electricity help (2018)

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kanaka

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Apr 9, 2009
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ok so i have a 74 commando and it is standard with the exception of a trispark ignition
i decided to replace the wiring harness recently
and to my surprise every thing lights up and works as it should.
when i took it for a half hour ride the other morning it was running sweet then just stopped dead i pushed it home took me 40 minutes and when i got it in the shed it fired up first kick

took it for a ride yesterday and same problem runs great for 30 min then stops let it cool down and it runs first kick when it stops the red led on the tri spark does not light up ??
any clues where to look
 
first look at the ground wire from your coil. Then suspect the Tri/spark of failing when heated up.
 
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When it cuts out, does the rest of the electrical system (lights, horn, etc.) continue to function normally?
 
L.A.B. said:
When it cuts out, does the rest of the electrical system (lights, horn, etc.) continue to function normally?
Click to expand...
yes when it cut out every thing works normally including the red ignition light in the head light shell
 
Did you have the Trispark on the bike with the old wiring harness and if so, did the bike exhibit the same behavior- cutting out after 30 minutes? If the answer is "yes, the Tri was there but no,it didn't cut out," then the installation of the harness/any related wiring is the logical suspect - bad connections, etc.
 
MexicoMike said:
Did you have the Trispark on the bike with the old wiring harness and if so, did the bike exhibit the same behavior- cutting out after 30 minutes? If the answer is "yes, the Tri was there but no,it didn't cut out," then the installation of the harness/any related wiring is the logical suspect - bad connections, etc.
Click to expand...
yes trispark has been on bike for several years and had no previous issues
 
L.A.B. said:
When it cuts out, does the rest of the electrical system (lights, horn, etc.) continue to function normally?
Click to expand...

1) Verify complaint (you did that already)
2) Check operation of other components (as L.A.B. said)
3) If other things don't work at the same time ie; turn signals, horn, lights, etc, etc then check into what all the non working components have in common and start there.
4) If all else is working then it narrows it down to the ignition system (presuming you checked for no spark) and then follow lazeyeye6 suggestion.

I had a situation awhile back where 'Pa' my trusty Norton would cut quit running, usually on a left turn (sometimes right). Seems the fuse that powered the ignition and the turn signal relay was a little crusty. The extra draw was just enough to cause current interruptus. When I popped open the headlight while sitting on the edge of a country road the turn signal started working and the bike started up on first kick. I cleaned the ends of the OEM fuse with a pocket knife and rode on.
I replaced all the OEM fuse holders with weather proof bladed fuse holders.
Solved that problem.
 
kanaka said:
when it stops the red led on the tri spark does not light up
Click to expand...

kanaka said:
yes when it cut out every thing works normally including the red ignition light in the head light shell
Click to expand...

If battery voltage is reaching the Tri-Spark black/yellow (from harness white/yellow?) but the red light on the Tri-Spark doesn't light up at all then it sounds like the Tri-Spark module could be faulty especially if it's now some years old.


The Buckeye Rider said:
I had a situation awhile back where 'Pa' my trusty Norton would cut quit running, usually on a left turn (sometimes right). Seems the fuse that powered the ignition and the turn signal relay was a little crusty. The extra draw was just enough to cause current interruptus. When I popped open the headlight while sitting on the edge of a country road the turn signal started working and the bike started up on first kick. I cleaned the ends of the OEM fuse with a pocket knife and rode on.
I replaced all the OEM fuse holders with weather proof bladed fuse holders.
Click to expand...

There's only one OEM fuse holder on a Commando, next to the battery.
 
I've had this turn out to be a loose battery terminal or heat expanding the fuse holder or even fuse itself terminals bad with fuse element still intack so add to check lists. Trispark failure would not cut out anything but spark yet can have it heat sensitive at same time, so two things at once not uncommon. Might try to insulate coils with tape in mounts, if solves show stopping then its coil heat expansion shorting them out to case/frame/battery.
 
How old is your Trispark?

