92 Nighthawk 750, oil at pulse generator

[DrBenjaminLongweiner]

So I just bought my first bike- A 92 Honda Nighthawk 750. It has about 60,000 miles on it, pretty high I know. So my friend rides it back from Denver to Colorado Springs where I live with no problems at all. And then I ride it around- no problems really, although I did notice that it had a rough start a few times over the next few days. Then I wash it and the next day it won't start. It turns over fine, but no sounds of combustion in the engine.

So I get my official repair manual for troubleshooting. I naturally think there is water somewhere grounding the ignition circuit. 12 volts are getting to the coil in the accessory position, but no spark at the plugs while it is turning over. Then I check voltage at the spark unit, and see it is under specs during turn over. I then check the pulse generator wire, and it is also under specs while turning over. Then I crack open the left side crankshaft cover and look at the pulse generator, and see that there is a small oil puddle there and the entire enclosure is coated with a film of oil.

So, is this normal? I can't figure out if it is. It seems to me that this would affect the pulse generator's ability to read timing. Does anyone know what this might indicate? I was thinking maybe a crankshaft seal is failing, but my manual doesn't even indicate a seal at this point. Maybe the oil pressure is too high and it's being forced out here? Thanks for reading and any insights. I just want to ride my bike!!!

[Brittles]

This might sound silly, but did you check your kill switch?

Not sure about your model, but a 700s engine will still turn over with the kill switch on.

[Term]

I just looked through the parts fiche and there is no reference to a crank seal at the pulse generator,that would explain the cover gasket.So I would have to say yes you will see oil there,if you take a closer look below the trigger you should see a oil return port in the lower case.

Since it didn't start after washing it ,you could take apart the electrical connectors and blow them out with air and then use DI-electrical grease in the connectors before you put them back together.

Also as Brittles mentioned check the kill switch.   

[DrBenjaminLongweiner]

Yeah, I did check the kill switch- it's not engaged.

That's a good point about the cover gasket- I guess oil is supposed to be there.

I took some canned air and blew out the electrical connectors that I could see, and no change. I rechecked the pulse generator-it is pumping out a small signal, it just appears to be below specs (I measure .05v and my manual says it should be .7v)- then again I'm just using a multimeter to measure peak voltage, not an actual peak voltage meter. And then I used my multimeter to measure voltage at the ends of the sparkplug wires, and they are getting pulses of a few hundred volts- I guess I didn't do the "spark test" right earlier. 

I'm starting to think it isn't electrical, even though this did happen after I washed it. I pulled the plugs out and they don't seem especially wet with gas. I'm letting the engine air out in the sun now in case it is flooded. Can't think of anything else that would cause the engine to suddenly not start. Air filter is in acceptable condition. No disconnected hoses or wires. Maybe the carb? Thanks for any more thoughts.

[DrBenjaminLongweiner]

AH HA! Got my friend's dad to come over and look at my bike. He used to race and work on bikes in the 70's. After a couple of hours of testing, we figured it out. The altitude! I bought the bike in Denver (about 5,000 feet) and I live in Colorado Springs (about 6500). We ended up adjusting the idol speed, and it finally started. But I'm pretty sure I should adjust the carb to compensate for the altitude also. At least I can ride it now! Thanks for the comments!