ignition unit

[KJK]

Does anyone know a way to check an 81 XS1100 Special ignition unit P/N 4R0-10. I think this is the problem BUT would like to test it before looking for a new one. I just bought a Clymers manual. These are great books, but do not go into this part.

Thanks
Kevin

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Kevin,

Check out this link, Randy the resident electronics GURU has info on how to test your TCI!!
Randy's Web Site

[2bhappy]

Hey TopCat,

Randy is "forbitten fruit" LOL. I get a response that I have to have permission to access his site.

Marc

[randy]

Marc, he just gave you the wrong url. No password required, I've changed the url within the past year, so i guess TC gave you the old one. here you go:

randy's XS page

[2bhappy]

Thanks Randy,

This URL works. Just curious. Is it possible to use a TCI unit to ignite the coils of a Triple and have it function properly or is the CDI unit spark more intense than the TCI?

Marc

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Randy,

Thanks for the update, I had just copied it from the LINKS thread, didn't know you had changed it!

Marc, if you're talking about the TRIPLE XS750's and 850's, then I would think that they would NOT work with the XS11 TCI. They are all TCI's, not CDI's! But even if they were, you can't use CDI's in place of TCI's, the ohm range for the coils is very different, and you'll fry a TCI when used on a CDI machine.

The TCI's don't send out any kind of spark power, they just act as TRIGGER mechanisms for the ignition coils. They do control how long the circuit is open before it collapses which does contribute to the power the ig. coil generates.
T.C.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Marc,

I just reviewed the parts fiche for the triples, they use this interesting 3 sided pickup coil wire assembly. They have 1 ignition coil with 2 wires and 1 ig. coil with 1 wire. I would imagine that the PU coil is wired to trigger the dual wired coil twice for every once of the single wired one utilizing a wastespark design.

I would think if you could figure out the PU coil wiring that you could get an xs11 TCI to work on a 750/850!?
T.C.

[2bhappy]

TopCat,

Maybe Randy can shed some light on this. I am going to dig deeper into this possibility. When you are retired and old, you dream up thingd to do LOL.

Marc

[LoserShoes]

So how can you have a triple with two pistons at 180, degrees to each other? I can't imagine any one would design a triple with a pair of pistons that went up and down together, with a third at 180. I thought they all had to be 120 (0,120,240) degrees, which makes a shared coil not a possibility.
Please tell me that Yamaha didn't do it.

Steve

[2bhappy]

I was not talking of using shared coils, in fact I never mentioned the use of the 1100 coils.

Marc

[randy]

Let me be the first to dispell the myth that I might know how to make an XS11 iggy work on a triple!

I believe the 120-120-120 degree phasing is correct, that would explain the three pickups on the triple. But that's as far as I'll go.

[2bhappy]

If the XS1100 iggy has TWO outputs that trigger the two coils that fire the cylinders then I figure I can connect one input from the pickup coil to on of the inputs on the iggy and the corresponding out put to cylinder coil number 1 on the Triple, now comes the iffy part. I connect the next two pickup coil outpputs to the second iggy input an have a smart fella device a flip/flop gate that will alternately send a signal to each of the remaining two coils and walla, I have a device taht will work 3 or 4 cylinders.

I think I will just monitor ebay and stock up on a couple of Triple iggys...............


Marc

[KJK]

Thanks for the link and Randy you have an awsome web site. Is there a test that can be done on the TCI without being connected?
I ask because I had an intermitent (2 seconds) stalling, but now it does not run. Also the starter does not turn using the start button, but will if jumpered with a screw driver. I'm wondering if jumpering the starter will give me false infomation when checking for spark at the removed spark plug.

Kevin

[randy]

KJK,

Sounds like a fuse problem. Check the main fuse and connectors. If you have the original glass fuses, sometimes they can break inside and still LOOK good.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Marc,

My bad, the diagram for the 750 wasn't too clear, and I'm surprised some of the Triples folks ie. Pat Kelly, didn't jump in and correct me! The triples actually use 3 individual coils. The pair up front looked linked at first, that's what confused me, but the parts list says the same part number for all three!!! So...yeah, like you said, best to get some spares off of ebay!

Kevin,
Like Randy said, check those fuses, but also you may need to check your main ignition key switch. Also, your starter solenoid may be bad, you can run a test GROUND wire from it to a good ground to see if that will cause it to engage, cause that's all the starter switch on the bars is....a wire that completes a circuit to ground. Just find the small wire coming off the solenoid that goes to the handlebars. One of the small wires will be a HOT, the other the ground to the bars switch. Also, is your battery fully charged? Have you checked and cleaned up ALL of the battery connections and grounds to frame?
T.C.