No spark!

[JonathanGreene]

Just swapped in a new to me stock engine into my 1978 750, got everything hooked up and it turns over but has no spark! Whoever took my "new" engine out of its original bike ripped some of the wires so I transferred some of mine to it, including the ones in the breaker point cover( I just switched the breaker plate, wires and all).

The battery is toast, it doesn't hold a charge at all. If I hook a charger to it I can run the starter so I'd think the coils should still be getting power as well but perhaps not? I've heard a bad battery can mess with your ignition. The plugs would still spark even if my ignition timing was off, correct?

How much are electronic ignition systems and how hard are they to install?

[mike_of_bbg]

The Dyna S EI system runs about $120-150, and takes about an hour or so to install - it's not hard at all. Since you have a 750 you'd need to know if you have a Kokusan or Nippon Denso ignition installed. For Kokusan (condensers point out of the engine) you order a DS3-1, Nippon Denso (condensers laying down) ignition replacement is DS3-2. I think they work OK with stock points coils (assuming those are good), but would verify that.

[JonathanGreene]

Is it possible I grounded the coils by mistake when I was connecting all of the wires? They ARE color coded, correct?

[BassCliff]

Hi,

From here it's kind of hard to see what you've done. But maybe these will help:

Testing The Ignition System
Diagnosing Slow Cranking
Igniter/Signal Generator/Coil Test
Igniter Repair/Testing (2MB PDF)

Do you have a wiring diagram?

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[JonathanGreene]

I do not have a wiring diagram, is there one on that website for 1978 GS750s?