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Hey everyone, I am a new owner of a used 2013 CB1100 with ~9,000 miles.
When I purchased it had a weak start, the starter would turn over slowly, the display would fade in and out and it would eventually start. I ended up replacing the battery with a new one and the bike started right up. After parking it and attempting to start it the next day I still getting the same symptoms as with the old battery. I have load-tested the new battery and it passed. I have a feeling that this is the result of a bad ground. I doubt that I have a stator issue due to the low mileage also the bike runs great and power is consistent through the rev range.
Does anybody have a list of ground locations for the 2013 CB1100? Has anyone had similar symptoms in the past?
Thanks in advance! Let me know if there is any more information that I can provide.
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Welcome to the group Roc, assuming you do have a bad ground ( has not happened before as far as i know ) there is only one ground point to be concerned about, it is the battery negative ground connection right behind the starter motor on the engine, you can't miss it.
First check if it is loose and second check if it gets warm during startup, the start current is around 160 amperes and that amount of current would heat up a bad contact very noticeably.
We have found that a good indication is the green neutral light, if it dims during starting that indicates the battery voltage is not sufficient and needs to be charged or replaced or the battery connections are not making good contact, make sure there are no objects between the battery and the terminals and all the surfaces are clean.
A new battery is not guaranteed to be a good battery, there are several posts here with such a story.
Also when working on the battery always disconnect the negative first and last when re connecting to eliminate a short between chassis and battery positive because there is no current return path through the disconnected negative connection!
Another source of a bad connection is the starter relay or the connection on the back of the starter motor, follow the positive heavy cable and see if any of the bolts on the relay get warm during or shortly after a bad start.
To verify if the starter relay ( solenoid ) is good you can measure the voltage between the two studs whilst starting the engine and see if it is less than 0,3 volts when energized, it will indicate battery voltage when not energized.
Did you do a load test on the original battery and how did you test the new battery?
Hope this helps.
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Electrical challenges are not constrained to the CB1100. It is a part of motorcycling fun.
Welcome to the Forum Roc!
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Welcome to the forum Roc271. Max is one of the best on the forum, so his advice is a good place to start. I hope you find and fix the problem soon and can enjoy your bike.
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Thank you every one,
I haven't had a chance to really dig into anything due to rain and work. I pulled the ground cable and when sliding back the covered sleeve it was corroded. I ordered a new one and will attempt to salvage the old one by cleaning it. I will also be cleaning the ground point. I tested the new battery with a load test at autozone, at home, and at batteries plus, all tests showed the new battery was good. I will keep everyone updated, hopefully I can get back to it next weekend.
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Good job Roc, sounds like you're on to it, i did wonder if i was giving advice to an internet robot for a while, good to hear from you and all the best from NZ.
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It ended up being a combination of a bad ground wire and the voltage regulator/rectifier. It was interesting that the regulator was bad as when tested at the battery everything was normal and there was no flickering of lights. Direct testing of the regulator demonstrated a break in the continuity. Once those two were replaced the bike has been running great. Thank you all for your help!
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Congratulations, Roc271. Glad you found it. Those things can be annoying. Thanks for posting the solution, too, as it may help someone else along the way.
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(08-30-2022, 01:53 AM)Roc271_imp Wrote: It ended up being a combination of a bad ground wire and the voltage regulator/rectifier. It was interesting that the regulator was bad as when tested at the battery everything was normal and there was no flickering of lights. Direct testing of the regulator demonstrated a break in the continuity. Once those two were replaced the bike has been running great. Thank you all for your help!
Did thee voltage regulator/rectifier go bad because of bad ground I wonder ?
