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1986 450cc Nighthawk will not run

9817 Views 60 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  bailbob, 
B
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Hi,
I know this is mostly for goldwings but I have a problem not able to solve.
I have a 1986 450 cc Honda nighthawk and I am Stumped Big time!
I do not have any fire to the plugs, I have replaced the COIL- the CDI UNIT and wiring also new plugs, I have 150 LBS compression on each CYlander and I also can not get fuel into the combustion chamber. I rebuilt the carbs and fuel is getting there but spark plugs are dry! and even if I got fuel there NO SPARK, I have put in 2 different coils and 3 different CDI units and nothing alsochecked the Kill switch. I bought this so I could just tool around the neighborhood and leave my GL1100 parked. It was not running when I bought it and they said they had been on a 3 hour trip when it quit and would not start up, I thought itwould be something minor but I guess I was wrong.......
Please any one have an IDEA??????
This is a great forum for Goldwings but I do notknow of any for this type of bike.
Thanks,
Bailbob
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DaveO430
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You didn't say. Have you checked for power to the + side of the coils? I would bypass that stupid kill switch just to be sure.
Yes it is a wet stator just like a goldwing is, except for the pulse generators being built into it.
There is no fuel pump, it is gravity feed. Have you put your hand over the carbs to check for vacuum?
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B
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I just checked the positive side of coil and (nothing) thats checking with the ignition switch on but not trying to start. Also I can not check the vacuum on the carbs as the air box will have to be removed. I will do that tomorrow.
Can I run a wire from the positive side of the battery to the coil as if I was hot wiring it with out damage?
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DaveO430
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Yes you can do that but I bet the kill switch is bad.
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B
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Thanks again, I will try that in the morning as we are having a bit of a storm right now. if I have spark to the plugs by doing this what in your opinion is my trouble?
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DaveO430
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Once again, the kill switch on the right handlebar.
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B
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Ok, I ran a wire from the positive post on the battery to what I thought was the positive side of the coil (the only side that has 2 wires going to it) and nothing but sparks (as in dead short) on both wires. NOW WHAT?? I am glad I do not do this for a living I would starve!
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also I took the kill switch apart but how do I get around it?
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DaveO430
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Just connect the 2 wires together.
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B
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Ok thanks again, I will do that in the AM
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Well I did connect the 2 wires together but still nothing, I went back to the coil and if I put my voltage checker to the positive side of the battery and the negitive to the coil I get a reading of 12.6 to 13 volts but if I switch it I get nothing. I also had to take the gas tank off again and when I did I found the line had a brake in the hose but because the bike had never started it must have held together so as not to leak were I could see it ???????
I thought I had enough smarts to figure this out but the deeper I get the more confused I get NO SPARK----NO GAS I will replace the gas line and see if that fixes the gas problem but with out spark it is no good....Oh well my problem is very small compared to some! Thanks and if anyone has an idea let me know, I'll be in the garage looking for my sledge hammer! Ha
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plskthompson
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Did you happen to check the main fuse after the dead short on the coils? If not one could have blown and could still be causing the no spark issue.
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B
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Thanks, I did not check it as the lights all still come on and the bike cranks.
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UPDATE: I now have spark to the plugs had to disconnect the two wires going to the kill switch and then I had spark, No gas yet but I will look at this in the morning. I will probably have to pull the carbs again.
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C
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Aren't the top rings in that thing from a GL1100? Can't remember...

Anyway, sounds like the pick-up, assuming wiring is good.

Carbs are CV... no fuel, no flow... no good on rebuild. Triple check 'em. Replace them mani-boots, or at least rub clear silicone over 'em til you can. If they're brittle, they mat be sucking air and you may not realize it. Change them vacuum lines as well.

I would triple check all of the wiring also.

If they were riding at speed for an extended period and then the bike just went dead, and you're seeing oil down there, I'd change more than the pick-up while you're into it. Sounds like a bad crank seal also, which may be the root of the problem. Hate to hear that you went through all this just to have it leave you stranded too by smoking the pick-up again.


Posted after you did.... Nevermind
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Thanks for the tip. Will do. The mini boots are brittle and I intend to pull the carbs again in the morning and I will try the silicone until I can replace them.
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C
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Good to see it was only at the switch...

It is usually something simple.. I commented somewhere with respect to diligence paying-off in the end. Good for you.
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Ok another UPDATE: I replaced the boots to the carbs and still no gas in combustion chamber, spark plugs are dry. Someone asked if it was drawing vacumm but with the air breather housing attached it was hard to tell, but now it seems to be blowing out and not sucking in air, if that is true what wood cause that? I put my hand inside the air breather housing and can feel air blowing on my hand on the main carb side but not the other side when its being cranked.....ANY IDEAS??????
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C
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Mechanical timing (probably not) or a mechanical that is valve specific. Coke/carbon build-up; bent, broken, or otherwise held-open valve; bad/burnt seating; funky cam/cam lobeissue, etc..

Your air-pumps 4 strokes be funny.
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B
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I agree, I just did a compression check and the left side is 105 and the right is 150 but even then I would think I would get some gas inside the cyclenders. Right??
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You've got spark and compression.......all you need now is fuel and it'll fire. Concentrate on that. Isolate the problem. Once you solve the fuel problem, you can go back and tackle the 105 comp in the one cylinder.



Does that bike have one of those stupid vacumn driven petcocks? I spent hours trying to sort out a fuel problem on a KZ1000, only to discover it was 100% due to aplugged vacumn line on the petcock........no vac, no fuel.



Isolate the problem. Spray some starter spray or a small amount of gas into the carbs.....and crank it over. If she fires....then your problem is fuel delivery.



Be careful when doing this.....a backfire can start a carb fire.



I wouldn't worry about the low compression on the one cylinder just yet......at 105 it should still fire and of course, the other side is good.It's perfectly likely that once it runs a bit, it will come up to where it should be.
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