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[sofiaspin]

Here we go again, three weeks after the coil failed, as I headed off to Loch Lomond to check out a ferry terminal to take us to one of the islands, ammeter swinging to the right, phut phut bang, stop. Recovery vehicle. HT lead burnt out, replaced that, bike started lovely tickover. Take it off for a test, bang, phut. Fuse had blown. Must be a short somewhere. Nothing wrong with engine gearbox, forks and all the rest of the bike, but electrics are proving problematic. We will persevere but the moral in this story is that with an open exhaust the bike vibrates like an alcoholic on acid and we think that is leading to fraying of wires and so on. I was planning to take said 500 classic on a long tour in two weeks time. Now, I am planning to take the bicycle. It will be better for my wealth and mental and physical health. So actually probably a good result!

[Norm]

Boy if you have trouble with the electrics on a Bullet try sorting out something modern, but for sure modern electrics are less prone to fail but they still fail. Just work your way through it and I can only assume the coil wire burning out because it wasn't pushed home properly causing it to arc, not the wires fault. Fuse blowing indicates a wire somewhere not happy. Replace the fuse and ride locally with spare fuse in hand and if it blows again you have to find the cause

[ed.lazda]

Presumably the electrics were OK before the first coil failure? If so, the place to start looking for the short ciruit is in the coil connections. Is there a stray wire there?

[sofiaspin]

Ed is right - everything was fine for a couple of thousand miles then three weeks ago phut phut bang pop phut. The coil was replaced with hosts Lucas 12v coil, new condenser for the sake of it, and a few other things attended to in terms of servicing. Connections to the new coil were absolutely fine, so after putting the old condenser back in (better connector fitting than the new one) it started fine several times. Took it around the block and phut. Fuse blown. Fuse was replaced with an in-line fuse and it started this am then a short while later blew again. There must be a loose wire somewhere that has either been disturbed by the work undertaken, or the shake my teeth out vibes. Thanks for your interest, it is not difficult just tedious working through it all. Anyway I have booked my bicycle in for a good service and my waistline will be the better for it.

[Frank]

So you replaced the coil and condenser and all seemed well, then put the original condenser back and your troubles returned? Could that be the fault, short circuit or something?

[Alan R]

Hi guys---------SOFIASPIN, do you have a Chromed,plastic distributor cover ?? If so, checkout where the LT wires are bolted to the points.......Here, there should be a thin strip of plastic attached as part of the points assembly and MUST be placed between the points assembly and the insides of the plastic cover.............. The chrome is conductive and when in contact with the points it shorts them out............. Also, the lower of the two hexagonal clamping bolts tends to chafe the orange lead from the capacitor.... Take this bolt out and pop it into a 1/2" electric drill that is being held in a vice (or clamped to the bench top)...and turn-off the lower 2/3rds flats until round....Replace, and the wire should now be clear..........

[sofiaspin]

Thanks all for your comments. Transpires that the left hand battery and coil cover - which is metal and fabricated by the previous owner - had lost paint and was engaging with the exposed wiring on the rear brake stop switch. Difficult to trace but it was causing a short and blowing fuses. I noticed the ammeter was swinging wildly to the right to the plus sign a few miles before shutdown. This was the point the short was taking effect, but was intermittent. The cover had been removed previously for a few jobs, and it was scraped and touching. Nothing wrong with the bike, just silly things.

[Alan R]

--------- glad to hear it wasn't anything EXPENSIVE then..Phew, that's a relief, eh ??