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I just barely bought a 1979 cx500 custom that wouldn't start when I got it. It had no battery, but even jump starting it wouldn't work. I put in a new main fuse holder and fuse (thanks to some tips from this forum), and it fired right up, all the lights and everything working just fine.
However, the next day when I got a battery in it, it decided not to start, or have any power at all. The fuse was still good, and neither of my connections for the holder was bad. I redid them anyway cause they were kind of sloppy and still nothing. After fooling with it for a while, I settled on the ignition switch. I remembered the previous owner said it had been replaced with one from another bike, and discovered that the switch actually only had 5 pins (from a gl?).
Since I wanted it going, I figured out which pins connected when, then pulled apart the plastic harness connector (I'll need a new one, the plastic is all degraded. Where do I get one?) and made a switched connection between the red and black wires with the ignition switch. Now it starts and runs, but only the front lights come on. I connected the brown and brown/white wires to try and get the tail lights, but still nothing. I think it just needs cleaning, though.
The weird thing is that when I flip the turn signal to the right, it goes from having the front one on (solid, not blinking), to having the back on (solid, not blinking). On the left, the front light is missing, (I already ordered a replacement), and nothing happens with the back one when the switch is flipped to the left. Will getting the brown and brown/white wires connected right fix this? Or is there something in the wiring I'm missing?
I'm pretty new to working on motorcycles, so I could use any tips at all for this specific bike, especially with the wiring. The other problem I have is when I have got it running, it won't idle.
Thanks for any help, sorry if this post seems too aimless. I guess I'm really just looking for tips on getting this bike back into running shape after a few years not running.
However, the next day when I got a battery in it, it decided not to start, or have any power at all. The fuse was still good, and neither of my connections for the holder was bad. I redid them anyway cause they were kind of sloppy and still nothing. After fooling with it for a while, I settled on the ignition switch. I remembered the previous owner said it had been replaced with one from another bike, and discovered that the switch actually only had 5 pins (from a gl?).
Since I wanted it going, I figured out which pins connected when, then pulled apart the plastic harness connector (I'll need a new one, the plastic is all degraded. Where do I get one?) and made a switched connection between the red and black wires with the ignition switch. Now it starts and runs, but only the front lights come on. I connected the brown and brown/white wires to try and get the tail lights, but still nothing. I think it just needs cleaning, though.
The weird thing is that when I flip the turn signal to the right, it goes from having the front one on (solid, not blinking), to having the back on (solid, not blinking). On the left, the front light is missing, (I already ordered a replacement), and nothing happens with the back one when the switch is flipped to the left. Will getting the brown and brown/white wires connected right fix this? Or is there something in the wiring I'm missing?
I'm pretty new to working on motorcycles, so I could use any tips at all for this specific bike, especially with the wiring. The other problem I have is when I have got it running, it won't idle.
Thanks for any help, sorry if this post seems too aimless. I guess I'm really just looking for tips on getting this bike back into running shape after a few years not running.