moisture= no spark, any ideas?

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The cdi box 85 thru 89 are the same, 90 and later will not work. I suspect that you have a broken wire some where and it very well may be in the cdi unit
 
Get the charging problem worked out first. On my 85 i replaced the complete wiring harnes but my problems were different from the problems you are having
 
Thanks Rhoy, for the year info on the CDI.
Guess what? This morning at 6:30, pretty warm, the bike started right up on the first try. The first time for a month! I didn't have time to pull the seat off and check the charging or ride.
If I have a CDI problem, which seems to be the cause of no fire at plugs, can it also control whether the R/R is charging or not? Also, how hot to touch should a R/R run if charging?
right now, I guess I'm in the market for a good CDI and possibly another R/R...I had replaced it last Fall and it worked fine until the no fire in the mornings situation started.
Have a good Memorial Day everyone and thanks for all your helpfull input! If it is not too hot tomorrow, I will take the airbox off and look at the CDI.
 
Okay, I'm throwing in the towel! I have the Vera-Max scheduled for drop off at the Yamaha shop, whose mechanic is a Vmax owner.
Three days ago, the bike started at 6:30, third time early morning start in 40 straight days. Rode to work, and home in very hot weather, no problems.
Decided to try removing the air box and look at the CDI black box and connectors. once I got air box off, I still couldn't see the CDI or even the front coils. Nothing looked like any pictures I have looked at and I was intimidated to go further than checking condition of a couple og connections I could see..all looked good and dry and no corrosion. Re-installed air box, gave thanks to God it actually started after my clumsy tri-focaled , sweat in the eyes work.
Next 2 mornings, no start. But started on first try after work in HOT weather.
This evening, it is pouring down rain, cooler, but high humidity...open the machine shed door and it fires on first try and R/R is charging great.
I'm asking tech to first check stator and pickup coils, and then CDI or whatever he can think of. I am coming home Saturday with something?? to ride in the meantime as it may be a month before he can get to it. They sold a 2005 Vmax I had my eye on, so it is down to new Honda NT700V, new Triumph America, or a 2005 ST1300. I'm tired of having no motorcycle to ride this Summer!
 
whats this for,found it while trying to sort out my "no prestart fuel pulse" that happened after i got caught in the rain.any one know what it controls, its blue on one end green one the other.
 

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I found it on mine too while I was having wiring harness gremlins.

It's a diode, I believe it has to do with the low fuel light - it allows current to go thru it but not back where it came from. (one-way traffic through a diode).
 
Thanks prolly not my trouble.I took every thing up top apart cleaned it and applied dielectric grease it fired on its own buttoned it up it started a couple times ......... now its back to not running unless I squirt it with starting fluid. All I want is for the DISTRIBUTOR OF THE PRODUCT to be knowlegable enough to the me Which wire controls the pre run injector pules.
 
Okay, I'm throwing in the towel! I have the Vera-Max scheduled for drop off at the Yamaha shop, whose mechanic is a Vmax owner.
Three days ago, the bike started at 6:30, third time early morning start in 40 straight days. Rode to work, and home in very hot weather, no problems.
Decided to try removing the air box and look at the CDI black box and connectors. once I got air box off, I still couldn't see the CDI or even the front coils. Nothing looked like any pictures I have looked at and I was intimidated to go further than checking condition of a couple og connections I could see..all looked good and dry and no corrosion. Re-installed air box, gave thanks to God it actually started after my clumsy tri-focaled , sweat in the eyes work.
Next 2 mornings, no start. But started on first try after work in HOT weather.
This evening, it is pouring down rain, cooler, but high humidity...open the machine shed door and it fires on first try and R/R is charging great.
I'm asking tech to first check stator and pickup coils, and then CDI or whatever he can think of. I am coming home Saturday with something?? to ride in the meantime as it may be a month before he can get to it. They sold a 2005 Vmax I had my eye on, so it is down to new Honda NT700V, new Triumph America, or a 2005 ST1300. I'm tired of having no motorcycle to ride this Summer!
Update????
 
Wow, and I thought I had problems with mine.

Have you had a closer look at your coils? Each one of mine had a small crack and was letting in water
P1040193b.JPG

Every time the bike wouldn't start the battery got worse until it wouldn't charge, then my regulator went up in smoke (frightening when you think how close it is to the fuel tank) and finally my starter clutch disintegrated. Replaced the alternator, regulator, battery, coils, starter clutch and all my problems went away
 
OK I have the same problem every time I wash my 06 max it will not start I am getting spark from the plug wires but engine will not fire it fouls the plugs and back fires through the carbs I put a Goldwing battery in it but I still keep eating starter clutchs up
 
ok I have the same problem every time I wash my 06 my bike will not start. I am getting spark through the plug wires but bike will not fire plugs become fouled and back fires through the carbs wtf???
 
