::sighh:: Electrical Problem

[Spootinay]

Hello everybody, I have a 79 standard with no spark on #1 & #4 cylinders.

I have searched for a while and I think Kiethh had a similar problem.

I have been using a timing light to see if I am getting spark. So I know its not the plugs. The 1 & 4 wires aren't getting juice.

I have swapped the grey and orange wires and coils 1,4 with 2,3 and still no spark on 1 and 4.
I have swapped the TCI with a 99% known good TCI.
I have checked the P/U coil wires 720ohms no splits.
All wires involved have been di-electric greased and cleaned.

The only thing that worked for a moment was when I unplugged the ballast resistor and I got spark then I plugged it back in and got spark then the bike got fuel starved and shut off. (forgot to turn the gas on )

After that no more spark.

I think that's all the info i have....
Any suggestions?

[Rasputin]

You could try to disconnect the ballast resistor and plugging the two bullet connectors together to see if that helps. Another thought is do you have both plugs grounded well when checking for spark. In a wasted spark application the #1 plug will not fire if the #4 is not grounded as well.
Have you done the coil test for resistance that is outlined in the manual? I forget right now (and am not handy to my manuals) what those should read but that will test the actual coil. Often times simply cutting off an 1/8 th inch of the plug wire will help it get spark to the plug. Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

[mack]

Spark

When your trimming back your plug wires the 1/8th inch rasputin mentioned. Thats when you want to test the coils. Also run a test on those plug caps. They go bad as well and can prevent spark at the plug.

[TopCatGr58]

The coil RESISTANCE readings are ~1.5 ohms on the Primary 12 volt side, and
~15k ohms +/- 10% WITHOUT the plug caps in place.

If you test without the Ballast Resistor connected, only do it for a few minutes. If used too long, it can burn out the ignition coils because they are not designed to run at full 12 volts, the BR allows them to run at ~9 volts.

T.C.

[Spootinay]

Plugged the two bullet wires to the ballast resistor together. No dice.
Swapped the orange and gray and plug wires to re-check to see if both coils were good. I got spark on all four cylinders. Turned it off. Then back to no spark in 1 and 4 after restart.

The 2 and 3 plug wires are tight and just barely reach the 1 and 4 plugs. and the 1 and 4 wires are kinda jammed into the 2 and 3 spark plug areas.

Could this make a difference? If the plug wires are not connected to the caps well could that cause both one and four to not be grounded well and thus no spark?

[Spootinay]

and i didnt test the coils with an electrometer yet because my batteries in it are dead.

[CaptonZap]

Did anyone suggest that you check the pickup coil wires?
Sounds like classical case of that problem.
CZ

[Spootinay]

I did the check for the pickup coil wires. I stripped the shrink-wrap all the way up. It was all hard and burnt up. some of the insulation on the wires was cracked but the wires are intact.

[CaptonZap]

I did the check for the pickup coil wires. I stripped the shrink-wrap all the way up. It was all hard and burnt up. some of the insulation on the wires was cracked but the wires are intact.

Uh, shrink warp?
The wires under the left side engine cover don't have shrink wrap. The ones that are attached to the swivel part of the round dohickey are covered with a real pliable insulation, and can break internally and not show it. Do a search for pickup wires, and that will clue you in to what I was talking about.
CZ

[Spootinay]

Whats the stuff you heat up and it shrinks? What i removed was the black plastic that surrounds all four pickup wires and the ground wire for the neutral light.

I moved the spark plugs around and the lack of spark followed the plugs. Go figure, the cheapest easiest fix it could have been.

[CaptonZap]

Whats the stuff you heat up and it shrinks? What i removed was the black plastic that surrounds all four pickup wires and the ground wire for the neutral light.

I moved the spark plugs around and the lack of spark followed the plugs. Go figure, the cheapest easiest fix it could have been.

Glad it was something simple.
I think you were chasing wires that were outside the left hand cover, since the pickup wire join the neutral switch wire after they leave the advance mechanism chamber.
You might want to explore that, because it is just a matter of time before you will need to fix the pickup wires. Look here, and file it away for future reference. Someday you may need it.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=543

CZ