[mitchell]

hi all. need some troubleshooting help. i have a 1972 350 bullet which i sent here from india. i couldnt bear to leave it there after a great trip! right now i am about to take a 2 week trip through florida and just tonight my headlight and horn seem to be dying/fading.it seems very little juice is going through the system. my headlight barely lights the road!
otherwise, the bike runs great as usual with the lights off and the horn works well with them off too. battery holds the charge and the bike starts first kick every time.
i imagine this bike is a bit different than the us models.but basic electrics should be the issue here, no?
the battery is 2 years old. changing the bulb does nothing of course. all the wiring seems to be in place and so i am very perplexed.
any ideas as to where to look first, second...will be greatly appreciated!
thanx in advance
mitch

[Chasfield]

Any output from alternator?

You should get 13.5 volts or more appearing across the battery terminals with the motor running at 2000 rpm for a 12 volt system.

Of course, for a six volt system half that.

[mitchell]

yes, i get 12+ with the bike off and about 13 with it in idle. it took some searching...alternator came up with only one thread...no use. but electrics got me a good thread. however, applying a meter to the wires coming out of the alternator made the meter move, but i guess i'm just too inexperienced (dumb?!) to know what it means and how to fix the problem.
  it seems that at night i will have dim lights and no horn...or i just wont ride at night until i can find someone here in lauderdale who can fix this problem.
  it sucks because i was just about to take a 2 week trip up thru florida b4 i leave the country.
hey, anything can happen.

[The Garbone]

Check out this link here....--->Wire diagram regular 350

I would suggest disconnecting the wires from the rear of the headlight and then try the horn with the headlight turned on.  If your problem is still there it is most likely a ground on (red or white, one is high beam and on low beam) wire between the light switch and the horn or a bad switch.  I would also suggest trying the horn with the high beam on,  since that appears to run on a separate path from the switch to the bulb.


It looks like the horn is activated by a ground provided on pin 7 of the combo switch and your lights are supply with voltage from the same combo switch pack.  So a frayed wire bundle into that switch or crap built up in it could give you the indications you mentioned. 

Hope this helps...

[mitchell]

hey gary.jthanx for the tips. i tried what you said. i disconnected the headlight and ground. the horn worked perfect with the lights on, high beam and not.
still took it our today but returned home with the dim headlight and fading/sputtering horn. also noted that the turn signals dont come on either. maybe just not enough juice coming through.
found a motorbike shop which now sells enfields. they havent done much repair work but said it sounds like a ground problem. $90/hour though...ouch.will try them tomorrow.
it hurts because i can do most of what i need on my bike. but electrics!!! both handlebar switches are new. less than a year old i got from cmw. so they shouldnt be the problem.
could it be a bad solenoid or rectifier?

[The Garbone]

Ground problems sounds like most likely.   

You could put one lead of your meter on the negative battery term and measure the ohms between that and the black lead on the headlight.  It should be near zero ohms, less than 2ohms at least. If not that is the problem.  You could chase the path back to the negative terminal if the ohms are high until you find the open/bad connection.   

$90 and hour reminds me of why I like to tinker...Good luck...

I went to that dealership myself a month or so ago, down by the beach on Sunrise, I was in Lauderdale on business an missing my bike.  Pretty cool place, they had quite a few REs on the floor.  The sales guy told me they would take $1000 off one if I could ride it around the showroom and not hit anything.  Told him to get the keys, he then backed off a bit...

[mitchell]

OK,so let me ask a stupid question...if the ohms dont 'add up' the way you say, what is it that i do? look the length of the wiring for a break or a weak connection? how common should that be?
  that dealership has been mostly for choppers in the past. i never gave it a second thought. i dont remember it being announced on the monthly mailings from kevin.
  where are you in fla? i should be in cocoa beach by the end of the week with gainesville and later tampa in sight b4 returning to lauderdale. maybe riding only in daylight hours!!!    lol
 
 

[The Garbone]

I'm in Sanford, just north of Orlando.   

If the ohms don't ad up you just try to ID the wire or connection where they are high and repair.   Also I would suggest if the battery is older taking it  in the and getting it load tested for free at an autoparts store.  I don't really think its the problem but if is bad it can give you goofy problems, also when its out it makes it easier to check the ground (-negative) connections behind it and such. 

Part of the reason I got an RE is I wanted to learn engines a bit better.  Electronics are something I can actually deal with, engines not so much.

[mitchell]

i'm about to go out and pull out the battery and see all the wiring i can. if i see no break in the circuitry, i guess i will have to eat a $90 charge and get it done.
it will hurt, but i am a fish out of water here.
thanx again.

[mitchell]

ive seen nothing. the mechanic at thunder cycles says i need a new stator(thats the whole armature/alternator i think. will try other options.

[The Garbone]

Good link about alternators,, ----->here<----

Does not sound good money wise.   Good luck.

[Leonard]

Snidal has a section in his manual on checking the alternator output.

[mitchell]

i spoke with jim at cmw today and he gave me a heads up on what to do. thank you jim!
  my alternator seems to check out fine. i replaced the old regulator and rectifier with the combo one and all seems to be working well. i only gave it a short ride so maybe it is just working off of the battery. the ammeter is just a shade into the red and jumps farther into it when i hit the brakes. otherwise, with the lights off, it is well into the green.
 in the five years i have had the bike in the usa, i NEVER run the lights in the daytime. only 2 cops have ever told me to put them on...in five years.
today, running errands, i pulled into a parking lot and a high-pitched siren blared just behind me. i about shot out of my seat! 
  i stopped, turned around and it was a cop who i had passed by while making a turn 50 yards back. he gets out of the car and he is a big one. then, 3 teens get out with movie cameras, microphones, headsets, the works. i thought 'is this the tv show cops?" cop says 'i noticed you had your lights off when you passed me.' he asked for my license and then asked to show him the lights work. well, i'm thinking of murphy's law and all with my electric probs. so i go to kick it and he says 'NO just turn on the switch'. i said,'its an antique. they wont come on unless its running'. so i kicked it and there they were. no problem. whew!!!  he ran my license and let me go with a warning.
the film crew was disappointed. some student crew riding with the cop and filming him nail people.
 will give the bike a good ride tomorrow night.