile clips on it to the wire in the loom connection junction (in the big rubber shroud under the tank) and the other end to the blue headlamp wire in the shell the main beam works so it looks like the blue wire needs replacing, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
Lobo:
Hi again,
Yup, jumper leads are often the way to go..
'Weak' spot in all this may simply the handlebar light switches... & sods to get out & service, A starter for 10 could simply be to copiously spray switch cleaner into the guts of both the main switch & full / dip beam switches; exercise them a good few times... and hope. (switch cleaner spray from Maplins / Halfords)
If you substitute the main 50W/35W bulb with say, a speedo illumination bulb (2W) ... and it then works... it really does suggest dirty / corroded connections / switches / wiring somewhere. (put the small bulb between the headlamp bowl blue & earth.... and then white & earth)
Otherwise the headlamp bowl is a rats nest of bullet connectors all trying their damnest to detach from one another... but you knew that...
Good luck.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version