CT90 Condenser Check
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2018
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This video is about how to do a basic check of a CT90 Condenser. This video is part of a post I did at my CT 90 blog on how to check a CT90 condenser. If you are interested in Honda CT90's you can check out my blog at ct90restoration.blogspot.com. - Krátké a kreslené filmy
Finally after watching about 4 other idiots who didn't explain what they were doing I find someone who not only explains what to do but also why you are doing it! Bravo my friend! Hands down, the best explanation about how to test a condenser on youtube! 5 Stars!
Very nice presentation. The audio was clear and the pace of your presentation was just right. The repetition of charging/discharging allowed me to test my unit "real time" and follow along with you. I'm in the process of restoring a 1969 Honda CB160 that has been in my friends barn for 35 years until he died in Feb. 2018. It has been an interesting adventure.
Thanks JB for the comment and good luck with your project!
Excellent info..I need to try this on my ct70 , xr75's, xl500 and sl100
Excellent video sir, I have a weak spark issue on my 79 Honda express scooter. I have the same condenser you have there, do you think that my weak spark might be causing the issue? Any advice would be appreciated. I replaced the original coil due to failing thank you in advance and ride safe.
Thanks for your video and blogs. They are very helpful! I have a 1969 trail 90 ct200 My coil is reading a 11k ohms do you think I should purchase another one?
Hi Daniel, If you are still getting a good spark I wouldn't replace the coil. If you are having issues getting a good spark then you may consider it, but you may want to first make sure that something else isn't the problem. If your having issues its always good to start with a new spark plug and then if the spark plug cable is long enough clip off a 1/4 inch or so so there is a nice clean end for the spark plug cap to screw into. An old trick and something I will do a post on in the future is running a separate ground wire out to the head of the engine. The other half of the electrical circuit for from the coil to your plug is the funky ground from the frame through the various parts of the engine which can be questionable. Bypassing all of that by running a separate wire from the ground bolt for the battery to a screw on the cylinder head eliminates that concern.
Another video showed a replacement Chinese coil CT90 coil that came without a condenser. The Honda NOS coil had a condenser mounted on the end. Isn't it doable to connect a condenser to the Chinese coil and have the equivalent of the Honda NOS coil?
Thank you so much for these videos. Very helpful and extremely well explained! I just picked up a 78 CT90 and am having some electrical issues. I did your tests and condenser, coil, and rectifier appear to be good. I have 6v power from new battery going right up to the connection before the points, but when then for some reason nothing at the points spring. When I take the points plate off, I do read power on the spring. As soon as I mount it back in place I get an extremely low reading again. Any idea why that would be? Any help would be much appreciated!
The one thing you might look at is the point where the wire from your coil connects to your points. There should be some fiber washers that act as an electrical isolator so the small screw the wire from the coil is connected too isn't in contact with the frame of the points assembly. I have a picture of the location at the following post on my blog (its near the end of the post) that will give you a better idea of what I am talking about: ct90restoration.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-basic-sequence-and-process-to-set.html. There is also one very tiny fibre washer that you can't see from the outside, but it goes around the small screw where it passes through the frame of the points assembly. I would also recommend joining the "Honda 6 Volt" group over on Facebook as it s a great place to ask questions if your having electrical issues.
@@michaelmineart1889 thank you! The issue was there indeed. Fired up!
Hello - I have a CT90 K0 1968, Ive slowly been restoring it and your site, all of your info and videos have been extremely helpful - so thank you for that! Im not a mechanic so new to most everything when working on this bike.
Was hoping you could help me out with a battery charging issue. I fully charge my battery put in the bike, it fires up, runs well for awhile but eventually she starts sputtering at high rpm and not run clean. Eventually the bike will die and I'm left with a dead battery. The battery doesn't seem to be charing on while bike is running and the headline and taillights eventually drains the 6v battery. I've gone thru and tested the critical parts, except the stator, I'm looking for resources to trouble shoot.
- Battery: tests good
- Rectifier: tests good
- Ignition Coil: test good (although the lead to spark plug (no spark plug cap) has 11.2k resistance, and spec upper limi is 10k)
- Condenser: charges and discharges and seem to hold a charge. (Although Im getting arcing on the points, so maybe condenser is bad. I haven't cleaned or look at the points closely yet)
- Stator: Im trying to find resources, instruction to test the stator.
Any direction would be helpful.
Thanks,
Greg
Hi Greg, I think my first question would be on if you have a stock rectifier or if you have upgraded to a more modern configuration? If you still have a stock rectifier I would strong suggest upgrading to a solid state configuration like what the Pardue Brothers sell at parduebrothers.com/product-category/ct90/.
The most basic check you can do with the stator is to check the continuity between the pink and white wire and the pink and yellow wire. With the bike running you should be getting around 6.5 volts at the battery at idle and 7+ when you rev.
It never hurts to really double check all of your connections and make sure they are all clean and tight. The ground wire from your battery needs to get to good clean bare metal and not paint.
If your battery is old, it wouldn't hurt to get a new one even if it seems to be ok.
If you do Facebook, I would recommend joining the "Honda 6 Volt" group as it is a great resource for these types of questions and you should always get a response back if you post a question.
Good Luck!
Mike
@@michaelmineart1889 Thanks Mike, appreciate the response. I just joined the Honda 6 Volt group, thanks for the recommendation.
