[Jimux]

Hi everyone, I have recently purchased a 84 Honda Shadow 700 with just 19k miles. Got it for my first project & bike, I only know a little about cars from working on my old Chevy and now my 8th gen Civic si. So on the day of inspection, owner claimed the battery won't charge, I had my car jumped the bike. It took a few try but we got it started and ran for least 20mins no problem, after purchased I had it sat inside for over a week until I tried starting up again. I had the battery charged up and connected with a jumper cable, It kept turning but won't ignite, after a few try it start to turn weak going on and off. So I stopped, thinking it could be out of fuel and I'm putting too much air in the engine. Another week passed, I moved it into my newly built shed. I poured 3/4 gallon of 93 and about an ounce of seafoam in, all lights came on fine on run position but it did nothing when I try to start. No turn and only hear a click sound from the rear after releasing the start button, that's also when I noticed my battery voltage gone down to about 10 after sitting for over a week. Had it charged up to 12.5V avg and tried again the next day, bike turned again but with no luck on igniting. It just kept turning for a few and stopped, then it gets weaker to not doing anything again. Tested the battery afterwards and find it dropped to about 11.5V, some people are telling me it's the relay, the starter or the rectifier. Any other ideas on what's causing this problem?

Here's a video of it starting to start

 

[bpe]

Your relay sounds good. At minimum you need a new battery. You mentioned "jumping it off a car", just don't do that with the car running.

 

[oldenslow]

The battery would be my #1 suspect, as well. Sounds mighty like a dead cell. Take it to a parts store and have it tested, and when they tell you it's shot -- new battery.

 

[Jimux]

The battery would be my #1 suspect, as well. Sounds mighty like a dead cell. Take it to a parts store and have it tested, and when they tell you it's shot -- new battery.

The previous owner actually told me it is a new battery that he just got but I will get it tested later today after work

 

[Jimux]

Your relay sounds good. At minimum you need a new battery. You mentioned "jumping it off a car", just don't do that with the car running.

Is it because the car produces much more voltage? So if I need to jump it with the car again, do it without the car running?

 

[oldenslow]

As long as a bike has a 12-volt system -- which most do, these days-- you can jump it with a car. But be cautious. The car battery has enough juice to do it without the car running. And, as most car jumper cables have pretty large clamps, be extra careful that you're not shorting to the frame or between the clamps.

 

[bpe]

owner claimed the battery won't charge

The battery won't hold a charge? or
The bike won't charge the battery?

 

[hogcowboy]

The previous owner actually told me it is a new battery that he just got but I will get it tested later today after work

It might be a new battery but did he bring up to full charge?
Batteries sit on shelves for months, so need to be properly
brought up to full charge before usage. How a battery is
treated right off the bat has a direct relation to the battery's
service life. If you have it tested and it shows nothing more
than needing a charge, bring it up to full charge so you can
rule that out as a possible problem. Then start check other
potential problems keeping in mind that every time you try
to start the bike that you are discharging the battery. Keep
the battery tender right there ready to be hooked up again.

 

[Jimux]

Hi everyone, so here is an update to my bike. Friday night I had the battery tested again at advance auto and this time, he found the battery needed to be replaced. So I got a new battery, filled with acid and charged it properly according to the manual. The next day before installing the new battery, I tested the voltage and read around 12.78.

The motor turned much stronger than before but it still couldn't fire up. So I decided to give the air box a spray of starting fluid and got it fired right up, I kept it running for a few mins before shut it off to see if it'll crank back up and It did!

I kept it running for another half an hour, the idling sounds fine although it has a weird whining noise? It sounds to be coming from the motor or transmission, perhaps a worn out gear or a pulley? I'm not sure if motorcycle uses pulley and belts like a car does, I've also checked the voltage on the new battery multiple times during this. After both the start up, the voltage was reading around an avg 14.3 during idle and drops back down to around 12.7 after powering off. So I can't say for sure if the previous owner was right about the charging issue on the bike, until I figure out how to conduct a continuity test on the stater. Then the next morning I tried starting the bike up again, the battery was reading at 12.78v and the bike turned a few but the same problem happened again. It turned very weak for a few and stopped, nothing happen again just like it did before with nothing but a "click" sound after releasing the start button. I tried giving another spray of the starting fluid but with no luck, I tested the battery again. It read an avg of 12.08 with the key on on position and a avg of 12.6v with the key off and it'll slowly raises back up to 12.7+. I gave the bike and the battery a few hrs to rest before giving it another shot with the battery now at 12.78v but again no sauce. I am very lost at this point but I can rest assured that the motor is still alive and healthy, I also went online to print out the service manual. I would also like to know if anyone knows why on my initial inspection, I found a hose coming off the bottom left side of the bike leaking out coolant (green fluid) I suppose? I've heard some say is normal and some say its not, I can only find 2 image from the book so far that seems to possibly showing the same hose? One does not indicate the name of the part and the other is a crankcase breather? Could this be a ac drain hose, there's also seen to be another hose beside it that I now notice after taking a closer pic. I did also notice another hose on the right side of the bike during my initial inspection as well but it seems to have no leak of any kind and it seems to be coming off from the carburetor? (I do not have an imagine of this atm)

F.Y.I I am no skilled mechanic, I only know very little about cars. Only had done routine maintenance, changing out small parts, brakes and calipers before. I do not hope or rush to get the bike on the road any time soon, I drive a stick shift but has never driven a motorcycle nor has a license to. I purchased this bike from a elderly gentlemen for $550 with the sole intention of learning, passion and experience, I had always dream to own a motorcycle and a project to work on. Which is still my civic but this bike will be my winter project and a valuable learning experience! I appreciate everyone that has been supporting me and I will keep this posted! ?

 

[Jimux]

The battery won't hold a charge? or
The bike won't charge the battery?

He told me that the bike will not charge the battery and my initial thought from my knowledge was either a bad alternator or a bad battery, I really did not learn to be a bad battery until my recent second visit to advance auto getting the old battery tested again by a different person. I was told by a different associate there on my first visit that my old battery was fine and only needing a charge, which was around the time I first tried starting the bike after purchasing it for over a week.

 

[hogcowboy]

It seems rather clear to me that you have a short in the electrical system SOMEWHERE. On a more personal note, I've never had a new battery freshly charged test as low as your's tested. Did you take the first test reading on the bike or off? If on, then the short is probably the cause of the low reading. Or maybe you didn't get it to full charge. But you better start tracing every wire or you will have yet another shot battery. Alternate plan two is to learn to use a voltmeter really well because it can help find that short as well. There are post that describe that process on the forum. I'd have to search myself. There might even be a Sticky(one of those posts that stays at the top).

To save the battery I would disconnect it any time you are not actively testing for that short using the voltmeter. Good luck as I hate electrical issues myself. This should be your #1 job now. As to the tubes. Are there 3 tubes or 2 as I see 1 with a drip and 2 that appear dry. 1 that looks plugged with something is the crankcase breather tube. If the other one next to that one isn't the one with the drip then it most likely is a fuel tank overflow tube. If it is the same then it must be the radiator overflow. Letting it idle for 30 minutes is way too long but that might be why it is dripping. But then where is the fuel tank overflow tube?

 

[bpe]

Clearly you needed a new battery, so you made a good buy there. In an effort to not trash out the new battery you should do as hog cowboy suggests.
Look in your manual on how to check/test the stator/alternator, and see what you come up with there.

You probably have more than one unrelated issues going on here. You should have a tube connected to the carburetor that the other end connects to nothing. That would be a vent tube, I would disconnect it at the carb and blow air through it to make sure it is not clogged up.