main fuse blowing

[nevada72]

Hi all - I've been having a problem keeping my wife's bike running. I confess that this is a CA95 (my CA77 has been perfect!), but the concept should be the same and like another gentleman here said, there doesn't seem to be a CA95 forum. Anyway, here's the deal - The fuse from the battery (red wire) blows about a minute after I start it. I replaced the rectifier with one of the solid state ones. I made sure the rectifier had a solid ground and checked the battery ground - all good. I rang out the hot red wire with the ignition on and off. Off - no shorts to ground. On - grounded only because of light bulb circuits. Once I removed those - no shorts to ground. Battery is fully charged. I started it again today with all the lights on. It ran for a little over a minute, then poof - fuse blows. If I remove the lighting loads, the fuse blows even faster. I put in a new fuse (20 A slo-blow) and ran it again and put my volt meter across the + and - battery terminals. Running it was at 6.14 volts (normal - it's a 6v system for those who aren't familiar with ca95s). After awhile the engine started to stumble, the headlight got very dim, and the volts dropped to about 5 volts. Then the fuse blew. It seems that something is causing a huge drain or short after the bike has been running a bit - not an immediate short if even a short at all. Could this be a voltage regulator? Alternator? I have a shop manual on the way but until then, I'm running out of ideas.

[Hahnda]

Are you using a 6 or 12 volt fuse?

[kustommusic]

Fuses are rated by how many amps they handle, they don't care about volts. I wonder if the dynamo wiring is breaking down,possibly from the engine heat???? Just a guess. Kustommusic

[Hahnda]

Your right. Now that I think about it the fuses I use in my Dream are rated up to 250 volts or something like that.

Do you have the wiring diagram for the CA95? If not I can post one up tomorrow.

[nevada72]

I just got a shop manual which has given me a few clues as to what the problem might be. I think it might have something to do with the ignition switch. I know that the switch is defective and some of the wires are not getting juice. Also, some circuits (yellow and white wire) are not being closed. I'm hoping this is the problem. If not, I'll check the alternator next. This will all have to wait until I get my garage heater installed. (I live in Wisconsin - Brrrrrr)

[Hahnda]

c'mon its warm in WI considering its still November.