warmer days ahead, alas, no spark

[Redman]

I HAVE SPARK!! ..................... and ........................., not sure which was the culprit, .................................

Good.
Good to hear of success, rather than more frustration.

Sounds like you fixed THE problem, and maybe took care of a future problem also, without knowing which was which was which.

Tell us more about how you found these.... or did they just look suspect.

.

[greg78gs750]

I was tracing the wires from the kill switch and the connector just came off in my hand, heh. It was wrapped in some of the plastic sheathing around the kill wires, and wrapped with elec tape as well, so not an obvious connector. The kill switch and wiring are actually replacements, they are from an R1, purpose of which is a quick-turn throttle, and the connections don't go through the usual routes due to some other mods....there is no connector in the headlight area, just direct connections under the tank. The po was a good mechanic, but I think even he would admit electrics were not his strongest suit....it's ok, 35 year old bikes come with these sorts of quirks. Troubleshooting was a bit complicated by the fact i am running the SSPB, which to those who don't know the lingo is a solid state power distribution center designed by a member here. It replaces the fuseblock with electronic switching, the goal of which is improved circuit protection and electron distribution as well as integrated coil relay, headlight relay, and headlight cutout during cranking. I have had to refamiliarize myself with how it works, current paths, etc, since it has been a few years since I installed it and had to deal with anything. I am still not ENTIRELY SURE I understand what exactly was going on to lose spark......but I do know I have it back, fat and blue. Gave me a chance to explain coils and voltage to my kids, they were excited to see the plug spark against the head. I should cobble together a jacob's ladder for them.....bzzzzt bzzzzt bzzzzzt....

[Redman]

So, poking around in the right area, and it made itself known by falling apart. So good of it to volunteer like that. Maybe that was okay, barely okay, untill it fell apart, but was about to be another problem soon anyway.

And the errant pin in the connector on your SSPB board. That sounds like could have been THE problem.

Sounds like you lost ignition power after the kill switch, same as if kill switch was off (but/except still did have it over to the starter button).

................. Gave me a chance to explain coils and voltage to my kids, they were excited to see the plug spark against the head. ....................

and you got to be a hero to your kids.

I am imagining one of your kids, taking to a buddy down the street, "Yah, my Dad can fix motorcycles. My Dad can make spark plugs spark right in front of your eyes. I bet your Dad cant do that!! My Dad is the coolest Dad ever!! " (You still have a few years yet for your kids to say things like that.)

[greg78gs750]

heh, hero might be an overstatement..... more like "good, now you can move your crap outta the way so we can park our bikes there...."

[850 Combat]

I kind of wish that I would have bought one of those units. I'm not huge fan of additional relays, in general though. Headlight relays and fuel pump relays have both put me on foot when I had been driving.

I'm glad that you found the problems.