dropped cylinders 2 & 3...????

[MadHatter4119]

Greg...I'm sorry...I tried to reply to your post via my phone via email telling
me you replied to my latest post...got tired of waiting...than came in and got
on the computer...my reply must be in never land...Your post didn't say if I
needed the key on...without the key on...0.00 in both wires at the TCI...with
the key on 12.20 volts in both the gray & orange wires at the TCI...The reason I didn't get a reading at the gray wire at TCI earlier was because at the coil area it was unplugged...Thanks

[BA80]

Greg...I'm sorry...I tried to reply to your post via my phone via email telling
me you replied to my latest post...got tired of waiting...than came in and got
on the computer...my reply must be in never land...Your post didn't say if I
needed the key on...without the key on...0.00 in both wires at the TCI...with
the key on 12.20 volts in both the gray & orange wires at the TCI...The reason I didn't get a reading at the gray wire at TCI earlier was because at the coil area it was unplugged...Thanks

That's good.

Now, unplug the 4 wire connector from the TCI. Set your VOM at 2000 ohms, measure the ohms between the yellow/green and the yellow/red wires, and measure the ohms between the white/green and the white/red wires. Both should be around 750 ohms no matter key on or off. There's no battery voltage involved there.

[BA80]

Greg...I'm sorry...I tried to reply to your post via my phone via email telling
me you replied to my latest post...got tired of waiting...than came in and got
on the computer...my reply must be in never land...Your post didn't say if I
needed the key on...without the key on...0.00 in both wires at the TCI...with
the key on 12.20 volts in both the gray & orange wires at the TCI...The reason I didn't get a reading at the gray wire at TCI earlier was because at the coil area it was unplugged...Thanks

Have you removed or bypassed the ballast resistor? That's pretty strong voltage for passing through the resistor and the coils.

[MadHatter4119]

No I didn't remove the B resistor...all stock setup...that I know of...I put the stock coils back in...cleaned all the connections behind the fuse panel...Would
you be so kind and explain how to do the meter test...I set the meter to 2000 Ohms...Its the black & reds leads...I not sure about ? Do I need to ground the
black lead first before testing the wires you stated or do I stick one in the yellow/green and the other in the yellow/red and than the white/green and white/red...? Its cold and dark out now...I'll get to this test tomorrow...I did
look more at the pickups today...Somewhere along the line...a light blue wire
broke and someone put a 4 inch piece in and they used two small twist on electrical caps to repair the broke wire...I removed the protective cover and checked the wire up until they went under the engine looking for more break...I have read post where some XS11 owners had up to 3 or 4 breaks in
the pickup area...that's crazy...!!! I think I need to learn how to check for a broken wire...other than pulling on it...? Thanks

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Harry,

The light blue wire is just the neutral light wire, it's not part of the ignition circuit, but it's in the wire loom down there.

Yes, you put the 2 test leads into the 2 different colored wires that Greg spoke of...you're testing OHMS thru that circuit.....the 2 wires are both ends of the circuit loop for the PU coils, and so you need to test it by completing the circuit with the 2 test leads to complete the loop, and the meter can then measure the resistance in the loop which has the PU coil on it. that's supposed be around 780 ohms or so....as stated.

Greg, the voltages with just the key on at the coils is correct for the red/white wires. The TCI bypasses the B.R. during the starting process and sends 12V directly to the coils to provide stronger sparks for starting. Once the bike is running, the TCI then shunts the power THRU the B.R. to drop the voltage down to ~9 volts to keep from burning up the OEM coils. As I mentioned earlier, and you did also, Harry should be seeing less voltage on the gray/orange wires when testing the voltage from there to ground because of the resistance of the coil should drop the voltage a bit. But I want to make sure he's doing it right....meter in VOLT mode, black on ground/frame/ground battery terminal, and then red test lead touched to connector at coil where grey/orange wire contacts.

IF really getting 12 volts there, does sound like OEM coils fried/shorted so no resistance in the primary is happening, so full voltage is going THRU the coil primary!?

T.C.

[BA80]

Hey Harry,

The light blue wire is just the neutral light wire, it's not part of the ignition circuit, but it's in the wire loom down there.

Yes, you put the 2 test leads into the 2 different colored wires that Greg spoke of...you're testing OHMS thru that circuit.....the 2 wires are both ends of the circuit loop for the PU coils, and so you need to test it by completing the circuit with the 2 test leads to complete the loop, and the meter can then measure the resistance in the loop which has the PU coil on it. that's supposed be around 780 ohms or so....as stated.