Hey everybody: I thought maybe I should report in on my moisture or lower temp + no start problem,. As I stated in my last post a month ago, I was throwing in the towel and took the Vmax to a Yamaha dealership 30 miles away where the tech is a Vmax owner himself and seemed eager to help me out. He found the main problem was the relay that resides under the left scoop, in behind the plate with the three mounted relays or electrical circuit boards. I don't know what it actually controls, and I'm not sure he was totally sure what it does, but as he said, you can now run water on the area with a garden hose and it starts, Halleluia.
I know at least one of you helpful guys had told me this relay might be the problem, so I had purchased a couple of used relays off Ebay for this area, and when I switched this one out, the Ebay unit did not look the same, but it plugged in ok, but did not help it start, so I had put the original back in. i'm not even sure how he tracked it down, because he said the tech manual was not real helpful in telling what it actually did. Anyway, I gave her a good bath after getting her home , and she fired right up.
i want to thank everyone who had suggestions for me through this difficult period from the 3rd week of May until August. I also want to let you know there are some good techs at good dealerships that are fair priced for their work and very friendly and helpful. (Travco Motorsports in Olney Illinois) After tech Gerald found the main problem, I had him go over the bike and rebuilt the clutch, repaired the oil leak that was coming from where the wiring came out of the stator , replaced the regulator again and re-installed on the inside of the swing arm where it should be, serviced the bike and adjusted the steering bearings, and generally checked the bike over good.
Since I work at a John Deere dealership, I thought the $600. parts and labor was a fair price.
Now, the hard part to admit on this forum is the fact that while the Vmax was in the hospital, i purchased a Honda NT700V. It was purchased without a test ride, as it was the last one in the area dealerships, and hadn't even been started yet. After my first ride, I was about to take her back as it had no power it seemed and was almost silent running compared to my Vmax with cobra exhaust. But, after riding her for a month to work, I really like the bike for what it does, great, comfortable, economical daily transportation. I don't think I can give either one of the bikes up as my wife wants me to make a choice. The two bikes are so different from each other, it makes me understand why men want a wife with a younger, nubile mistress on the side, so I'm fighting to hang on to both!
Thanks again for your help with ideas to fix the Vmax....too bad it has been a very HOT Summer here in Southern Illinois, and I haven't been able to do more riding, but now I have to make a choice everytime I ride! Last evening, it sure felt like the Vmax had even more power than before!
 
What a bitch of a choice eh? I had 3 bikes in my garage at one point, lovely feeling! Wife wasn't having any of it either lol.. Well I sold one (not the Max of course) and the other one was hers (but she never rode it). Now I'm divorced, and I only have one bike (Max of course)..

That relay you're talking about, is the 'safety relay'. It cuts ignition if one of the three safety features aren't how they should be:
1 - clutch lever switch
2 - neutral switch
3 - side stand switch

So basically, if you try letting the clutch out while in gear with the sidestand down, the motor cuts out. and that lil' relay is the brain of the operation. Likes its life nice n dry. :)

Here's a pic of my happy 3-bikes times..
 

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G - I saw you riding both of the first two bikes in that pic. What is the one in the back, a Virago ?
 
..........I don't think I can give either one of the bikes up as my wife wants me to make a choice.......

Keep both. Go buy the wife a livingroom set or drapes or take her out for the weekend.......Yes. Bribe her!!
 
G - I saw you riding both of the first two bikes in that pic. What is the one in the back, a Virago ?

It was a Kawasaki 454LTD. My first bike in the US, and my first ever cruiser. A '90 with just under 5000 miles in great condition I bought off some guy in a trailer in Lakeland for cheap.
T'was a pretty sweet ride, if a little too small for me. The vertical twin 454 motor was basically half a Ninja 908cc, Kawi chopped off the outer cylinders and stuck it in a cruiser frame with a belt drive. It was really revvy and had 6 rather short gears, but was fun and still ate most Hardleys :clapping:

I sold it to a friend of mine in Tampa who stoill rides it. :biglaugh:
 

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It was a Kawasaki 454LTD. My first bike in the US, and my first ever cruiser. A '90 with just under 5000 miles in great condition I bought off some guy in a trailer in Lakeland for cheap.
T'was a pretty sweet ride, if a little too small for me. The vertical twin 454 motor was basically half a Ninja 908cc, Kawi chopped off the outer cylinders and stuck it in a cruiser frame with a belt drive. It was really revvy and had 6 rather short gears, but was fun and still ate most Hardleys :clapping:

I sold it to a friend of mine in Tampa who stoill rides it. :biglaugh:

A friend of mine had one as a second bike, bulletproof, never needed anything done to it! it always reminded me of the Eliminator and how much I wanted to chop one :biglaugh:
kawasaki_eliminator_zl-900_30.jpg
 
The wife has not done too bad yet...says I should have took it to the dealership in May instead of trying to fix it myself...she knows my repair record is not good. She hasn't forgot the new living room furniture bought in May either...I keep saying, "how's that new chair feel, hon?" or "Boy , that new sofa sure looks good with the rug, doesn't it?" just to keep her mind focused on those kind of things.
i also keep reminding her that I'm happy with our old style 25 year old TV , instead of wanting a new, big flat screen like everyone else has...i'd rather go ride the "death cycles" then watch TV anyway...she agrees, she would be ok with being a widow.
 
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