This is the first serious problem I have had with the bike since I bought it last October, and figuring that it is 6 years older than I am, I guess it is owed at least a pat on the back. I use it as a commuter and I have put at least 2000 miles on it in that time. (only 35 gallons of fuel).
Anyhow, I recently discovered that both my headlamp and taillamp had burned out simultaneously. I purchased replacements and put them in. fixed the issue and I rode away happy. A couple days ago, the tail bulb was burned through only about a week or so after I put it in. I replaced it, and again, it fixed the problem. Today I drove in to work, and when I started the bike to ride home, BOTH lights were burned out again.
How did I go through 5 bulbs in 2 weeks? What is wrong, and how do I fix it? (electricity is one of the things that I have little to no understanding of, so use laymans terms...)
Check the voltage both at the battery and at the lights while revving the engine.
Some Hondas are notorious for regulator/rectifier failure and that might be what you're seeing.
I think in the MB5 the battery acts AS the regulator.Make sense? or am I speaking stupids?
lights operate off battery power, engine magneto (not the X-man) charges the battery?
Battery will help smooth out any AC ripple but there is a regulator built in to the rectifier looks to be a $30 part. The other thing to remember is light bulbs made today are pure crap and might not take the vibrations of a bike bouncing down the road.
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Maroon92 wrote:
I think in the MB5 the battery acts AS the regulator.Make sense? or am I speaking stupids?
If there isn't a regulator, chances are you'll end up with a boiled battery...
Check the grounds for both circuits. This can also play havoc on your lights. That's too fun a bike to have problems with...
The battery was completely dead, so I am guessing that the dc lights didn't like the ac jumps. re-filled it with distilled and charged it overnight. Hopefully another 20 bucks worth of bulbs will fix the issue.
With battery dry the regulator has nothing to gauge its output too. Now ask why was the battery dry? Is the reg/rect bad and over charged it/boiled it out? Or was it just lack of normal maint?
Keep an eye on it. i recall MB5's had points so your lucky there if it had a CDI you likley be dead on the road side with a smoked CDI box.
Check the battery with voltmeter with engine off then with running it should come up about 1.25 to 1.5 volts over static state and more and reg/rec is toasted.
It's my first bike, so I will take the responsibility on this one. I am not really well versed in motorcycle maintenance (well...I am now), so I just pushed the battery to the back of my mind. (I am young enough that I have never had anything other than a sealed battery).
It was totally my fault, and I will keep it checked from now onward. I read that you have to top them up once a month? How can you tell what the water level is? I can't see through the side of the battery to see what it is, even though there is an upper and a lower mark on it. (what happens if it is too full?)
Old Hondas often have fuse box issues. Pull all the fuses and clean up all the contacts. Do the same with any ground wires that you can find.
Woody wrote:
Old Hondas often have fuse box issues. Pull all the fuses and clean up all the contacts. Do the same with any ground wires that you can find.
Only one fuse. At the battery.
Too full it will dribble out the overflow hose and drip on to any painted surface thus peel the paint and rust away the metal. It's normal the vapors will do this too.
Pop in to rite-aid and grab a rubber bulb "nose sucker" in the pediatric isle (Turkey baster only smaller) use that to fill the battery if you over fill you can suck some out and put it in the next cell over.
Normal Max level is about 1/16 under the meeting surface of the black plastic top and the opaque sides.
Thanks for all the help guys. It worked fine today after a charge and new bulbs.
