Pickup coil question

[Ivan]

resistors in the secondary ignition do a bunch less tospaek output than most people think. The largest resistance is the gap its self, so the resistance in the rest of th circuit is of minimal effect, save RFI.

I would run no resistance, personally, just to watch the guys in the car next to me wonder why their radio is crackling.

Most cars run resistor plugs and resistor core wires,v and have since the earlu 80s. I have never seen it as a problem in a repair shop. If it is a true source of concern, have it scoped and adjust the gap until you get the desired kv spike.

DB, I think you could benefit from scoping the ignotion system any how. Both the primary and secondary. Its easier to chase gremlins yoi can see.

[dbeardslee]

I'm going to try the ignition coils first. If that solves the problem, I'll have two sets of good bearing assemblies. I may just try removing the dust cover on one to see how difficult it is. If I booger it up I'll still have the other. I do like the idea of packing it with some moly grease as it will stay put longer.

Ivan - I agree with you about visible gremlins being easier to fix, but I don't know how to scope an ignition. Something tells me it involves an expensive piece of equipment. What's involved?

I've already got the new coils (pickups and ignition) on the way, so I have nothing to loose but a little time by swapping them out. At this point I've swapped out the TCI with a known-good-loaner, replaced the plug wires and caps, rebuilt the governor and rewired the pickup coils, and rewired most of the harness. About the only thing left in the ignition that I haven't tried is the ignition coils, so hopefully that'll do it.

[dbeardslee]

Finally!!!!!

Phil - thanks for the push over the edge - it was the ignition coils. I know I've declared victory over this particular gremlin about ten times already, but this time I'm sure. Here's what I think was going on - when the old coils got hot I think one of them needed more than 12 volts to fire. The alternator doesn't put out it's full voltage (14.2v) until 2k rpms, which is right about where the stumble went away. Anyway, Betsy's loving these big green coils. I've got a few things to say about them too, but I'll start a new thread for that. Thanks for all your help, guys. What with the freshly set valve clearances, a carburetor that's clean enough to eat out of, new carb boots, and what amounts to a new wiring harness she's running better than ever. I-R-A happy guy .

[bikerphil]

Glad you got it sorted out, DB, I know what a headache it can be. I think the way I fried my MikesXS coil was a poor connection at the red/wht. By the time I found the break in the wire, it was too late and the coil was shot.

[dbeardslee]

I feel like the guy who was hitting himself in the head with a hammer. When asked why he was doing it he said 'cause it feels so good when I stop.' The intermittent nature of the problem was a fargin bastage. It kept faking me out when the bike was cold. If you hadn't mentioned your coils failing I would probably still be trying to track it down elsewhere. Makes me wonder if that's got something to do with why they haven't been in stock for a while at Mikes and why they have a bunch of new coils for sale. I'd like to know what the average failure rate was on the $34's.

I think the old coils might still work with an Oregon Motorcycle Parts regulator/rectifier, but they definitely don't like the stock unit up to 2K rpms. They still work OK when the charging system is throwing 14.2 volts. At one point I was only getting 11.3v at the TCI, so maybe the low voltage had a bad affect on them.

All things considered I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out. I wound up doing a lot of maintenance/repairs that I wouldn't if I hadn't had the problem. I also learned a lot in the process about the ignition system, so that was good. Now with the final piece of the puzzle in place she's running like a new one - probably better. I haven't checked it yet, but judging from the fuel gauge my mileage is up too. My next problem is that, If I don't quit grinning while I'm riding, it's only a matter of time before I swallow a high-speed bug .