one more ignitor testing problem, GS850L (with pics!!)

[snowbeard]

so I got my battery all charged up and it seems ok since it will run the starter pretty strongly. but I still get no spark...

I've been reading all the ignitor threads, and gleaned billy rick's ignitor test,

This is for an '85 700 but you can probably use the same tests for your bike.

Here's how to check the ignitor. Remove spark plugs 1 & 2 and ground them to the motor so they will fire when they get power. With the ignitor facing you, the plug on the right side of the ignitor is where the signal generator plug fits. The two terminals on the right side of that portion of the ignitor will be pin 1 at the front and pin 2 at the back. The two left pins will be pin 3 in front and pin 4 at the back. Turn the ignition switch on. With a multitester set a the X1 ohm range put the + probe on pin 2 and the - probe on pin 1. Plug number 1 should fire. Next put the + probe on pin 4 and the - probe on pin 3. Plug number 2 should fire. If this happens the ignitor is good and the signal generators are suspect.


As for testing the signal generators, measure the resistance between the two wires on each pickup. You should get somewhere around 130-200 ohms. If the resistance is infinity or less than spec they are shot.

To test the coils put one probe of the multitester on each of the terminals on the primary side of the coil. You should get 3-5 ohms. Check the secondary windings by placing one probe into each of the plug wires coming from one coil. Those would be 2 & 3 from one coil and 1 & 4 for the other. You should get 30-50,000 ohms for stock coils and 15-20,000 for aftermarket.

but for my old 1980 technology, I'm not sure how to interperet it... my ignitor doesn't have plugs, it's all hardwired. also it only has two wires coming onto it that aren't connected to the coils so I can only assume they are from the signal generator (confirmed in clymers) one is blue and the other is dark green (right side, just visible)



so, how do I short out this thing to fire each of those plugs?? are the two little black boxes (bottom, center) the four posts I need? they each have two full posts into the circuit board with a short piece of metal that just ends between them somewhere else?

I'll stop asking questions for a minit so I can get more built up, eh?... :roll:

[snowbeard]

bump?

[Billy Ricks]

You can probably achieve the same results by just completing the circuit at the signal generators. Just use a piece of wire or multitester to complete the circuit. Is that bare wire on the black coil wire with the yellow tracer?

[snowbeard]

aha! there you are Billy!

no, that's just the clearcoat cracking, seems they sealed the whole board once it was complete.

so my question is what do I short, the two wires coming in? the green to the blue? or is it the posts on the D977 boxes?

are the signal generators each separate and share a common ground maybe? so I would short one of them to a ground?

sorry to be less than sharp on this...

and thanks!! BolderBiker was just commenting sunday how you were very knowledgeable but hadn't been around lately, glad to see you returned just in time!!

[Billy Ricks]

The signal generators are out on the right end of the crank and replace the points in the ignition system. They have an in and out wire. Just complete that circuit and you should get the plug for that bank to fire. You can use just a short piece of wire or a tester set for continuity.

[snowbeard]

so my clymer diagram shows only one "signal generator", with two wires only... so the coils fire two plugs together? (1&4 or 2&3) somehow it has to generate two signals, right? so one wire is signal to one coil, and the other is signal to the other coil (both 2&3?) and they just share a ground on the board?

or should I really just connect the blue and the green to fire it? doesn't seem to mesh in my mind...

just trying to make sure I don't short the wrong wires and fry something that may have been good...

sorry, this is what happens when you let a chemist work on bikes...

[Billy Ricks]

Bikebandit shows a pair. Just jump the leads going into each one and the plugs should fire if the ignitor is okay. Pull the plugs on 3 & 4 and lay them on the head so they are grounded. Then jump the wires on each signal generator and watch for spark.

[snowbeard]

ok, so looking at a nice color diagram, I see the signal generator as a switch basically, so I should be able to connect the blue to green and get a spark, tho I don't understand how it knows which set it will fire. does it just trip something that makes it fire the other set next each time??

i.e. signal from sig gen --> trips coil for 1&4, switches switch

next signal from sig gen --> trips coil for 2&3, switches switch

next signal from sig gen --> trips coil for 1&4, switches switch

am I getting closer?

[Billy Ricks]

Without a wiring diagram for your bike it would be hard to say what exactly the blue and green wires are for. They probably do provide signal to one coil each to make them fire. I don't think connecting them will do anything. You probably have one of those wires coming from each of the signal generators. One of the generators fires 1 & 4 and the other fires 2 & 3. The signal generators are simply a timing device that lets the ignitor know when the crank reaches a certain position. They feed a signal to the ignitor which adjusts timing according to rpm. The ignitor then sends a signal to the coils to fire. The coils fire each of their respective cylinders every stroke, both compression and exhaust. You can either jump the signal generator wires at the generators themselves or follow their leads back to their plug in the wiring system.

[snowbeard]

sweet! I think that finally makes sense!!!

[bows down][/]