Rectifier:
Yes - this is the original stock K0 68 selenium rectifier with only 3 wires coming off - red, yellow, pink - no ground green on this model. Ive been looking at the rectifier upgrades, Ill check out PBs.
Stator:
I need to locate the white wire, I only have yellow and pink coming to the rectifier (where would I find the white wire?). I have continuity between pink and yellow, I tested that. I have not tested to see what the the volts are when running. Dumb question, but where and how do I test the voltage reading, do I just test each wire by it self and just ground the negative of my multi meter?
Connectors:
Ive gone through and replaces some of the connected, but ill make sure to check all of those.
Ill make sure the ground is clean coming off battery.
Thanks for all your help.
-Greg
@@gswienton Hi Greg, The white wire coming off the stator is actually is a "boost" circuit that comes into play and gets combined with the yellow wire when you turn on your headlight so you have extra juice to drive the lighting system. The white wire should be able to be accessed at the connection coming off of your stator. I think your current selenium rectifier is grounded through the frame and if you purchased a more modern rectifier that has a forth wire for the ground it would be easy to connect that wire to a ground on your bike. If you do go through PB they are very helpful and will get you setup correctly. If your curious, just ask on the Honda 6V site what is involved with using a PB rectifier on your 68 K0 and I am sure you'll get a response from John at PB pretty quickly.
@@michaelmineart1889
Thanks for the all the help Mike. I now in the FB group and will be follow up with PB pretty shortly. Thanks,
Greg
@@michaelmineart1889
Hi Mike - I was able to locate the white, yellow, and pink wires coming out of the stator. I have continuity between all wires. them. All wires are intact, theres is zero continuity between any wire and ground.
Ohms reading seem within range - do these look good to you?
yellow -> pink 3.5 ohms
yellow -> white 4.0 ohms
pink -> white 0.6 ohms
Thanks,
Greg
what meter do you have? my fluke doesnt do mega ohms i dont think. its just an electricians meter though. i can test voltage and ohms and a/c amps
I am just using a very old radio shack digital volt meter that I have had for over 30 years, so I think your Fluke should be just fine. For the step where you set up like you are measuring resistance just use the high-test range you have on your meter as the goal of that step is really to try and charge up the capacitor which a resistance check should do.
My condenser doesn't do anything in neither setting when I attach my voltmeter. So no charge or discharge, so i'm guessing this means its totally stuffed
What problem does a bad condenser cause? ( burning of points?)
A good condenser does help prevent burning of the points by absorbing energy each time the points are opened, but it also helps the field in the coil collapse quicker which will result in a hotter spark at your plug.
Michael - I’m working on a 68 ct90 I just picked up. I’m also in Seattle area.
I have 6.3v at the points
Ground of coil and end of the wire without the spark plug boot - 8.4 when set to 20k resistance on the multimeter
When set the multimeter to 200k and checking between the two leads on the coil (red and green) I was not able to get a reading.... is this an indication the coil is bad ?
Hi Calvin, When you are checking between the red and green leads you need to set the multimeter to its lowest setting to read resistance as you are only looking for 2 or 3 ohms, so the 200k setting is to high to get a good reading. Do you have continuity between the red and green leads? The basic coils on a CT90 are pretty robust and don't usually go bad. The simplest test you can do and sometimes its the best test is to check the basic function of the coil installed in the bike. To do this make sure the coil is installed correctly and that you have a fully charged battery installed. Next if you have a long enough spark plug cable coming from the coil clip off a 1/4 inch or so so that you have a fresh end to screw the spark plug cap to the end of the cable. Then with a plug installed in the cap and laying on the head of the engine so there is a good connection and you can see the electrode, disconnect the wire going to the points at the main wire harness and use a short wire stripped at both ends and stick one of the ends of the wire in the female connector in the main wire harness that you just disconnected the wire going to the points. With your ignition key turned on, if you take the other end of the wire and touch it to a ground on your bike (the engine case, etc.) for a few seconds and then remove it you should see a spark at the electrode of the plug each time you separate the wire from the ground. If you are getting a spark your coil is good, if not and all your connections were good, then your coil is most likely bad. Let me know how it goes. Mike
Michael Mineart - thanks for the info. I just did what you said and it does create a small spark each time I remove the make shift wire from the engine block .... let me know what I should look at next. Thanks!
Its great to hear that your coil looks like its working. What you do next depends on what you have done up to this point and what your ultimate goal is. I assume you're trying to get your bike started and I have a post a the link below from my CT90 blog on the steps that I typically go through to get a bike running, so give it a read and hopefully your bike will running in no time at all. ct90restoration.blogspot.com/2019/02/my-approach-to-getting-ct90-that-wont.html
Michael Mineart I have put on a new rectifier, new wiring harness, battery, spark plug. It did create spark when I did what you recommended but it doesnt create any spark when trying to kick it over with the spark plug laying on the engine block. Based on what has been ruled out what do you recommend ? Thanks ahead of time !
Michael Mineart . I am at step 13 of your blog
“If you now do get a spark that means your coil, condenser, plug wire and spark plug are all good and you have an issue somewhere within your points assembly or with the wire coming from the points being shorted out where it passes through the opening in the cylinder or the that same wire having an internal break.” Can you elaborate on this process ?
Oi