continued

[v65/xs11]

Ok now for question to all out there. As of last week I had a misfire at low rpm under load and at startup. CYl 3 and sometimes 4 would be cold at startup. I thought it may be my coils, the secondary's read about 25k which seems high from what Ive seen on here. But it seemed to jump between 3 & 4 and sometimes both. I questioned the ignition box so I bought one on ebay, it came today. But my problem has been gone for several days now im afraid to test the box. Let me expain how my problem went away. I parked my bike at work and turned the key switch too far and left my tail light on. Thats right dead battery. After jump starting the bike it has not mis-fired once. Im really impressed with how well it runs now. Im an electrical engineer by trade and have checked,cleaned every electrical connection on the bike. Does anyone have anything to add or have me check. Does this sound like a bad ignition module

[pggg]

Plug caps and leads maybe. Mine had 9mm red silicon leads with graphite wires and the bike would misfire so went back to 7mm yellow silicon with copper wires. The bloody bike still misfired. Both copper/graphite wires had the same resistance. Ended up being the coil contact sometimes and the plug caps other times. I put it down to static electricity. Sparkies would disagree.

[skids]

Re: continued

The xs11 black box needs something like 10.3 volts to operate. You'll probably notice that the charging system does not keep up at low rpms with the headlight on, and it will quickly draw a battery down. A manually operated headlight switch is a good idea. Load test the battery.

Originally posted by v65/xs11
Ok now for question to all out there. As of last week I had a misfire at low rpm under load and at startup. (snip) Does this sound like a bad ignition module

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there V65/XS11,

IF the problem was only with #3 and #4, then I would doubt the TCI,p/u coils, or the ignition coils necessarily, because the ignition system has the #1-4 cylinders and 2-3 linked, whereas the carbs are linked in 1-2 and 3-4 pairs. The coil wires to each plug and cap could be suspect....you mentioned the higher resistance in the secondaries, but that was probably measured THRU the caps, they are resistor type, and the resistor piece and the contacts can break down, corrode, etc., inducing higher resistance values. If the coils check out okay from bare end wire to wire, and the caps measure only 5 or 8 kohms, then they're okay, may need to trim back some coil plug wire to get good uncorroded contact with the plug cap!?

Put some Seafoam in the tank and run it thru, and then see how your starts go...a partially clogged pilot circuit can cause problems as well!
T.C.

[v65/xs11]

thanks for your help

Well thanks guys for the help. Let me try to cover everything.
First the engine miss came back, so I tried the new ignition module no luck, at least I have a spare now. As far as the carbs go they were completely taken off and cleaned by me and a guy from work that worked in a bike shop. I will get some treatment and put in anyways. Voltage wth the bike not running 12.2, at idle with everything on about 12.9 and up to 14.4 if I rev her up.
I think I have a problem in the wires or the coils. The plugs are new, I bought Bosch platinium for increased heat and they were the closest in size amd electrode length. Should I buy used set of coils from ebay or new set of aftermarkets. Ive read alot about the conversions.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey V65/XS11,

Before investing in new coils, you might want to check the resistance of the caps, should be only 5-8kohms, and while you've got them off, inspect where the wire connects into the plug caps, possible corrosion, may need to trim back the wires a little to expose fresh uncorroded wire, and reattach the caps.

Also, may need to inspect the coil hi tension leads closer for signs of rubbing wear, thinning, which could allow it to short to frame.

IF you find the caps resistance excessive, you can get replacements thru DK and other sources!

We welcome your electrical knowledge to the group, and I/we are in no way wanting to sound like we are talking down to ANYONE, no matter what they're education or experience! Hope you find this helpful, if not, please write back with any more pertinent info you can provide, and we'll try to come up with something more relevant!
T.C.

[randy]

I'd guess it's fuel related. What about your petcocks / octopus? are they working right? Clean? Any difference when you run it on 'PRIME"? Do you have enough fuel in the tank so that both sides are flowing? Is your fuel cap vent clogged?

V65, where in PA are you? I'm in Stroudsburg. If you're close, I'll drop by to give you a hand.

[mitch]

pick up wires

Have u checked the pick up wires they might look good but once the vacum advance turns them they might be seperating. search the tech tips for pictures and info on them ,might be the culprit.....MITCH

[v65/xs11]

this week it ran like a new bike for 2 days about 125 miles then I pulled out of an intersection and started to accel and it started again it has been missing 2 days now. It started missing shifting form 2nd to 3rd. OF course I was wasting no time to get to speed, but not rough on it. I pulled the seat and tank off and wen thru th electrics agian not to say i may have missed somehting again. I had 780 ohms on each pickup and the wires have been repaired at the pickup coils. I had about 2 ohms on the resistor for the ignition, checked all wires and cleaned again, coil resistance checked fine. Ran it in the dark to see I had spark jumping. I have ran it in prime position with no help. After running for about 15 miles the other day I pulled in turned the gas off and dropped the bolts in the bottom of each bowl and measured the fuel comparing it each other all looked close to the same. I think im heading back to the carbs again, but what could be working and then not working, vacuum slides ??? I have not sync carbs, but the days she runs good, she runs like new and idles like new. IM in western pa about 1 hour n/w of pittsburgh

[Czekus21]

I was having trouble with my bike acting up every now and agian. I hung a picture of an "E" model sitting in a field, rusting away and mostly parted out. She hasn't acted up since.
How old is the battery? Are the bullet connectors for the coils tight? I thought I had mine pluged in all the way, Spitting and sputtering all the way. Found that 1 bullet connector was makeing an intermitten connection. Just throwing a few more ideas out there.
Oh Ya.. I was serious about the picture. If you ever make it to Sioux Falls, and stop by, You'll see it right above the stall that MIYAMI sleeps in.

[randy]

OK, you seem to have ruled out a fuel delivery problem, the only other thing is ignition. Are you missfiring on the 1-4 or the 2-3 ? Have you done the pipe check to see which ones are cold?

If you are misfiring on the 1-4 OR the 2-3 (or god forbid both) your TCI may be acting up, may need a re-solder inside.

[v65/xs11]

It's fixed. I only have one word to say carbs,carbs,carbs.
I found a chunk of soft rubber in the main jet of # 1 carb and # 4 float was way off. I guess the run one day not the next was the rubber piece when I opened it up it would suck up in the jet. It was not big enough to get the jet hole completely but was in the slot and entrance of the jet. Of course when i found this I went back thru all carbs again. I dont think it was gasket material, but I know it could not have came thru the screen. I also set all floats again, before we measure each one and the installe the bowl before removing the next one. This time i had all the bowls off at once. I read that the floats should be between 23-26 mm above the gasket surface. Well the post for float pins is 26 mm. I took a 1" x 1" x 12" key stock of metal and laid it across the 8 post(2 on each). and against the main jet hosing over the high spot of all floats, then I could see and use feeler gauges to check my height. I set them for 24 mm. I then rolled the bar stock down toward the floats watching too see which one moved first. then I would lower that float , repeating untill all floats moved at the same time when I rolled the flat stockdownwards. I rode the bike tonight for a while and did not take it easier on her, I think the bike was having more fun the I was. Like a race horse. Thanks for eveyones help If I can help anyone let me know. By the way my coils should arrive Thursday or Friday this week, HaHa spare parts.