Intermittent loss of power

[CatatonicBug]

Not sure what you mean by "the primary leads". The wires leave the pickup coils sealed, and are not exposed to a connector until they hit the TCI, AFAIK. There is no place to test the wires inside the timing cover unless I cut the wires.

[dbeardslee]

Not sure what you mean by "the primary leads". The wires leave the pickup coils sealed, and are not exposed to a connector until they hit the TCI, AFAIK. There is no place to test the wires inside the timing cover unless I cut the wires.

The primary leads on the ignition coils - not the pickup coils. Unplug the orange, grey, and red/white wires from the coils and check the resistance without going through the wires that run from the TCI.

[CatatonicBug]

Oh! Ok, will do that.

[rdmcguy]

In the last place that you look

Catatonic bug, I had a weird problem once where it wasn't the pickup coil wires near the coils themselves ...but where they come into the pigtail near the shifter area , frustrating until I figured it out !!! also have a different 11 that right handlebar switch wires would partially disconnect under the gas tank ...

[blkryno]

power loss

I was having a similar sounding issue. going along just fine then it's like I'm running out of fuel. couldn't figure why it would do this. then i remembered a riding lawn mower that did the same thing. So the next time it happened I opened the gas cap.and closed it again. problem solved I think on some days in the heat the tank gets a vapor/pressure lock. It might be this simple.

81 1100 special
79 1100 special

Loud pipes draw cops

[CatatonicBug]

I think I've determined that my digital meter doesn't do ohms very well. I re-checked the coils, and struggled to get a reading at all, using alligator clips on the metal terminals in the plug caps. As soon as I switched to my analog meter, the reading was a crisp and solid 21-22k ohms, on both coils. I know that's high for the numbers you provided, but could that just be because they are Accel coils?

I checked the wires that run from the TCI to the coils, and got 0 ohms on all connections. I checked the red/white wire from the TCI to the kill switch, at the connector under the tank, and get 0 there too. I checked the connections at the tip over switch, and all are 0 ohms, except for one, that gets 3 ohms (diagram says it runs to a resistor?).

The one strange thing I noticed - when re-checking the black/white wire at the TCI, it starts with 0 volts, then I turn the key on, and I get 1.3v for about 5 seconds, when I hear a faint "click" (some kind of relay, happens every time) and it drops to 0 again. Turn the engine on, and it runs at under 1v. Since this is only for the tip over switch, I get a feeling it doesn't need much to signal that the switch has been activated. The other end of the tip over switch connects to the grounds for the tach light and headlight indicator, both of which are now LEDs on my bike. Could that explain the lower voltage on that wire?

[CatatonicBug]

I also re-ran the primary resistance check (red/white wire in the TCI connector to the gray, then to the orange), and got 0 ohms on the analog meter. Not sure why, but the digital meter still shows 7 on both. You said I should be getting 3 ohms on that test though. If there is no resistance, where SHOULD the resistance be created?

[dbeardslee]

I think I've determined that my digital meter doesn't do ohms very well. I re-checked the coils, and struggled to get a reading at all, using alligator clips on the metal terminals in the plug caps. As soon as I switched to my analog meter, the reading was a crisp and solid 21-22k ohms, on both coils. I know that's high for the numbers you provided, but could that just be because they are Accel coils?

I checked the wires that run from the TCI to the coils, and got 0 ohms on all connections. I checked the red/white wire from the TCI to the kill switch, at the connector under the tank, and get 0 there too. I checked the connections at the tip over switch, and all are 0 ohms, except for one, that gets 3 ohms (diagram says it runs to a resistor?).

The one strange thing I noticed - when re-checking the black/white wire at the TCI, it starts with 0 volts, then I turn the key on, and I get 1.3v for about 5 seconds, when I hear a faint "click" (some kind of relay, happens every time) and it drops to 0 again. Turn the engine on, and it runs at under 1v. Since this is only for the tip over switch, I get a feeling it doesn't need much to signal that the switch has been activated. The other end of the tip over switch connects to the grounds for the tach light and headlight indicator, both of which are now LEDs on my bike. Could that explain the lower voltage on that wire?

