QuestionBill answered my question very promptly, I had learned a lot from what I read about a similar post last night and what I learned on my own today. I have near all problems worked out except the one we were discussing over the past 24 hrs. I forgot to mention no headlight switch at all and no kill switch either. I charged it overnight and it runs great on full charge. but I can see the voltage dropping across the batt while idling. I am only getting 12 v ac from both the pink and yellow wires that come off the stator, you said can go up to 40v over 1-2x1000 rpm. Is this normal went from 11 to 12 when revved. and I will do as you said to test the rectifier. I am a little confused still as to how to test the regulator, being the method you describe involves using the headlight switch as a trouble shooting tool?
here is the original message:
Expert: Bill Silver
Subject: I just want to ride! all I need is for the battery to charge
Question: Bill I have a cb350 a 73, live and learn.
It had been half brain (best way I could put it and still be kid friendly) restored when I got it. I have had it now 4 years. It had fresh paint, new tires and brand new carbs when I got it. They had upgraded from original carbs with a nice set of Minuki's, but the bike would never hold a charge. Sitting in storage for nearing 2 and a half years, I came across the opportunity to buy another one just like it the guy told me it was a cb350k, I believe. The book shows a could different wiring diagrams, not the one he mentioned though, he may have been wrong too. I found a manual under the seat and it says it's a cl350, none the less after riding it for five minutes, I told him I'd love to have it for parts (no title#, but I needed it only if it charges the battery. Gave me his word it did, I should've tested that, simply by riding it for an hour at the time or later. Before... I had swapped out the stator/alternator #outside coils only), rectifier, and voltage regulator. I now have the same problem. Am poor student have no more money. I dropped it yesterday while towing it home when it broke down, I now have a big dent in the beautiful tank. Found the strap after the fact. Hurt myself next. You see my aggravation here Bill?
I read what you wrote about any more than idle will put out 40 volts or more ac, on the pink and my yellow wire and I understand it may be the rectifier or voltage regulator too. I just about eliminated any chance of the wiring being wrong with the aid of the cb/cl us 350 diagram. I would think I need the voltage from those two wires from the alternator before anything. Do I tough the black and red probes on pink and yellow at the same time, or the red to one at a time with the black probe grounded? and how would I go further to test the rectifier and regulator? Can ya help me Bill? All I wanna do is ride it!
Answer: Michael, Sorry to hear about your latest round of woes on the 350.
Basically the CL and CB350s are the same machine with the same wiring connections and charging systems.
The AC voltage can be verified or measured, one wire at a time from the stator. If you just probe the yellow, brown, pink wires at idle you should see a 12v test light brighten up with the pink wire about 2x bright as the other two. Be sure that you have clean and shiny wiring connections throughout the bike's electrical system. The stator output is in AC volts, which are rectified into DC volts, then routed back to the battery.
Also on the 350s, I think they have a small green wire in addition to the ground lead to the battery, so be sure both are connected. The small wire grounds the harness to the chassis.
Beyond that, you might try to leave the current regulator disconnected (small box beneath the battery tray with yellow/black and green wires) to see if the voltage output increases. If you run with the lights on, then go into the headlight shell and check to see that the headlight dimmer switch wires are all connected properly. When the lights go ON, the extra coil in the stator gets included into the power output. Those are yellow and yellow/white wires. Sometimes when the bikes sit for a long time, the internal contacts in the headlight switch can corrode and fail to make proper contact.
Test the rectifier with an ohm meter to verify that there are no shorted/open diodes. Go from the output wire(red) to each of the other diodes with the ohm meter and then reverse the leads to see if you get different readings. Basically you want to see low ohms in one direction and high to infinite in the other polarity test.
http://oldmanhonda.com/MC/WiringDiagrams/MCwiring.php
Always test the charging system with a fully charged, load tested battery.
Bill Silver
thank you so much Bill and Jan
AnswerThe output of the bike is AC, and it should vary with revs. The rectifier turns this into DC, which should go to 14.2 Volts when the bike is revved. I would start with checking the connections carefully, and measuring across the stator and the rotor to check for open circuits and bad connections. This is nto a complex system so don't look for complex problems, usually it is a broken ground wire or bad connection that causes the problem. If you have no headlight switch and no kill switch, then I can only assume someone has been cutting into the wiring and that may well be the reason for the problems. It's tough to diagnose something that has been 'modified' by previous owners...! Good luck, Jan
