No sparks = no go

[natemoen]

You need someone to come give you some hands on help! Someone go help this man!

[LoHo]

Naw, owning a bike is like flyfishing: no self-respecting flyfisherman would use flies tied by someone else. I will fix this myself...at least until I top out my PayPal. Then I'll put all the parts I've purchased together and have a running bike. After that, I'll tow the Effing B---h down to the Rally and refuse to feed anyone until they have my bike running. Keep an eye out around Atascadero this June for greasy XSives rushing to restaurants....

[LoHo]

Additional info: 1-I still get no sparks when cranking, 2-when I turn the key off, I get a single spark from either either spark plug lead from the left coil, but not from right coil.

[GARTHXS]

loho you should accept 3phases offer to help he is an electric wizard, he's in arizona now but drop him a pm and Im sure he could ride up to fresno and get it sorted out and running .

[natemoen]

Ok so I went and reread the whole thread and took some notes. Some things that were mentioned and never really ruled out.

1) Pickup coils, make sure the coils themselves are good, make sure the wires are good, make sure they are connected at the connectore behind the fuse panel, and make sure the gap is no larger than .7mm.

2) Fuses, do you still have the glass fuses? If so, just get rid of them so they can be ruled out now and in the future.

3) you said you had done some other electrical fixes, what were they?

I sure hope we can all help get this sorted out for you! Good luck, and don't give up!

[LoHo]

The coil pick-up gap should be no more than .7mm, is that right? The pick-up has a tiny metal wedge that gets closer to the, what, reluctor? Is the measurement from the tip of the metal bit or from the raised plastic ridge that houses it?

[natemoen]

You have the center reluctor wheel that has the small raised line on it. That raised portion is what signals the tci to fire the coils when it passes buy the pickup coils that are positioned around it. You measure the gap from the raised portion on the reluctor wheel to the closest point on the pickup coil. The screws on the base of the pickup coils will allow for some movement. Personally I couldn't seem to get my gap to any more than .5mm without prying, and I didn't want to do that, but as long as it is less than .7mm on esch coils you should be good gap wise.

[LoHo]

What has me baffled is the transition from running great to no spark without any intervening trauma or drama. That's why I figured it must be a part failure...a dragging, amp-eating starter, or a newly corroded connection, or the TCI giving up the ghost. The idea of both coils completely going out at once is hard to believe. I keep thinking I've missed a bad wire or a cooked relay, but no dice. No spark on either coil...really? It must be something simple, but damned if I know.

But I'll get it....

[natemoen]

Well, do you still have the old glass fuses?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there LoHo,

I, too, reread entire thread. Recap:
New starter, same speed, no spark.
New battery, same speed, no spark.
New TCI, same speed, no spark.
Removed Tipover switch, same speed, no spark.
Cleaned connectors, battery, GROUND(s), TCI.

Didn't see answer to Fuses...old glass or newer ATCO solid style??

Have you verified that you are getting 12 volts to the ignition/spark plug coils via the red/white wire AT the coils during starting??? The TCI can't switch them on/off if they aren't getting power.

Also, you are saying no spark, but are you meaning no start, Or are you actually having a spark plug out laying on the head with the plug wire attached and watching for spark???

Just trying to help brainstorm here.
T.C.

[Ken Talbot]

I'm with you on the coil theory, LoHo, just can't see how even one of them can just suddenly die like that, never mind two at once. I'm still betting on multiple pick-up coil wires, the old 'hourgalss' scenario when you pull vigorously on them. I would unplug the connectors from the coils, insert one probe of a meter set to test impedance (ohms) so it touches only one of the prongs, then try to poke the sharpened end of the other probe through the insulation very close to where the other end of that wire comes out of the pick-up coils.

Sorry if I sound like a broken record...

[DiverRay]

LoHo,
I CAN ship "loaner" parts out if you want them! Remember, I DO have a few around here! I would check two things, though. #1 is the ballast resistor. Pull the tank, and just bypass it plugging the wires into each other. You can run for about 5 minutes WITHOUT harm to the coils, if it starts. The next thing is the right handle switch assembly. I've had TWO engine kill switches die from the plastic just falling apart. Try to bypass the switch assembly inside the headlight bucket and see if that will work.
Give me a call if you need parts, I'm only about 4 hours away....

[LoHo]

Still have the glass fuses, and I have continuity through them. No doubt I will adopt the TC blade fuse box on my path toward replacing everything that still works.

I have redone the pick-up wires again just in case, as my previous fix was pretty scabby, but worked for three years.

I have a spark plug tester hooked to a lead, which is how I know I get a spark from one coil when I turn off the key.

I'm getting 12+ to the R/W, but it drops down during cranking. My electrical skills are primitive, but I'm not an idiot, so this is baffling. I have two rescue bikes that had no spark and I managed, but there wes an obvious gap in the curcuit. With this, I don't know.

[DiverRay]

DUMP THE GLASS FUSES!!! That is the FIRST thing you should have done! The resistance can go up as you try to draw current, and the voltage will drop. Below 10.5V, NO SPARK. I say again, dump the glass fuses FIRST, even if you just buy four separate fuse holders and cobble them in.
The problem is in the "fingers" that hold the fuses in place. After 30 years, they don't press on the ends with the pressure needed to keep the resistance down. Trust me, BTDT....

[natemoen]

Agreed with Ray here, if its getting this confusing just get rid of them. The clips get weak and may pass a continuity test but would fail under any load.