On the coils did you check the primary coil resistance while disconnected from the TCI? That's putting the probe on the "feed" wires that go into the coils? Also, on your secondary resistance, since you've got Accels you might try popping the high tension wires off and checking the secondarie right at the coil by putting a lead directly on each output terminal on the coils themselves. I'm thinkin' maybe you're getting some resistance from the high tension wires.

When I check my Dynas I get 12.54K ohms on the secondaries when they're cold, and I'm thinkin' 21-22K ohms is too high, but I don't know for certain on the Accels. Were your coils cold when you checked them? Do you know what the model number is on your Accels?

[dbeardslee]

I also re-ran the primary resistance check (red/white wire in the TCI connector to the gray, then to the orange), and got 0 ohms on the analog meter. Not sure why, but the digital meter still shows 7 on both. You said I should be getting 3 ohms on that test though. If there is no resistance, where SHOULD the resistance be created?

It should just measure the resistance on the primary leads into the coils, plus whatever might be added along the way in the wires themselves. But you should only see a reading of 3 or 4 ohms - 7 is high.

Also, on the black/white showing low or zero voltage. It shouldn't make any difference what it's hooked up too. You're basically shorting that wire out before it gets to the emergency stop switch so it's telling you the TCI isn't supplying the six volts of power on that line that it's supposed to. The manual says if you're not getting close to the voltages it mentions, and the black wire shows continuity when you ground it, then the problem is in the TCI. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that the TCI has a problem.

[dbeardslee]

Are you sure your dmm was reading 7 ohms, and not .7 ohms? Accel's 140403 coils are supposed to be 3 ohm coils, but their 140404 coils are .7 ohms - and they look identical. I read at least one account of a guy using the 140404's on a Suzuki GSF1200 that were sold to him as 3 ohm coils, when in fact they're .7 ohms. He said it "cooked his igniter." If it was mine, I'd be checking the model number on those coils.

[motoman]

Are you sure your dmm was reading 7 ohms, and not .7 ohms? Accel's 140403 coils are supposed to be 3 ohm coils, but their 140404 coils are .7 ohms - and they look identical. I read at least one account of a guy using the 140404's on a Suzuki GSF1200 that were sold to him as 3 ohm coils, when in fact they're .7 ohms. He said it "cooked his igniter." If it was mine, I'd be checking the model number on those coils.

lots easier and more correct if you use the ohm meter across both input poles of each coil.

[dbeardslee]

lots easier and more correct if you use the ohm meter across both input poles of each coil.

For the purposes of checking the coils, I agree. The manual tells you to check the resistance at the TCI and I suspect that's because the TCI is evidently the thing that's sensitive to the resistance. I've got a funny feeling his actual reading was .7 ohms, but I'd like to see him verify that at the coils. If it turns out to be the case it would explain a number of things.

[dbeardslee]

CBug - when you check the coils the model number should be right on the Accel sticker on the coils.

[dbeardslee]

I also re-ran the primary resistance check (red/white wire in the TCI connector to the gray, then to the orange), and got 0 ohms on the analog meter. Not sure why, but the digital meter still shows 7 on both. You said I should be getting 3 ohms on that test though. If there is no resistance, where SHOULD the resistance be created?

This is getting scarier and scarier. On an analog meter 0 ohms and .7 ohms can be pretty hard to tell apart.

[CatatonicBug]

All I can be sure of is that the digital meter says 7 ohms, without a decimal, but the analog meter swings all the way to zero. Since the analog meter is brand new, I tend to believe it more than the digital one in this case. The way the dial reads, there is no mistaking the low readings (below 5 ohms), since the numbers get closer together as the value rises. If it was .7, it would be visible.