electrical gremlin

[bikerphil]

Just test the P/U coil circuit from the 4 pin plug at the TCI. Unplug it from the box and test pairs of wires and look for 720 ohms. You should get a reading from 2 pairs if everything is good, if not, there is a break somewhere. Set the meter to the 2K setting.

Make sure you have a good connection on that ignition fuse, make a temporary inline fuse jumper if needed.

[bikerphil]

P/U coil wiring info...

[Socer4m]

You the man Phil, I am getting my motorcycle mechanic buddy over tomorrow and we will follow your tips and hope to get the spark problem figured out.......will update....thanks again, Mike in San Diego

[bikerphil]

Ok Mike, good luck!

[rdmycguy]

Hey Mike, You may remember at last years rally I mentioned my having trouble with my 81 venture having a similar problem as you are experiencing. After trying EVERYTHING I finally gutted "El toro"for the wiring harness and tci, (also advance behind pickup coils) problem solved...I remember some one mentioning something about nuetral light switch fouling things up...but if you need a wiring harness for an 81 special and a 4ro tci I have them, good luck

[Loch]

You have a good CDI, power to the coils, good pulse generators. Next, check the ground that the CDI uses.

[CaptStiffy]

I'm glad I searched no spark. I have a 79, I took the carbs off as replaced the taps so fitted new lines too. Put everything back together and no spark on any plugs. I'll follow all of these steps myself and see if it's any of those. Already tested coils and they're fine. Sorry to hijack the thread, I just thought it would be better than creating a new one. A lot of forums get annoyed at that. I'm new today so am trying not to tread on any toes.
Cris

[Socer4m]

no problem capt stiffy, cool name, the ladies probably love it,,,,so update, we went through the wiring,cdi, coils, pickups, and seems to be a short in the pickup wire coming right out of the sensor,,,but until I can get a set its on hold, thanks Loch, I will check that ground also, makes sense, and rdmycguy,,II remember your spark troubles with the famous el toro,,,,so most stuff checked out but mechanic buddy still couldnt positively dial it in,,,,will update again, good luck Stiffy, and my bike was running like a mad raging ape until the spark died,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Mike in San Diego

[CaptStiffy]

Thanks Mike. It's my gaming tag lol. Stiff upper lip and all that. It's so odd how they just die. My thoughts are something simple as it's all 4 cylinders at once. Nice sunny day here in Wales tomorrow, so I'll get her out of the garage and have a look at everything everyone else has brought up. Mine too was running like a scolded cat lol

[Loch]

The symptoms are telling what the problem is. Make a list and publish all your symptoms.
If the kill switch allows crank/no start then check that switch. Cheers

[Socer4m]

well after checking tci, coils, wiring, battery, kill switches, tipover switch,,,all good I think I narrowed it down to one defective magnetic pickup sensor.....one reads the normal 720 ohms, the other is 150000 ohms,,,,so time for a pickup search. I thought one set of pickups would fire if one is bad but neither coil is firing,,,,,so anyway, that is the latest update for the electrical gremlin, that caused a no spark issue,,,if anyone has a set of pickup sensors just holler out,,,,,thanks Stiffy, Loch, Motoman, rdmsguy, Cajun, Biker Phil, and others,,,,to be continued,,,,Mike in Sun Diego

[Loch]

Postscript, remember you can get a good reading with a meter, however, it may not be conducting enough current. An example would be the kill switch.
Also, you can have a correct voltage reading that is not transferring. (tighten the connectors)
On the pulse generators, check that the wire is not broken on the high-reading one. That is an easy fix.

[motoman]

Loch, your example being the STOP/RUN switch is dead-on. Those internal contacts getting cruddy and exposed over the years definitely WILL have poor contact. That switch IS notorious for causing elecrickery issues,BTDT. That switch DOES complete the running circuit. Poor contacts.....no run guarentee. Whether that is the issue or not, I highly recomend that switch be unplugged and removed, dropping both halfs in a shot-glass of Evap-o-Rust for a few hours. Remove, rinse off with tap water, blow dry with air hose, re-assemble back on bars and plug in.......start bike and enjoy the ride. A commonly overlooked item.

[Socer4m]

Hi Loch, Brant,,,,I checked the wires right next to the sensor, just barely coming out of the sensor and the one sensor had a bad, superhigh resistance, the other sensor was at the factory 730 ohms,,,,question- I cleaned the kill switch and it allows the starter to run fine in the on position and in the off position starter is shut off,,,,,,,Can the ignition circuit be shut off at the kill switch in the on position if the switch is turning over the starter just fine??? Mike in San Diego

[Radioguylogs]

It's possible the Kill switch could activate the starter and not the IGN coils, but to me that seems improbable. It's good idea to clean the switch anyway because it's low hanging fruit and peace of mind.

You already know you have one bad pick-up coil. I'm not sure if you know that plugs #1 and #4 are triggered by one pick-up coil, and plugs #2 and #3 are triggered by the other pick-up coil.

If you are checking for a spark, you have to make sure the circuit is complete for each pair (1-4 or 2-3). You can leave one of the pair in the head and check the other one by touching the tip to the head. I usually pull the pair and use a battery jumper cable to connect the threaded bodies of the pair.