Total electrical failure on '84 Honda Sabre

bcubed · 06-10-2012, 02:00 AM

The night before the trouble, I rode home uneventufully.

Eight hours later, I go to ride it and there's NO electrical power. Not even enough to work the LCD gear display, which I gather takes almost no current.

As I had somewhere to be, I roll-started it. Had to get it up to 20 MPH or so to run, and it would misfire unless idled fast. For the return trip, it failed to start again (I was hoping it would recharge on the ride over.) So, pickup time!

On getting it home, I did some diagnostics and found:
1. 6V on the "12V" battery terminal.
2. No sign of any electrical power (no start, no instrument lights, etc).
3. When jumped from the truck, had power and started just fine...once. ***The next time I hit the start button, everything went dead.***

So, my suspicion is that I have a bad starter solenoid, stuck halfway on (so no starter engagement, but disconnecting the battery from the electrical system.)

Does this seem likely?

What to.do about it? (Good candidate for salvage part or should I try to adapt a new solenoid frpm a more modern bike?)

Goliath616 · 06-10-2012, 02:57 AM

sounds more like a dead battery...take it in to a parts store and have them check it before buying more parts....it's usually free for a check

Castle81 · 06-10-2012, 03:58 AM

Go get a new battery. Even if it wasn't the primary cause, this one has deep cycled and will never be "right" again. Without a good battery, the only thing you can accurately test is your patience.

06-10-2012, 02:00 AM	#1
bcubed Verified Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 25	Total electrical failure on '84 Honda Sabre The night before the trouble, I rode home uneventufully. Eight hours later, I go to ride it and there's NO electrical power. Not even enough to work the LCD gear display, which I gather takes almost no current. As I had somewhere to be, I roll-started it. Had to get it up to 20 MPH or so to run, and it would misfire unless idled fast. For the return trip, it failed to start again (I was hoping it would recharge on the ride over.) So, pickup time! On getting it home, I did some diagnostics and found: 1. 6V on the "12V" battery terminal. 2. No sign of any electrical power (no start, no instrument lights, etc). 3. When jumped from the truck, had power and started just fine...once. *The next time I hit the start button, everything went dead.* So, my suspicion is that I have a bad starter solenoid, stuck halfway on (so no starter engagement, but disconnecting the battery from the electrical system.) Does this seem likely? What to.do about it? (Good candidate for salvage part or should I try to adapt a new solenoid frpm a more modern bike?)

06-10-2012, 02:57 AM	#2
Goliath616 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Over here Posts: 4,201	sounds more like a dead battery...take it in to a parts store and have them check it before buying more parts....it's usually free for a check __________________ '08 Yamaha Road Star To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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06-10-2012, 03:58 AM	#3
Castle81 Severed Head Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: White Settlement, TX Posts: 378	Go get a new battery. Even if it wasn't the primary cause, this one has deep cycled and will never be "right" again. Without a good battery, the only thing you can accurately test is your patience.