Intermittent no Spark, I think I fixed it.

[Guest]

Yup, so the bike has been running pretty strong the past 2 months since I got it.

Last week it began to miss pretty bad and stall out of the blue. I did not even get a mile. I had tools on me and immediately pulled a plug. Brand new plugs I might add. Laid it on the cylinder head, no spark. Ruh roh raggy. I replaced the ignition fuse even though it did not look burned out. Fired right up, Yippy!

Not even a mile it starts to miss. I barely make it beck to my office which was closer than my house. Hmmmmmm

I let the bike rest and it fired back up. I managed to get it to my house. After further inspecting what appears to be OEM caps, one was cracked. So I ordered new NGK caps. I followed the instructions on Basscliffs website and cut a 1/4" off for fresh wire. The bike fires right up. Whoohoo!


Wait, not so fast. I took it for a spin and this time it just stalls and won't start again. No spark again.

So I decided to break out the multimeter and check the ignition connections. Starting with the battery. Battery checked out at over 12 volts. The Signal Generator also checked out in spec per my Clymer Manual. 70+ ohms as I recall. So at that point the igniter became suspect. I tried to test it but I may have been doing it wrong all together or just at the wrong contact points. But pretty sure I was in the right spot. It's a new digital multimeter so trying to use it to simulate current using Ohms to generate the spark on 3 and 4, I had no luck. even after reading the multimeter manual. The Clymer calls for setting the multimeter to the lowest ohms setting. Well this left me confused as I can't seem to get the meter on a lowest ohm setting. It just has an ohm test setting and then a 10 MegOhm input DCV setting. Tried both no spark at the plugs. I may have to try a 1.5 volt battery cell or something. But like I said I may have done that test wrong. This is a learning experience for me.

I have not checked the actual coil connections for voltage yet so I did not check all the igntion connections. I'll get to that. I did clean the ignition switch. And I have a new connection for that just in case.

Anyway. So I went ahead and pulled the connections and cleaned them all real good with electrical contact cleaner and a brass bristle brush. Including the ground connections. I did also find a red wire coming from the voltage regulator that had some of the insulation coming off so it was exposed wire. I taped that up as well.

I put everything back and the bike was now getting spark at 3 and 4 when I bumped the motor from the starter button. Sweet! I put the plugs back in and she fired right up pretty easily. I let the bike idle for a good while to get it warmed up. Held steady at about 1200 rpms. The battery is also charging good as well.

I drove it around my apartment complex for a good while and so far so good. This was last night. I went home for lunch today and same thing. Fired right up, let it warm up at idle and I drove it around the complex with no problems. It seems to be running much smoother and quieter as well. But that could be my imagination.

So I'm really hoping it was just dirty connections. I realize these old ignitions are fairly weak to begin with and any little thing to interfere can disrupt the whole system. I also knew going in on an old bike as clean as she is. Stuff is going to break and be worn out. And from reading old threads it seems like the igniter is usually what goes out first.

If I end up having an ignition problem I am definitely considering doing the Dyna upgrade. I have also been reading up on the mods as well on Basscliffs website..

Going to attempt to take it for a spin to the gym after work here pretty soon.

[Grimly]

It may well be that's all it was, and for sure, when you freshen up low tension connections, the ignition system works better and you do feel the difference. I can feel when my connections need looked at, long before they reach failure point.

[mvalenti]

Dyna rocks. Wish I did mine sooner.

[AKC75]

Okay so the bike is still sparking but it's weak. I'll have enough time finally tomorrow to test all the other connections and do more cleaning at the contact points. I definitely need to make sure to check the voltage to the coils and the leads and make sure I properly test the igniter.

I have Dynatek suppression wires on standby that I had bought. But I don't like the fact I have to dig the old wires out of these coils. But that may be what I have to do if everything else checks out. I've been reading differing opinions on Dyna Coils vs OEM coils as well. I like the idea of not having to dig out wires every time they need replacing.

But I guess I really hope all it is is the wires and I'll have nothing to lose by digging them out and replacing them.

If it's the igniter I guess I'll have to find a good used one to replace it. If it's the coils I may just opt for the Dyna Coils. Or some other option that is more modern possibly.

[eil]

The existing wires are likely to be fine as long as the insulation on them is not cracked. Wires don't just "go bad" unless they suffer physical trauma or the insulation around them breaks down due to age.

I see you replaced the caps so those can be ruled out. If these caps have resistors in them, then you may have to replace them with plain old metal in order to use suppression wire with them. (Depends on what the total resistance ends up being from cap to cap.)

Definitely check voltage to the coils first and compare to what you have at the battery. Any more than about a volt difference means either better cleaning of your connections, or doing the coil relay mod (search forums for details), or both.

Make sure your charging system and battery are good. If either are not, then the ignitor and coils don't get enough voltage do to their thing. This is the most common cause of ignition problems, believe it or not.

Finally, I believe the 550 ignitors are quite sensitive to high voltage from an errant R/R. And replacement units are, unfortunately, rare and expensive.

[AKC75]

The existing wires are likely to be fine as long as the insulation on them is not cracked. Wires don't just "go bad" unless they suffer physical trauma or the insulation around them breaks down due to age.

I see you replaced the caps so those can be ruled out. If these caps have resistors in them, then you may have to replace them with plain old metal in order to use suppression wire with them. (Depends on what the total resistance ends up being from cap to cap.)

Definitely check voltage to the coils first and compare to what you have at the battery. Any more than about a volt difference means either better cleaning of your connections, or doing the coil relay mod (search forums for details), or both.

Make sure your charging system and battery are good. If either are not, then the ignitor and coils don't get enough voltage do to their thing. This is the most common cause of ignition problems, believe it or not.

Finally, I believe the 550 ignitors are quite sensitive to high voltage from an errant R/R. And replacement units are, unfortunately, rare and expensive.

Thanks for the insight. I did check the voltage to my coils from the battery and it is low. But when I checked it the voltage on my battery was just below 12.6 volts.

It's an unsealed battery that is lead acid filled type I believe. I plan on replacing it with an AGM type today hopefully.

Saturday I cleaned more connections and overlooked the wires going into my coils. there was a little bit of insulation that had come off right at the connector. So I cleaned them real good again and taped them up.

The bike ran like a champ on Saturday and yesterday. Where as before I could not even get a mile before she pooped out on me.

And yea, I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to do the relay mod. The caps are NGK suppression type.