Lost All Spark DYNA S

[Guest]

Well what I enthusiastically assumed was a bad spark plug wire turns out to be a bigger issue. Lost spark on cylinder #1 thought a plug wire was the culprit so I replaced it with another to no avail. Plug wire worked fine on all other cylinders but #1 has no spark(#4 is still firing fine at this point). Called Dyantek to see if this is something they have dealt with before and or have any pointers. The tech said he has only once or twice seen them fail in this manner in his 12 years. Went to the local cycle salvage and got a used dc1-1 and got it installed. Popped a fuse when testing and now cylinders #1 and #4 aren't firing. Figuring the "new" used coil was bad. I switched my #2-#3 coil over to that side and still nothing. Switched my #2-#3 coil back to its original side and now there's no spark on all 4. Been pulling my hair out because everything was running fine a few days ago. I also notice the ground on the regulator has broken off witch I reground to the battery. Running a Dyna S Ignition with dyna 3ohm dc1-1 green coils and a good battery. Kill switch seems to be functioning since it won't crank over whens its in the "OFF" position. Electrical issues have always been a weakness for me. Hopefully I'm missing something dumb.

What now?

[tom203]

I'd go back to your original setup (coils and dyna s) then carefully check for the plug wire grounding out somewhere along path from coil to plug. If both 1 and 4 are not firing,carefully check for the wire from dyna to left coil grounding out somewhere.

[alkswheetinjur]

I am back with the exact setup I had when #1 wouldn't fire in the beginning except I now have no spark at all. Could the lack of ground on the regulator/igniter box (what do you call it?) have fried something? Just wanna make sure I cover all my bases before I start tearing into the harness.

[tom203]

So now you have no spark on any plug? The r/r losing ground connection would mean r/r would be unable to charge -internally,it would likely see a high stator output with no where to send it. Maybe it would fry itself, but you started this thread by just losing spark on #1 and then swaping out items with problems escalating. I'd review my connections.

edit: does rhis bike still have separate rectifier and regulator?

[alkswheetinjur]

As far as I can tell all connections at the coils are tight, clean and on the correct leads. I believe the rectifier and regulator are factory items just relocated. The PO rewired a lot of stuff and though it looks like a mess I think everything was done "right" since I never had any issues until now. Bike will crank over but has no spark at all.

IMAG0058_1.jpg

[Rijko]

have you measured the coil resistance ?
Don't know what the Dyna's should give
but 3 Ohm on the primary side and 15KOhm
on the secondary should be in the ballpark.

Or try the quick and dirty test, make sure coil
has a proper 12v and stick a wire in the other
'ground' or 'signal' connection and rub against
ground.
Hopefully tells you if you can rule out the coils.

[alkswheetinjur]

Coils both measured 3.3 so I think they are good? Pulled the black wire and white wire off the coils and cut them out of the harness traced them the down to the Dyna they seem to be in good shape other than one tiny spot on the white wire where a single copper thread is exposed through the shrink wrapping. I have my doubts that this is my main issue.

[hjfisk]

Have you got 12 volts to the coils and also power to the ignition? Also check the connector in headlight bucket that goes to kill switch , and start button. Probably find it burnt

[Rijko]

Coils both measured 3.3 so I think they are good? Pulled the black wire and white wire off the coils and cut them out of the harness traced them the down to the Dyna they seem to be in good shape other than one tiny spot on the white wire where a single copper thread is exposed through the shrink wrapping. I have my doubts that this is my main issue.

A short on the white wire against ground may cause one coil to not
work - that would mean 2 spark plugs not sparking.
Serious issue if that is the case, good find.
You mentioned 1 and 4 not firing, are these on the coil with the
damaged white wire ?

Next step is to repair the damaged wire or pull a new wire.
And hopefully find out why the copper wire was exposed.

ok so primary is good. Did you measure secondary ?
Or try the 'scratch test' ?

[alkswheetinjur]

If the connector you are talking about is green/lime green then I think you might be onto something. Not sure if its burnt but there does seem to be some white corrosiony/oxidationy stuff inside. I am guessing the orange wires on the plug end are the same wires that connect to the coil. Its a pretty tight spot so I'm not sure if this is something can be cleaned up or will need to be replaced.

[Rijko]

Coils both measured 3.3 so I think they are good?

What we call a coil, in fact are 2 separate coil windings in one housing.
The primary coil is physically separated from the secondary coil.

So 3.3 means your primary coil is probably ok,
but that does not tell you anything about the secondary coil.
Hope the picture clarifies this.

timing11.gif

[alkswheetinjur]

12.63 and 12.82 @ 20k

[Rijko]

12.63 and 12.82 @ 20k

excellent, that is pretty close to what it should be for your DC1-1.
Looks like the coils are ok then.

I found a Dyna checklist that has some additional tests, like voltage
check and maximal gap opening between rotor and magnets.

https://www.mpsracing.com/instructions/Dynatek/DynaS_Testing.pdf

Maybe the rotor has play or too wide a gap so the ignition
won't switch, worth following the checklist.
Hope this helps find the cause for no sparks.

[Rijko]

If the connector you are talking about is green/lime green then I think you might be onto something. Not sure if its burnt but there does seem to be some white corrosiony/oxidationy stuff inside. I am guessing the orange wires on the plug end are the same wires that connect to the coil. Its a pretty tight spot so I'm not sure if this is something can be cleaned up or will need to be replaced.

tight spot indeed but they can be taken apart and cleaned up.

The corrosion could be a reason for popping the fuse, also
check no wires have been trapped between switch housing and
handlebar, causing a short.
That often happens with the awkward way it is designed.

[hjfisk]

If the connector you are talking about is green/lime green then I think you might be onto something. Not sure if its burnt but there does seem to be some white corrosiony/oxidationy stuff inside. I am guessing the orange wires on the plug end are the same wires that connect to the coil. Its a pretty tight spot so I'm not sure if this is something can be cleaned up or will need to be replaced.

Yes the yellow/green goes to start button and all orange wires are your ignition circuit