help! got it together and it wont start

[Bikeman982]

Honda also won't start

Honda also won't start

I have a 1978 Honda CX500 that has a similar problem. It just won't start. I think the battery is bad, since it won't take a charge. When I used a car battery it turned over three times and that was all. Since then it won't even rotate. Any ideas??

 

[ron bayless]

I have a 1978 Honda CX500 that has a similar problem. It just won't start. I think the battery is bad, since it won't take a charge. When I used a car battery it turned over three times and that was all. Since then it won't even rotate. Any ideas??

i AM BEGINNING TO THINK MY PROBLEMS ARE possibly several related to my lack of assembly skills.I doubt you disassembled your bike.But,if you have done any of the following- put a new valve cover gasket on,replaced or rebuilt the cam chain tensioner if your bike has one,reinstalled the cams and their cam bearing caps,then the answer could be the same for all 3.They are too tight to let the motor turn freely.Also, a dead battery is easily remedied by a new one,but if you have a good battery that has been checked out as good by some auto shop and it wont hold a charge then you might have a stator problem.Also,i think all the motors have an oil pump,and if that goes so goes the engine.

 

[Suzuki mad]

Did you put new rings in?

Cam caps on the right sides?

All basic silly questions. You have the ability to do this so cut the cr*p. If it were a V10 race engine then yes maybe...

There is a simple answer to this that can be resolved.....

Ron have you cleared your PM box recently M8?

Suzuki mad.

 

[ron bayless]

Did you put new rings in?

Cam caps on the right sides?

All basic silly questions. You have the ability to do this so cut the cr*p. If it were a V10 race engine then yes maybe...

There is a simple answer to this that can be resolved.....

Ron have you cleared your PM box recently M8?

Suzuki mad.

YOU ARE DOUBLE COOL.

 

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I didn't read every word but I'd first make sure the tensioner is torqued down correctly and then follow the simple tensioner action check in your manual. That will prove if it's operating right and then you'll have no worries about slipping a tooth, etc.
Then, and because you didn't mention it, I'd verify the engine to frame ground is clean/tight and then remove at least two plugs (one for each coil) and verify good spark. If good, then I'd make sure to prime the carbs and verify that fuel has entered in the correct quantity by removing the bowl drain bolts. Remember that your petcock requires engine cranking to allow fuel flow and just turning the petcock to prime and waiting a bit won't work. If good, then you know you have spark and fuel.

 

[robertbarr]

Remember that your petcock requires engine cranking to allow fuel flow and just turning the petcock to prime and waiting a bit won't work.

I don't understand this statement. Does the '80 1000L not have a Prime position on the petcock?

In any case, if the engine won't crank easily, NOW would be the time to determine what the problem is, not after you've let the engine destroy itself.

Have you done step 13 here?

http://bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html

You said earlier that you can't turn the setscrew and locknut independently. Here's your text: "The cam tensioner thing didnt go like i think it should have.Loosened the lock nut,loosened the set screw 1 1/2 turns.Then when I tried tightening the lock nut the screw turns with it.I could never get the screw to stay still when i tried to tighten the nut."

OK -- remove the tensioner, remove the setscrew & locknut and straighten this out -- probably grungy threads. Clean & lube them so they DO turn independently, and THEN do step 13.

Pull the plugs. Turn the engine over by wrench. Does it turn freely? If so, this is a good time to do a compression check.

 

[ron bayless]

I don't understand this statement. Does the '80 1000L not have a Prime position on the petcock?

In any case, if the engine won't crank easily, NOW would be the time to determine what the problem is, not after you've let the engine destroy itself.

Have you done step 13 here?

http://bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html

You said earlier that you can't turn the setscrew and locknut independently. Here's your text: "The cam tensioner thing didnt go like i think it should have.Loosened the lock nut,loosened the set screw 1 1/2 turns.Then when I tried tightening the lock nut the screw turns with it.I could never get the screw to stay still when i tried to tighten the nut."

OK -- remove the tensioner, remove the setscrew & locknut and straighten this out -- probably grungy threads. Clean & lube them so they DO turn independently, and THEN do step 13.

Pull the plugs. Turn the engine over by wrench. Does it turn freely? If so, this is a good time to do a compression check.

tHANKS MAN,APPRECIATE THE INFOR.i APPRECIATE ALL YOU GUYS' HELP.Sorry about the caps,i am at work.

 

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I don't understand this statement. Does the '80 1000L not have a Prime position on the petcock?
http://

And I'd tend to agree with you except the '80 factory manual states in the petcock operation/repair section that the engine must be cranking to initiate fuel flow when in the prime position.
I know the '80 "slot" petcock was an odd duck and I've never really bothered to study it myself. A prime position that requires vacuum doesn't make sense. Like it has two "on" positions.
I'm just stating exactly what the factory manual says must be done when priming. For all I know the manual could be wrong but I doubt that.
Regardless, I just want him to check the bowls for fuel.

 

[Guest]

To prime the bowls with my 80 petcock I have to suck on the vacuum line once for the fuel to start to flow. I bet he hasn't primed his bowls either.

 

[ron bayless]

To prime the bowls with my 80 petcock I have to suck on the vacuum line once for the fuel to start to flow. I bet he hasn't primed his bowls either.

YOU ARE RIGHT CHEF.i havent primed anything,the motor wont turn over fast enough to worry about fuel.Thanks for the tip,i didnt realize i would even have to prime anything.I guess since the carbs laid in a box for a month that is reasonable,but i thought the petcock and the vacuum line would do that for me.Ron

 

[Billyboy]

If you're relying on the vac p.cock to fuel the carbs initially, you'll be cranking a while. Use the prime, when she's ready to rock.

