Almost there

[CaptonZap]

Sounds good on the rally in September DR. I did the tests you recommended CZ, and they looked good except that I had a .6V drop in voltage to the R/W. I can't find my good Fluke so I'm using a cheesy cheepo meter I picked up at Harbor Freight so the .6V might not be accurate. I used my old analog to check the TCI and I did get pulsing on the needle on both orange and gray, DR indicated that you are eluding to issues with the pickup coil wire so I'll check the boards out and see what I can come up with. Any little tricks would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Jason

Alrighty then,

We know that as far as we can tell, the ignition is working up to the coils, so lets think about what comes next. ( The pickup wires are what make the TCI pulse, so for the time being, lets figure they are doing their deed).
(You didn't tell us what the voltage was to the coils, but we will assume that it was around 12 volts. If it wasn't, go charge the battery, and we'll try again.)
Next in line is the plug wires and caps. You said that you checked the resistence and they were in spec. What you didn't say was if the wires were hard and cracked. High voltage just loves to slip out through the cracks, along dirty wire surfaces, and so to ground. Low voltage in the ohm meter doesn't leak.
Next in line is the spark plugs. They can get cracked, from being dropped, and there is another path to ground for the high voltage. Have you taken them out, and looked to see if they were fouled? If they are black, that would cause a misfire. Starting with the "choke" on full, will cause a fouled condition if the spark is weak, as would be the case if the voltage to the coil was low.
Another problem could be that someone has made the coils fire without there being a gap to ground. Like they took off the caps, took out the plugs, and took a compression reading. The internal voltage of the coil, with nowhere to go, got high enough that it poked some holes in the insulation of the high tension coil windigs, and now when it fires, the output voltage is low, since the current isn't going through all the windings . The leakage would only show up when the coil fired, so the resistence would read OK when measured with an ohm meter.
But lets check it, while we're here.
Put the plugs in the caps, lay the plugs on the metal cylinder head, so that you can see the gaps. Turn on the ignition, and crank the starter.
Each of the plugs should show a fat blue spark. The plugs are paired 1 with 4, and 2 with 3. So if any two of those pairs shows a weak blue, or yellow spark, you have an indication that that coil may not be up to snuff, or that the plug is fouled and the spark is running down the side of the center electrode to ground. Swap plugs with the other pair, and try the test again. Same result? Must be the coil, not the plugs.
That should give you enough to keep you busy for an hour, I'll check back for the results. CZ

[CoastRider]

I'll check the coils now. I did buy spares but didn't pay close attention to cracks on the wires. Be back in a few

[CaptonZap]

I'll check the coils now. I did buy spares but didn't pay close attention to cracks on the wires. Be back in a few

OK, I'll go do my imprssion of BA80, using a New Glarus Spotted Cow.

[CaptonZap]

No Greg, not that kind of impression, it's a beer. CZ

[CoastRider]

Ok the first coil for 1 and 4 may have had a weak spark on (probably not). I switched out to my spare coil (which has cracked outer wire housing but inner looks fine). When I pulled the pugs it looked like 1 and 2 fired maybe a bit lean (a touch of white on the end) and 3 and 4 looked like they where running lean (black and a bit wet).

[CoastRider]

correction 3 and 4 looked to be running rich

[CaptonZap]

correction 3 and 4 looked to be running rich

See, it isn't an electrical issue, yet.
The problem with trouble shooting mechanical devices is that there are a lot of inter related systems, which all have to be functioning right for the whole thing to work as designed.
The valves should all be within specs before you try to set the carbs. The carbs should all be in spec before you try to analyze the spark plugs and ignition system. They all rely on each other, and one not up to snuff affects the behavior of others.
So the best thing you can do is to take a deep breath, put off your desire to rip up the pavement, and start back at the basics.
Now, if I may preach a little, cleaning the carbs isn't a matter of taking off the bowls, soaking the whole thing in a hydrocarbon liquid, and putting it back together. Each removable part should be removed, soaked in acetone, MEK, lacquer thinner, or other headache producing liquid, blown out with high pressure air, and inspected MINUTELY, then reassembled. Any discrepancies should be addressed before reassembly. Read the tech tips for all the info you could need, and don't rush the job. That leads to mistakes.
Alright, it looks like you have a better handle on it than you did yesterday.
Let us know what happens after you make another run at the carbs. And maybe you should check the valves, wouldn't hurt, and would give you a little peace of mind.

Back to the Spotted Cow! later CZ


Oh, by the by, you didn't tell us what color of spark you got. The fact that it is 3&4 that are the problem, leads us to believe it is carburation, but it would be nice to know if the spark is good or not. CZ

[CoastRider]

Spark was blue. I did a full rebuild on the carbs with new parts. I'll take them apart again and start over. Most of the old parts didn't survive the tear down. Had been sitting for 15 years with gas in it. What's that tune "Here I go again". News at 11. And I'll check the valve gap as well.

[CaptonZap]

Spark was blue. I did a full rebuild on the carbs with new parts. I'll take them apart again and start over. Most of the old parts didn't survive the tear down. Had been sitting for 15 years with gas in it. What's that tune "Here I go again". News at 11. And I'll check the valve gap as well.

Oop's, that may be a problem. There are those on the forum that say that if the parts are not genuine Mikuni, that the carbs will not operate as they should, so you might want to check your parts.
Use the tech tips search function to find the relevant posts.
Hopefully, one of the carb wizzards will give you further guidance.
They will need the year and model of your carbs. That number is sometimes visable on the end of the carbs on the side of the upper chamber, where the diaphram is. It is printed with ink, about an eigth of an inch tall, and usually gone by the time you get there, but it doesn't hurt to look.
Oh, and one more thing, do not poke any of the brass jets with any wire harder than brass. Toothpicks work, toothbrush bristles work, copper wire works. No steel, except the one in the bottom of the bowl, the one the brass tube fits down in. That one is not size critical, so clean it with what ever you have.
If you soak them, the parts, not the bodies, in acetone for a day, compressed air will get them clean.
Inspect the carb body for blockage in any of the internal passages, and apply acetone judiciously, letting it soak for a while before blowing air through them.
Check the idle air bleed jets on 3&4 for partial blockage. That may be why the idle screws didn't seem to act right, and why they are rich.
Good luck, and keep us posted. CZ

Remember, your eyes are your best trouble shooting tool.

[CoastRider]

Ok ripped the carbs apart and 3 and 4 had a butt load of, well crap in them. 1 and 2 didn't. Pulled the petcocks and there was a rip in the 3 4 petcock screen. Also just finished a tank derust. Will buy inline fuel filters tomorrow. Shame on me.

[CaptonZap]

Ok ripped the carbs apart and 3 and 4 had a butt load of, well crap in them. 1 and 2 didn't. Pulled the petcocks and there was a rip in the 3 4 petcock screen. Also just finished a tank derust. Will buy inline fuel filters tomorrow. Shame on me.

LOL! Now your getting the hang of it.
Use your eyes to look for anomalies, then your brain to figure out why and where those defects will affect the rest of the system.
And remember the mechanics mantra;

90 percent of functional deficiencies are due to operator error.

Keep us updated on the outcome, CZ

[CoastRider]

Ok after doing everything wrong to start with I think I now have it right. Note to self really really clean the carbs. She's running well but still has a little miss. Going to take her out for a run tomorrow and see how she does. News at 11
j