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Hi guys,

I'm looking to start riding. My dad has an old CB360 that he had running in 05. In 05 one of the cylinders (I think) stopped running and he was trying to figure out why. He thought it was one of the coils but stopped working on it. It sat in the garage since then.

Fast forward to today. I bought a set of coils off ebay, we dug the bike out of the garage and and we threw them on.

The bike would not start. We put some ether in the spark plug hole and it would start up and burn the ether and then stall. We did this about 4 times.

We went to the gas station and got some gas. Brought the gas home and put it in the tank. Tried to start it - no luck. We looked at the fuel lines coming out of the tank, no fuel was in them. We disconnected the fuel lines and nothing came out of the tank. So, we took the petcock off and tried unclogging it. We put a wire in there and blew some ether and compressed air in. It seems to allow fuel out now.

Put it all together, and nothing - again! Now here is the confusing part. We tried either again to see if anything happened. Nothing! Wont even start like 30 mins prior. I'm not sure what this indicates.

So, we examine the spark plugs. Both seem fine. However, my dad thought this is wierd; when holding the plug on the engine it will only spark if the little folded over part (where the spark is supposed to be) is near or touching the engine. You will get a spark in the normal area, but also a spark on the bottom of the plug between the engine and plug.

When the plug's threaded area is touching the engine you get no spark...

This is confusing to us because it started with ether earlier. We didn't change any wires or anything.

What could be going on?

Thanks a lot!

-Mike

Okay, first thing I am going to tell you about this bike, get a manual. This manual is an actual Honda Shop manual, issued by honda to dealer shops. I have one and its awesome.

As for your bike running on ether, I'd pull the airboxes off and shoot it in there when trying to start the engine, if you get pop, then you're at least on the right track. I'd get new plugs for the bike and see what happens. Remember to run correctly you need fuel, air, spark and compression. and if this bike has been parked for a while your carb may be all gummed up, I'd probably tear it apart and do a very thorough cleaning, then have the carbs sync'd. If you can't get the jets cleaned all the way you might want to do a rebuild, you might want to do a rebuild anyway, here's a kit.

There's also a coil mod for the ignition coils that you can put in when you get the bike running that will help with ignition. Here's the schematic. If you would rather and can afford it, you can put in an electronic ignition kit, but they are a bit expensive.

I'm excited for you, this is a fun little bike. I have one and love riding it. Keep us up to date on how things are going with it and with any questions you have with it.

Thank you so much! We will attempt your suggestions later. I read the article on the coil mod. It makes a lot of sense. I went to the link and found the 12v relay, but it says I'd find an appropriate pigtail linked. I can't find that and also it makes it sound like I need a fuse. Where did you get those items?

Thanks a lot!

In-line fuse holders can be purchased at any box auto parts store. The pigtail is just some wire to hook it all up.

Today I took off the air boxes and tried to spray ether directly into the carbs. No luck, not even a start for a second like we had originally.

Todays trials confuse us further. As yo ucan see in the video the spark plug will not spark when grounded (the metal threads touching the engine) but they do spark when you hover them away from the engine (not touching)

When you screw the plug into the engine it's touching, right? So therefore we assume it's not sparking when installed. No wonder it don't start. What's going on?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRLGozLagH8


Thank you for any help!

It looks like ('looks like' is code for 'guessing') that corrosion/oil/dirt is preventing really good contact of the plug base and cylinder fin when the plug is being held there. With the electrode that far away from the cylinder, it doesn't have enough snap to jump the gap. When you hold the plug away from the engine, the electrode is actually much closer to the metal, and the spark can make that jump.

Have you tried the same thing with a different or new plug? The plug could be separated inside around the base and the porcelain.

Another thunk....... bad contact in the spark plug boot itself between the end of the wire (a loose/bent terminal clip) and the top of the spark plug. If so, how the wire/plug combo is being held at the time could cause the problem your having.

Its hard to tell with the video quality but is the gap set right on that plug? It kinda looks like the electrode is pushed down against the post. That would definitely cause no spark because it has no space to arc until you hold it near metal. Also don't keep spraying ether in there, it is just like running way too lean and can scorch the cylinders. Take apart and clean the carbs really good with cleaner and compressed air. Then you won't need ether any more because there will be gas.

The ends of th spark plug wire cap should screw off. Put them on an ohm-meter and see if you get a resistance, should be about 5k ohms. You could do the whole coil too. The primary (black/white wire to either blue or yellow (depending on the side)) I think is about 5 ohms, the secondary (black/white wire to the spark plug cap) should be about 15k ohms. I had this problem too, turned out that one of the plug wire caps was bad. It would give a weak spark when I held the end right near the engine, but not when i grounded it out. When I changed the plug cap, it worked. They are about $5 at the honda dealer. But check all of those resistnaces. It easiest to pull the coils off to do it.

You're not getting a pop on either side though?

Hi Fargo. I will give that a shot, but, yes - I get the same result on both sides. No pops and same sparking deal.

Have you checked a wiring diagram and verified that correct voltages are on the proper wires? Did you check the coils with an ohmmeter? Did you replace the condensers? Plugs are cheap too.