Need help in Idaho please

[3Phase]

Ron, it could be bad spark plugs or the worng <sic> spark gap:
0.7 ~ 0.8 mm (0.028 ~ 0.032 in)

Bill, you've (supposedly) fixed the ignition pick-up coil wires but the color schematic is kind of all over the place as far as the power and ignition circuits are concerned.

I made a quick and dirty flowchart and I hope it helps you understand what, where and how to check the circuit voltages instead of just confusing you! It may not seem that way at first but it actually takes less time to check the voltages than it does to explain how to check them.


Ignition_Circuit_Flowchart by Scott_Ci, on Flickr

I suppose this is sort of like trying to explain how to check and repair the electrical system via e-mail while on orbit.



"Hey, Mother Earth, won't'cha bring me back down safely to the sea!
But around and around and around and around is all she ever say to me!
Yeah!"
-- Nilsson

Spaceman


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[BA80]

Ground control to Major Billy.....

http://youtu.be/58gjuawF5Hc

[BillyRok]

Ok, I got the fairing, seat, and tank off the bike. Not by the bike right now as I had to find outlet to charge my phone and IPad. Here is what I know so far.

Plug boot resistance: 1 is 6.66k, 2 is 10.8k, 3 is 6.65k, 4 is 7.71k.

Battery is 12.8v with key off, 12.6v and starts to drop with key on. I get 12.45v from battery to 3 wires on R/R with key on.

Spark plugs are ngk6es are are all gapped correctly.

I'll be back to the bike in 20-30 min.

[3Phase]

I get 12.45v from battery to 3 wires on R/R with key on.

The R/R?! Which three R/R wires are you....

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[BillyRok]

Sorry, the regulator/rectifier. Can also confirm secondary resistance is 15k on 2/3 coil...still need to check 1/4 coil but it's dark and heavy dew forming here near Sturgis. Wanted to get gas lines hooked back up so that's it til morning I guess.

[BA80]

still need to check 1/4 coil but it's dark and heavy dew forming here near Sturgis. Wanted to get gas lines hooked back up so that's it til morning I guess.

Mountain Dew?

[3Phase]

Nothing left to do but smile smile smile!


<looking around for a seeing eye dog or officer Obie>

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[BillyRok]

Back at it this morning...
- plugs show no resistance through them
- primary coil resistance both read 1.5 ohms
- secondary coil resistance both read 15k ohms

#2 plug boot readings jump all over from no reading to m ohms to k ohms, doesn't give steady reading.

Do I need to go find new 5k ohm boots...are the old ones bad enough to cause problems? The bike idles ok but as soon as I start to let the clutch out it skips and misses. Once the rpms get up to 3k or so it will smooth but may still not be perfect.

I'm trying to make sense of Scott's flow chart (thanks by the way). This sounds ignorant I realize but I simply keep the black probe of the multimeter on the neg battery terminal then use the red probe on each place along the circuit diagram to see if voltage is lower than what I have at the battery?

[WMarshy]

Don't worry Billy, we'll have you clean all the electrical stuff and the carbs before you cross the Mississippi. As mentioned previously, see about taking apart the plug boots and cleaning them. Clip the plug wire 1/4 inch before you put them back on.

[BillyRok]

I think voltage is ok

After looking at Scott's diagram some more, I discovered the I show 12.6v at the red/white wire at the TCI when the red probe is at +battery and black one at red/white wire at TCI. Can someone with electrical expertise tell me...
- plus boot resistance numbers would cause my issue
- TCI may be bad (I have a spare)
- could still be something else

Thanks as I'm trying not to be here in SD long enough to claim residency status

[3Phase]

After looking at Scott's diagram some more, I discovered the I show 12.6v at the red/white wire at the TCI when the red probe is at +battery and black one at red/white wire at TCI. Can someone with electrical expertise tell me...
- plus boot resistance numbers would cause my issue
- TCI may be bad (I have a spare)
- could still be something else

Thanks as I'm trying not to be here in SD long enough to claim residency status

No, you're not doing it right. Check the Start/Run switch. 12.6V from battery positive to the TCI Red/White wire is basically battery voltage across an open circuit and just tells you the battery voltage is 12.6V.

After you've fixed the Kill switch, put the Red, positive, multimeter probe on the Red/White wire at the TCI.

Put the Black, negative, probe on the ground -- an electrical ground like the battery negative terminal or an unpainted part of the frame, not the dirt, pavement or the concrete you're standing on! Again, the voltage should be within a half volt of battery voltage. If the battery's still @ 12.6V the voltage at the TCI should be no less than 12.1V.

Moving right along! You can try the spare TCI but I don't believe that's the problem and what wires were you checking at the R/R? Is the battery not staying charged?

The resistance readings on the spark plug boots are weird. The two inner boots, #2 and #3, are easy to take apart and clean but I think the outer two, #1 and #4, may have the resistor pressed into the upper part of the body behind the screw for the spark plug wire. Those can't be disassembled and cleaned, at least not easily. You can buy new ones from a motorcycle dealership or auto parts store but it's not as easy as it used to be and you may have to show your residency card before they'll look them up for you.

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[TopCatGr58]

Here's a few photos showing the plug apart and the parts inside!

The other photos are the screw end and end of plug wire....note the GREEN corrosion color!







T.C.

The links are right, but photobucket seems to have just gone down for a moment!

[motoman]

It's all good Billy!
If clippin' a quarter inch off plug wires doesn't improve the low rpm spark, since 'out on the road', may wanna stop at a motorcyle shop or accessory shop and get two new outers and two inner plug caps(different configurations for the two angles and length), screw them on there as that'll likely need to be done anyways when you get to the home 'man-cave'........just because.

[cajun31]

If you are

near a Radio Shack go in and grab a can of the Deoxit D5 spray and give that a try. You may only need to clean all those parts to get a little better voltage through them. I believe it is $16.99 a can and will dissolve remove any crud you have on those connections.

[3Phase]

near a Radio Shack go in and grab a can of the Deoxit D5 spray and give that a try. You may only need to clean all those parts to get a little better voltage through them. I believe it is $16.99 a can and will dissolve remove any crud you have on those connections.

I still don't know if there's a voltage problem or not except for the flakey spark plug boots. He measured some circuit voltages correctly with the multimeter positive lead to the test point and the negative lead to ground, then asked if he was doing it right but he didn't mention any of the voltages.

He kind of went off on a tangent and got 12.45V somewhere at the R/R. I'm not sure why he was checking the R/R but that could be a very good voltage or a very bad voltage, it depends on which wires he checked and the battery voltage at the time.

He tried to measure the total voltage drop across the entire ignition circuit by checking from the battery positive terminal to TCI Red/White wire. If done correctly that would tell you exactly how many volts were being lost in the circuit but he got 12.6V which is battery voltage and the only way you can get battery voltage from that particular test is if it's an open circuit. Evidently he checked the voltage when the Stop/Run (Kill) switch was off, the Ignition switch was off, the 10A Ignition fuse or the 30A Main fuse was loose or one of the connectors in the circuit wasn't plugged in.

Since he's got an '80LG, the voltage at the 2-pole Ignition coil connector would be useful because that would show if the coil primary voltage is correct and the Ballast Resistor is in good shape without unplugging any wires or taking stuff apart except for removing the seat and the fuel tank, something that's already halfway done when you check the voltage at the TCI.

Right now I think he's on the dark side of the moon and he'll check in later.

I need some more popcorn.

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