Ignitors: All or nothing?

[LeeGS550E]

For an '83 550:

My ignitor does not pass the restistance tests as laid out by the FSM. I'm getting spark just fine it seems, but I'm trying to eliminate variables that may be causing my erratic/poor idle. Could an ignitor work partially, or will it either work or be broken?

I'm pretty sure that I'm testing the ohms properly, but it seems strange that it doesn't pass the resistance test and yet I'm getting spark just fine.

Thanks for any help.

Lee

[earlfor]

Faulty ignitors frequently work partially. When they work for a second and not for a 1/4 second, its difficult to pinpoint. As they get worse, they stop working for longer periods until eventually, they dont work at all. I had an ignitor that took that path to its demise over a period of 6 months that almost drove me crazy trying to figure out what the problem was. LOL

E.

For an '83 550:

My ignitor does not pass the restistance tests as laid out by the FSM. I'm getting spark just fine it seems, but I'm trying to eliminate variables that may be causing my erratic/poor idle. Could an ignitor work partially, or will it either work or be broken?

I'm pretty sure that I'm testing the ohms properly, but it seems strange that it doesn't pass the resistance test and yet I'm getting spark just fine.

Thanks for any help.

Lee

[LeeGS550E]

Faulty ignitors frequently work partially. When they work for a second and not for a 1/4 second, its difficult to pinpoint. As they get worse, they stop working for longer periods until eventually, they dont work at all. I had an ignitor that took that path to its demise over a period of 6 months that almost drove me crazy trying to figure out what the problem was. LOL

E.

Thank you for the response, Earl. The situation was as you described...working partially. So to follow up, the ignitor box was not passing the resistance tests on any of its circuits. I put a timing light on it and found that my ignition was all over the place. Some cylinders were firing at almost random times, and others were firing mostly on time, but throwing an off spark every few rotations. So I have purchased a Dyna s and a mechanical advance from an earlier GS.

Thanks again, Earl.

[earlfor]

I'm glad you found the problem. The Dyna S is a nice n easy install. You'll be pleased with it.

Earl

[Mark whiz]

I just finished wrestling this same type of "bug-a-boo" today on my '85 GS700ES. I've been chasing electrical issues for 2 months now trying to get the thing to run dependably. Well, 2 months, 2 stators, 2 regulator/rectifiers, 2 batteries, a MAJOR carb cleaning & rebuild, and an inspection of every single inch of the conductors inside the wiring harness - the bike now runs like a top after replacing the igniter box with a used one I picked up on E-Bay for $80. Funny thing, this igniter box even cured the issues my tachometer has been having for a number of years - jumping needle and unwillingness to read above 4000rpm unless anbient temps were really cool. This leads me to believe that the original Igniter has been slowly going bad over several years - this is kinda odd for electrical components, but was definitely the case on my toy.

The good news to all this is that I now know that the bike is in tip top shape and should have several more good riding years left in her - and she has 95K miles on her now. \\/

[LeeGS550E]

Happy to hear I'm not the only one going through this! It is strange that you can still get spark out of these things when they're going bad.

On the progress of the Dyna S, I've got some problems. First off, I ordered a machanical advance off ebay, and of course I guessed KD and bought a KD kit from Dyna S, and it showed up ND (it was from a 650, and I thought I read somewhere that 650 were more than likely KD). Luckily the guys at Z1 are so cool that they said I can just send the KD rotor back in trade for an ND, no problem. So I popped that back in the mail last night.

The other problem is that the Dyna S mounting plate has 3 slotted holes for mounting because that's what the earlier GS uses, but of course the '83 550 has two mounting screws that are set pretty much as far as possible from the other setup's screws. So I'm thinking I'll either buy a dremel and cut new slots on the Dyna plate, or I will weld some small studs on the original plate that mount up with the Dyna plate's cutouts, so as to adapt them together.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna get a new front tire and battery for my GN400 so I have something to ride whilest I'm waiting on shipping. :?

[earlfor]

Just cut a couple of new slots in the breaker plate. Easiest thing to do.

E.

[quote=LeeGS550E
The other problem is that the Dyna S mounting plate has 3 slotted holes for mounting because that's what the earlier GS uses, but of course the '83 550 has two mounting screws that are set pretty much as far as possible from the other setup's screws. So I'm thinking I'll either buy a dremel and cut new slots on the Dyna plate, or I will weld some small studs on the original plate that mount up with the Dyna plate's cutouts, so as to adapt them together.

[LeeGS550E]

So I'm still working on this Dyna S install. My latest question is what indicators do I have of TDC? Is there a mark on the cam besides the notches that you use for valve adjustments? I'm asking because I need to set the whole system up at o degrees of timing in order to mount the custom plate that I've made for the Dyna S signal generator. I had to make a new plate for the signal generator because the dyna's plate had holes that interfered with the spots that I wanted to cut new notches. Anyway, how do I tell when I'm at TDC?

[LeeGS550E]

Here's another question...since all of our signal generators have only 2 pickups, but there's four cylinders, does the spark plug fire during the ignition stroke and the exhaust stroke? If it doens't, how does the system understand that its on the #1 verses the #4 cylinder?

Thanks for the help.

[SPARKSS]

Here's another question...since all of our signal generators have only 2 pickups, but there's four cylinders, does the spark plug fire during the ignition stroke and the exhaust stroke? If it doens't, how does the system understand that its on the #1 verses the #4 cylinder?

Thanks for the help.

Ahhhhhhh the question asked of everyone first encountering "waste spark" or direct ignition (no distributor) for the first time. The spark occurring at the top of the exhaust stroke is of no consequence (normally) as there hopefully is no raw fuel vapor left to ignite....and if it does it's relieved partially to the exhaust system. The spark occuring here does so at a much lower voltage than the opposite end of the circuit (the opposite plug) because it's happening in near atmospheric pressure where the opposite plug needs considerable voltage to overcome both gap and compression. Completely disconnecting one plug wire usually shuts down both related cylinders however often the one still connected "may" fire poorly due to a capacitive effect even though the opposite wire is not there.

From this it can be seen that it's best to have both ends of the HV circuit in good condition!

[LeeGS550E]

Thanks! I thought it was something like that.

Now anyone want to enlighten me on finding TDC?