Motorcycle Repair: Honda 1973 CL125S, volt system, voltage side

Question
Rich,  I got out my 1973 Honda CL125S since the weather has temporarily warmed up.  It runs fine, but when I turn on the turn signal or headlight, it dies.  The headlight may have even burnt out along with the speedometer lights since neither come on. I put the battery charger on it and it was down a little, but now it is fully charged, and the headlight and speedometer (neutral) light still does not come on and it still dies when I turn on the turn signal..even when I have it reved up quite a bit.  Color me puzzled!

It is a 6 volt system and I read your other answers about the lack of charging ability in the older Hondas, but I have not had that problem before.  Welcome your thoughts.  

Thanks in advance.

Larry


Answer
Larry, I've had to think about this question a bit.  I can't think of anything that could explain this.  The only thing I can think is that the current is finding another way to ground that is easier than going through the coils.   The power to those systems all go through the headlight and through the right and left hand switches.  

Check the connections in the headlight and make sure they are all clean and snug.  You may want to take the switches apart and see if those are corroded inside.  Also check the frame under the coil mount and make sure it's not rusty.  The high voltage side of the coil is grounded through the mount to the frame.  If the coil isn't making a good ground to the frame, it can cause excessive resistance in that circuit which might explain your symptoms.

Regards
Rich