cb360 electrical troubles

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92civeg
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cb360 electrical troubles

#1 Unread post by 92civeg »

i have cb360 that im trying to get running this winter...ive cleaned it up good and put many parts on it...i just picked up a battery last night and charged it and threw it in the bike today and all the lights and everything work but when i try to hit the electric start button nothing happends except the lights get dim...it does have a kick start but i am just curious as to why it wont do anything..btw i just replaced the right side electrical controls and throttle cables

heres a pic of it

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cb360
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#2 Unread post by cb360 »

can you hear the starter relay/solenoid clicking at all? It's located right behind the battery.
1974 Honda CB360
1985 Honda Magna VF700c

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mydlyfkryzis
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#3 Unread post by mydlyfkryzis »

Maybe you loosened a wire. Since you replaced the right side controls, they have the starter button in them. The button has 3 wires, a common, and one to the starter and one to the lights. When you hit start, the headlight is supposed to go out, leaving more amps for the starter. If the line to the headlight is o.k., the starter wire could still be disconnected somewhere. That would explain why the lights go out but no start.
\
As the other response, is the solenoid clicking? you can use a heavy gauge wire and jump the solenoid across the heavy terminals to see if it is the starter, the solenoid or the wire from the handlebars.
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92civeg
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#4 Unread post by 92civeg »

no i sure didnt hear it clicking....i thought the started solenoid was on the starter?

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cb360
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#5 Unread post by cb360 »

I do not believe it is - I have a 74 cb360 and my starter relay (or solenoid - it seems that some folks use these terms interchangably) is located in a round rubber grommet right behind the battery and connects directly to the battery so it should be very easy to find back there. Someone correct me if I am wrong - but I don't think I am - this time anyway :laughing: where's 9000white? He'll know.
1974 Honda CB360
1985 Honda Magna VF700c

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#6 Unread post by 9000white »

cb 360 is right --just follow the wire on the starter back to a little box and the other big wire on it will be the positive cable from the battery.you can sometimes take them solenoids apart and clean the crud up and they will work again.the first thing you need to do is find the solenoid and take a test light and see if the wire from battery to solenoid is hot then push starter switch and check big wire going to starter to see if light comes on.
dr bob

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#7 Unread post by cb360 »

I had a problem on my 360 where the relay was frozen so that as soon as you hooked up the battery the starter motor engaged and wouldn't shut off unless you disconnected the battery again. I pulled the starter relay hoping to clean it up - my opinion was that it was a sealed unit and I could not get to the part where contact was made to fix it. Luckily, mysta2 had an extra laying around and he sent it to me. Not the easiest part to find but they exist - if seen them on ebay in the $20-$30 range. Not dirt cheap exactly but they ain't making new ones. Might be able to use one from a different bike too - I don't know about that.
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1985 Honda Magna VF700c

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#8 Unread post by 9000white »

hey cb360====how about a update on the magna.
dr bob

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cb360
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#9 Unread post by cb360 »

Threadjack!

Thanks for asking. I absolutely love the magna - took it for a rid yesterday. The guy kept it real clean. It had a lot of miles - about 38k - but at $900 the price was fair and he threw in some great luggage that I can use on any bike and an extra helmet I can use when there's a guest in town or something. It needed new rubber so I put some metzelers on there and got it tuned at my local shop. I've put about 1000 miles on it and it runs great. So far it has started on the first try every time - even when it was freezing cold outside. Plenty of power - no trouble passing on the interstate, even with my wife on the back. The old cb360 is a great bike and I'll still ride it around town but the Magna satisfies my needs when I need to go further and faster with two people - and that's exactly why I got it. I won't have it forever, but if it lasts two years it will have been a great bike until I can save up the cash for a bike capable of doing a little long range touring. I even like the seat but I can see how it would trouble a taller person.
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#10 Unread post by 9000white »

38000 miles aint much on a magna there are many that have gone 100000 with regular maintenance.got 45000 on my sabre without any problems.same engine as magna.---- p.s. get some carb cleaner from Yamaha and pour in the tank as soon as you can ride it more.the yamaha stuff works best of all the other stuff out there.
dr bob

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