SOS----help needed with electrical---

[alke46]

More problems with my 1000E. This started at the middle of Aug. and the bike hasn't run since.

Here's the story. I discovered one day that my regulator was done regulating. Put a volt meter in the accessory plug and discovered I was charging at the rate of 15.8 so I turned for home to replace the failing regulator with a spare Shindengen SH775 that I had on hand as well as a Triumph plug connector.

Long story short, I can't get the bike to run and I have looked over everything I did in changing the regulator but I don't see a problem yet. I seem to be getting some intermittent firing as I can hit the starter button and it will spin the engine but mostly not fire. Then when I pull the plugs out and ground them to the engine fins, I will see a spark.

Reinstall the plugs and it will fire a little bit and try to start but then it's like the spark disappears and the engine just spins over again.

I have been able to get the bike to run, just briefly and when it does it is misfiring and smoking quite a bit.

I have measured a little over 12 volts at the coils but when I engage the starter, that voltage drops to 9.0--9.3.. These coils have been on the bike for 2 years and they are Accel brand and I also have been using the Dyna 3-2 electronic ignition for the same period of time.

The reason it's been taking so long to get anywhere is due to my frustration with the bike and I have no problem walking away from it for days at a time. It might help if I had more knowledge of electrical stuff but that is just not the case.

Any suggestions will be listened to and hopefully someone with better understanding of electrics than I will chime in.

Thanks for any advice.

[slayer61]

More problems with my 1000E. This started at the middle of Aug. and the bike hasn't run since.

Here's the story. I discovered one day that my regulator was done regulating. Put a volt meter in the accessory plug and discovered I was charging at the rate of 15.8 so I turned for home to replace the failing regulator with a spare Shindengen SH775 that I had on hand as well as a Triumph plug connector.

Long story short, I can't get the bike to run and I have looked over everything I did in changing the regulator but I don't see a problem yet. I seem to be getting some intermittent firing as I can hit the starter button and it will spin the engine but mostly not fire. Then when I pull the plugs out and ground them to the engine fins, I will see a spark.

Reinstall the plugs and it will fire a little bit and try to start but then it's like the spark disappears and the engine just spins over again.

I have been able to get the bike to run, just briefly and when it does it is misfiring and smoking quite a bit.

I have measured a little over 12 volts at the coils but when I engage the starter, that voltage drops to 9.0--9.3.. These coils have been on the bike for 2 years and they are Accel brand and I also have been using the Dyna 3-2 electronic ignition for the same period of time.

The reason it's been taking so long to get anywhere is due to my frustration with the bike and I have no problem walking away from it for days at a time. It might help if I had more knowledge of electrical stuff but that is just not the case.

Any suggestions will be listened to and hopefully someone with better understanding of electrics than I will chime in.

Thanks for any advice.

Voltage drop seems to be killing your bike's desire to run. If your voltage is drop at the coil is that much you are loosing 25% of the available voltage!

1). Clean & de-oxidize every connection between the battery, through the key switch & start button until voltage drop returns to ~0

2). Research "relay mod" on this & other forums for a "short-cut" to cleaning electrical connections.

Good luck!

[Redman]

Lar,

Before we get to diagnosing things much further,:

You seem concerned that maybe something about how you connected the new R/R may be responsible for the engine not running. To speak about that: You can disconnect the R/R from the bike wiring, and as long as the battery is charged, the rest of the bike should still be operable (but running only off the battery untill the battery runs down). So for your own confidence you can disconnect the R/R, and then know it is not causing a problem. Or you could say it doesn't matter how the R/R is connected, it will not effect the bike starting (just will not charge battery when do get the bike running).

[Redman]

Lar,

The drop in voltage you state at the coils when cranking is quite significant. I dont know about the dyna coils you say you have, but my expereince has been that stock coils have proplems preoducing good sparks at anything much less than 10vdc. So, I suspect you have narrowed down the problem.

I havent expereinced it myself , but have seen discussions about spark might look okay out in space, but not sufficent under compression and air/fuel mix.