Greg, the voltages with just the key on at the coils is correct for the red/white wires. The TCI bypasses the B.R. during the starting process and sends 12V directly to the coils to provide stronger sparks for starting. Once the bike is running, the TCI then shunts the power THRU the B.R. to drop the voltage down to ~9 volts to keep from burning up the OEM coils. As I mentioned earlier, and you did also, Harry should be seeing less voltage on the gray/orange wires when testing the voltage from there to ground because of the resistance of the coil should drop the voltage a bit. But I want to make sure he's doing it right....meter in VOLT mode, black on ground/frame/ground battery terminal, and then red test lead touched to connector at coil where grey/orange wire contacts.

IF really getting 12 volts there, does sound like OEM coils fried/shorted so no resistance in the primary is happening, so full voltage is going THRU the coil primary!?

T.C.

Yeah, but he was speaking of the orange and grey wires AT the TCI. Those 2 will have been passing through the resistor and the primary of the coils before they get there. I tested them on an SG I'm working on right now and at the TCI those 2 read 10.4 - 10.5 at the plug for the TCI.

That's running through the resistor and the primary of the coils.

I still think the issue is going to be at the pick up coil plug behind the fuse panel. That is a big trouble area especially if you mess around near it. I can testify to that from experience.

[BA80]

This plug right here Harry.....



It's a rectangular plug that is capable if 6 wires but there are only 5. Like TC said, the light blue one is for the neutral light but there's 4 others, 2 0n each end of the plug, that are for the pick ups.

That plug needs special attention for riding in the rain but we'll come back to that. Let's get your problem solved first.

[MadHatter4119]

Thanks TC and Greg...I'll follow the instructions and post the results asap tomorrow...I'm done for today...since my heart failure...Just don't have it in
to put in more than a few hours of fooling with this bike before my body tells
me to knock it off...Hopefully , getting cylinders 2 & 3 firing again won't cost
to much...anybody care to take a guess as to what caused 2 & 3 to drop dead
like this...I would swear on a stack of Bible's that all 4 cylinders was working
after I re-did the carbs, change the oil and bought a new battery...But now
it's got me thinking it was a dream or something...Lol

[MadHatter4119]

Yea...I took that connector apart and cleaned the crap out of it today...In fact I did all those connection...even the single wire connector...That connection run down to the pickups...right where the exhaust pipe is...they
change colors to go to the pickup...only one wire doesn't change color...that's
the orange wire...the dark blue wire changes to light blue , the black wire changes to light blue ,the gray wire changes to white...One pickup has a orange and a light blue wire going into it...the other pickup has a white and light blue wire going into it...Just thought it might come in handy to write it
down today...

[BA80]

Yea...I took that connector apart and cleaned the crap out of it today...In fact I did all those connection...even the single wire connector...That connection run down to the pickups...right where the exhaust pipe is...they
change colors to go to the pickup...only one wire doesn't change color...that's
the orange wire...the dark blue wire changes to light blue , the black wire changes to light blue ,the gray wire changes to white...One pickup has a orange and a light blue wire going into it...the other pickup has a white and light blue wire going into it...Just thought it might come in handy to write it
down today...

Ohm those out at the plug. I think one pickup is the grey wire and the black wire and the other is the orange wire and the dark blue wire going down to the engine.

Ignore the light blue one, that's for the neutral light.

Again, they should be about 750 ohms give or take 5 ohms or so.

[MadHatter4119]

So the two light blues that go into each of the pickups are for the neutral
light...Right ??? That only leaves the orange wire in one pickup and a white
wire in the other pickup...I'll take a few pictures tomorrow...this just don't
sound right...What did you think of this system the first time you seen the
way they designed it...?

So I test this plug...not at the TCI...I thought he said to unplug it at the tci...
got to re-read it...

[MadHatter4119]

Yea...you did say in post 32 to unplug it from the TCI and test it...thought
so...

[BA80]

So the two light blues that go into each of the pickups are for the neutral
light...Right ??? That only leaves the orange wire in one pickup and a white
wire in the other pickup...I'll take a few pictures tomorrow...this just don't
sound right...What did you think of this system the first time you seen the
way they designed it...?

So I test this plug...not at the TCI...I thought he said to unplug it at the tci...
got to re-read it...

The colors of the wires at the pick ups don't matter at the plugs, they are connected to other wires about 3 inches up inside the sheathing. Ignore the colors AT the pick ups.

I did say unplug the 4 wire connector at the TCI and ohm out the wires there. I thought you did that already. Did they test out as I said? If so you need not go any further.

[BA80]

Test between the orange/red and the orange/green should be around 750 ohms +/- 5 ohms.

Do the same with the white/red and the white/green.

This is at the 4 wire plug at the TCI.

Did you do that?

[MadHatter4119]

Good Morning...once it warm up a few degrees and I can get a couple of
cups of Tea in me...I'll go out and pull the cover off and do those test at
the TCI...