Coils??

[roach25681]

So I get my bike running the other week and take it for its first test ride. I find that the shifter will only allow me to shift into 1-N so I bring it back to the shop, take off the side cover and fix that problem and then go home. Come back to the shop the next day and Im getting absolutely no spark what so ever from the plug wires. Pickup coil wires look and feel brand new. Ballast resistor connections are good. With a fully charged battery, and a battery charger hooked up to the battery (not a trickle charger, but the big one) set at 40amps I still get no spark. Voltage readings from the wires coming into the coils are 12v+ with key on and drops to 8.6v when cranking. Brand new spark plug end caps and plugs. What should I test? TopCat suggested I try Randy's TCI test and check there. Any ideas or other suggestions?

[mro]

I you suspect the coils clik here http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...=&threadid=583


mro
btw, ,TC's normally right on

[GtrMn]

Did you forget to reconnect one of the ground wires on the shift cover?

[roach25681]

Actually yes. I didnt realize they were ground wires. Just thought they were there to hold the wire loom. I will try this first before anything else.

[GtrMn]

I'll bet that's it then...should save you a ton of time.

[roach25681]

Well it wasnt a ground wire on the shift cover. I was thinking a wire holder clip thingy was a ground wire and of course it wasnt. TCI seems to be the problem. Unplugged it and took the cover off, plugged it back in and she has spark. Put the cover back on and nothing again. Im going to tear it down fully in a few minutes to see if anything looks loose.

[roach25681]

Just wondering, since I have power at both coils all the time, even when its not sparking, would that mean the TCI is ok or is it possible for it to still be a problem? It seems strange to me how I can get it to spark for a moment here and there but cant keep it sparking constantly..

[GtrMn]

wire holder clip thingy

That's what holds the "outside" pickup coil wires...on mine that's where the break turned out to be....just another possibility.

[roach25681]

The pins in the TCI where the plugs connect dont look to clean. They dont look corroded but arent clean. Could this be giving me my problems? Whats the best way to go about cleaning them? Contact cleaner or sandpaper or both?

[roach25681]

F*ck it...Im just going to buy another TCI.

[roach25681]

I checked inside the TCI and everything looks good. Cleaned the connections and still nothing. Im going crazy here. Just wished I knew what to buy (if anything at all). I dont believe that even when Im getting spark that it is a strong spark. By the looks of it, it is weak. Id like to shoot the bike at this point.

[roach25681]

Ok...how bout this....if someone could point me in the right direction to what I need to buy/do...Im sure I could loan the old lady out for a few hours for you to do what you may with. Seriously...I have no patience at this point.

[randy]

roach,

You need to re-solder the connectors in the TCI to do any good, cleaning them won't help.

Click on my www above and go to "TCI Repairs" for the tutorial.

I'll mail the bus ticket for the old lady

[roach25681]

Randy, I failed to mention that the pins looked fine but I resoldered them anyways. Still nothing.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Roach, thou shalt not KILL!

I can't remember IF you tested your Pickup Coils, but as has been recently mentioned, when you were fiddling with the shift cover, and moving the wires around the timing cover, you got some spark activity! The pickup coil wires are fragile, and can break almost anywhere. Can you find/get some little alligator clips to secure your ohmeter test leads to the pickup leads near the TCI and then wiggle the wires around the timing cover and such to look for fluctuations in readings or an actual OPEN circuit!? The TCI can only work IF it's getting signals from the PU coils, but if they are broken, then it doesn't get any triggering signal and won't signal the coils to fire=no spark!?

Keep at it, you'll get it soon!!!
T.C.