 

[kurifu]

I have a 1978 Honda CX500 that has a similar problem. It just won't start. I think the battery is bad, since it won't take a charge. When I used a car battery it turned over three times and that was all. Since then it won't even rotate. Any ideas??

Actually this happened to me, I replaced my piston rings about 3 weeks ago and had to replace my battery since the slight added friction meant that I couldn't get the engine turning fast enough. I hooked up a car battery and it went right over within seconds.

I didn't have to do anything special to prime my carbs, I have a GS1000 GT (CV carbs), I just put the petcock in prime, tapped the fuel lines a bit to get the air bubbles out and went in to watch TV for 30 minutes.

And since no one else has really mentioned it, have you considered your starter being the problem? Brushes might be worn or the contacts corroding and this could prevent sufficient current getting into the starter to get your engine going.

If you chain is tensioned properly and your engine turns over freely without hitting valves an whatnot you can check if you starter is the problem by taking your bike down a hill. The only part of this that sucks though is that if it doesn't work you now have to push your bike back up the hill.

 

[ron bayless]

Actually this happened to me, I replaced my piston rings about 3 weeks ago and had to replace my battery since the slight added friction meant that I couldn't get the engine turning fast enough. I hooked up a car battery and it went right over within seconds.

I didn't have to do anything special to prime my carbs, I have a GS1000 GT (CV carbs), I just put the petcock in prime, tapped the fuel lines a bit to get the air bubbles out and went in to watch TV for 30 minutes.

And since no one else has really mentioned it, have you considered your starter being the problem? Brushes might be worn or the contacts corroding and this could prevent sufficient current getting into the starter to get your engine going.

If you chain is tensioned properly and your engine turns over freely without hitting valves an whatnot you can check if you starter is the problem by taking your bike down a hill. The only part of this that sucks though is that if it doesn't work you now have to push your bike back up the hill.

Thanks for the input.I have done verything.I just trid it again after retorqueing,redoing th tensioner,relubeing the cam journals,still wont start.

 

[Killer2600]

Thanks for the input.I have done verything.I just trid it again after retorqueing,redoing th tensioner,relubeing the cam journals,still wont start.

Does it turn over well? If not does it turn well by hand with the plugs out? It may sound like extra work but it'll isolate whether the engine is binding or if the starter/electrical is running slow.

 

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Is there spark at all plugs?
Is there sufficient fuel in each bowl?
Is the air box on?
If yes to all 3, let me back up some. Did you correctly mount and torque the cam caps? They must be re-assembled in specific position and torqued correctly and in a specific torquing sequence.

 

[nabrams]

From your statement below, it seems clear that you CAN turn the motor by hand.
If so, you need to clarify where you're at now. When you hook up jumper cables to your car battery (car should NOT be running) does the engine turn over nice and fast? Do you SEE spark on all cylinders?
If yes, then for now try future starting attempts with the car battery. Once you get all the carb issues (and/or ignition issues) worked out and the bike starts up, then remove the jumper cables and try starting without the car battery. If it won't turn over then it's a bad battery or bad starter motor (may just need insides cleaned - see other posts).
The idea here is to use the "process-of-elimination" approach, so that you only test one variable at a time.

Ha ha ha.That's funny.Yes I did try to start it first in gear.I turned the key hit the button and nothing.I was glad at least for a moment when i realized it was in gear.I just went out and rechecked the timing by hand.The motor was turned over 2 complete revolutions by me by hand and the timing marks come up right every time.If i took the tensioner almost off,had it really loose,that wouldnt hurt anything would it?Seems like it would only let the cam chain be loose,right?

 

[rphillips]

Don't do that. If you already did, take it completely off, reset the plunger all the way in, lock it down, then reinstall it & release the plunger. With a little help, you should be able to see if the tensioner is the problem. Turn the engine by hand with a wrench, then have someone turn the little disc on the side of the tensioner, appx. 1/4 turn & hold it in that position, It will only go 1 way, I think counter clockwise, this will loosen the tension on the cam chain. Then turn the engine again. If it's much easier with the disc turned, that's your problem, if the engine doesn't turn any easier, it must be something else. Wish I could think what

 

[ron bayless]

Help!!!! I Am Getting Close!!!

Help!!!! I Am Getting Close!!!

Itook the cams out,tensioner off,the motor was still hard to turn over.i took the head back off of course after taking the carbs and exhausts back off.I took the front cam chain guide out.Now the motor turns over like a sewing machine??? What now?? Can the front cam chain guide be in place as far as appearance goes but be snagging the chain down below or something>>? Maybe that is the problem.At least now i know the motor does tun over freely.All the cylinder bores are oiling too.Help!!!! Soon!!!

 

[ron bayless]

Yeeha!! It Tuns Over Now!!!!!

Yeeha!! It Tuns Over Now!!!!!

It was the 34728473ing! front cam chain guide.It looked right it felt right but it wasnt right> i took the carbs off tensioner off, cams out head back off and couldnt find anything wrong.I got the motor top turn over real good until i put the front cam chain guide in,then it started locking up.FYI the front cam chain guide fits into a little cup in the front of the cam chain guide holder that is under the crank.The rear cam chain guide fits into the back of that same holder.If the front cam chain guide is all the way down, it might be, but not in the holder.If you turn the motor over and it goes about 180 then stops, it is the cam chain guide.Pull it out and you will see that is the problem.I put it back in about 6 times.For some strange reason it finally went in and the motor would still turn over like it is supposed to do.Thank God.My wife and her small hands are what i needed to get the thing in place.I will now owe her something expensive.Tomorrow gas tank, exhausts, and fire it up.I will keep ya'll posted.!!

 

[KEITH KRAUSE]

That's great! Hope she runs great!