But is the low volatage at the coil problem the battery voltage dropping all the way down to 9volts.??....so, measure the battery voltage when cranking. If battery is dropping way down, then maybe battery has lost its umph while it sat for months. Or maybe it is several years old and on its way out anyway. Or maybe it needs a good charge. Or maybe you turn on head light and let it run down the battery till head light dim, then charge back up on 1.25 amp (or less) charger for several hours (all day or overnight), and see if that "reconditions" the battery.

Or is battery voltage okay while cranking, and are loosing voltage some where between the battery and the coils?? (problem I had on GK a couple years ago) (as Slayer suggest above).
If so, we can discuss that more.

[Big T]

A voltage drop to 9 and indicates a bad battery
Do the entire Quick Test and report

That 15.8 V may have cooked your battery.

[alke46]

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention the battery. It was installed in May of this year and it is a MotoBatt AGM. I think we can eliminate that part of it.

I've owned this bike since 2008 and it has never had a coil relay so maybe its time to go get one.

What is the recommended brand and can it be purchased at the local auto supply store?

[alke46]

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention the battery. It was installed in May of this year and it is a MotoBatt AGM. I think we can eliminate that part of it.

I've owned this bike since 2008 and it has never had a coil relay so maybe its time to go get one.

What is the recommended brand and can it be purchased at the local auto supply store?

Nevermind, I just looked up the relay mod on Bikecliffs site.

[alke46]

A voltage drop to 9 and indicates a bad battery
Do the entire Quick Test and report

That 15.8 V may have cooked your battery.

Quick test results: key off = 12.9
key on with lights on for 10 sec. = 12.3

[Redman]

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention the battery. It was installed in May of this year and it is a MotoBatt AGM. I think we can eliminate that part of it..
..
..

I too would think the battery should be good yet.
But it did sit unused for what? 4 months?

I would suggest checking the battery voltage when cranking, to see how far the voltage droops at the battery , before assuming is being lost in the wiring between the battery and the coils.

[Gorminrider]

Have you got a car? Use its battery to temporarily REPLACE the motorcycle battery and see if that helps. If so, a new battery for the motorcycle is indicated.

If not, you might have damaged the ignition system but it's not for sure...might just need a component..even just a fuse...

[alke46]

I too would think the battery should be good yet.
But it did sit unused for what? 4 months?

I would suggest checking the battery voltage when cranking, to see how far the voltage droops at the battery , before assuming is being lost in the wiring between the battery and the coils.

No the battery did not sit unused -- only since the middle of August.

[alke46]

I too would think the battery should be good yet.
But it did sit unused for what? 4 months?

I would suggest checking the battery voltage when cranking, to see how far the voltage droops at the battery , before assuming is being lost in the wiring between the battery and the coils.

No the battery did not sit unused -- only since the middle of August.

I am getting ready to take the ignition switch apart and clean it up. I found some wiring in the switch connector inside the headlight bucket that was a bit wonky so that is getting fixed now.

I will post results after doing some wire maintenance.

[alke46]

A little update: today I was looking at the O/W wires going to the coils and determined they needed new connectors. One in particular looked real bad and so I started looking at other things in the wiring and more work is needed.

On a positive note, after renewing the leads going to the coils, I am now looking at 12+ volts at the coils. However, when I push the start button, the voltage drops to 10.5 roughly. Maybe a coil relay will help with this.

More work is just going to have to wait as I am leaving town on Monday and will be gone for 10 days for a final long ride of the year. Looks like the weather is going to be great where I am heading.

[Redman]

.............

But is the low volatage at the coil problem the battery voltage dropping all the way down to 9volts.??....so, measure the battery voltage when cranking. If battery is dropping way down, then maybe battery has lost its umph . . . . . . .

(10volts now).

.....
On a positive note, after renewing the leads going to the coils, I am now looking at 12+ volts at the coils. However, when I push the start button, the voltage drops to 10.5 roughly. Maybe a coil relay will help with this.........

Coil Relay mod will not help much if battery voltage is also dropping when hit starter.


Enjoy your trip/ride. Do post about it.

[bwringer]

Quick test results: key off = 12.9
key on with lights on for 10 sec. = 12.3

Seems like a good battery.




Sounds like you're on the right track with inspecting and repairing the connections.

A momentary drop below 11V while cranking is pretty normal.