I had the same thing happen to me leaving me stranded three times, turn out the Trispark got hot and shut down, then cooled and started
It was an early Trispark and Matt at CNW replaced it and no more problems. The fact that it ran, stopped, cooled and ran tell me do not hesitate to suspec the Trispark, in fact request another one and hook it up for a trial period and it works that is your problem
 
kanaka said:
yes trispark has been on bike for several years and had no previous issues
Click to expand...

It seems very unlikely that the Trispark itself just COINCIDENTALLY went from working fine BEFORE the wiring change to overheating/cutting out after the wiring change. ;) As Captain Renault said, "Round up the usual suspects." In mechanical work, any work done just prior to the failure of a related item is number one on the list of "usual suspects." :)
 
I had the same symptoms as 1 up 3 down but mine never quit while actually riding. It would happen when I stopped for gas or shut off for a short time. After an hour cool down would fire right up and run fine until the next shut off. Matt replaced mine as well and so far no problems. I spoke to Matt at Barber and he seemed to think the overheating failure has been addressed by Tri Spark.
 
It usually is the last thing you did. Try cleaning all the TriSpark connectors with contact cleaner, any resistance will stop it working.
Dave
 
The next time it happens, have a can of ether or freon or something cold and spray the TriSpark unit to cool it off. If it then works, you've found your problem.
Or maybe ride without the points cover installed and see if it runs ok when engine is hot. I've never had a problem with my TS, so I'm thinking it is something else.

Jaydee
 
jaydee75 said:
The next time it happens, have a can of ether or freon or something cold and spray the TriSpark unit to cool it off. If it then works, you've found your problem.
Or maybe ride without the points cover installed and see if it runs ok when engine is hot. I've never had a problem with my TS, so I'm thinking it is something else.

Jaydee
Click to expand...

Good tip! Also spray your coils to cool them. If you have series wired coils, one coil cutting out due to heat can shut you down on both cylinders.

I had a coil on an auto shut me down after a 20 minute run. Ran like a champ when cold.

Slick
 
hobot said:
I've had this turn out to be a loose battery terminal or heat expanding the fuse holder or even fuse itself terminals bad with fuse element still intack so add to check lists. Trispark failure would not cut out anything but spark yet can have it heat sensitive at same time, so two things at once not uncommon. Might try to insulate coils with tape in mounts, if solves show stopping then its coil heat expansion shorting them out to case/frame/battery.
Click to expand...


I've had issues with the fuse holder on my new loom, replaced it with a modern blade style
 
Loose Battery terminal got me once and my brother had his Harley towed to a dealer for the same thing.
 
Screw on battery terminals loosing have almost stranded my on 2 Combats, SV650 and Honda 250 scooter till checked it out of frustration. Also a deep down frame connection earth fault on Wes's '71 ruined our Lake of the Pines trip by only running 15-20 min - going through everything we could reach on side of road in rain. Many hours getting 10-15 miles further to die but nothing else left to check so every now and then would try to start and maybe get another few miles closer to home, till Wes called wife with PU to rescue us. When she got there would still be a big hassle to load it so made Wes try again for success that lasted last 75 miles home. Later told me dug into harness to find loose/rusted frame return. Commandos are a thinking man's hobby horse with time to waste repeating its tedious worship rituals. Might have a look after dark for hints of flashes clues. Don't know if Tri-spark works like analog Boyer, any interruption in its power supply causes spark at plugs, while tugging bumping wires.
 
jaydee75 said:
The next time it happens, have a can of ether or freon or something cold and spray the TriSpark unit to cool it off. If it then works, you've found your problem.
Or maybe ride without the points cover installed and see if it runs ok when engine is hot. I've never had a problem with my TS, so I'm thinking it is something else.

Jaydee
Click to expand...

I would be careful cooling anything electronic too quickly (especially from working temperature), as it will lead to failed components or fractured solder joints due to contraction. This may only manifest itself some time later (and probably at the least convenient time). We run over 500 servers at work, and allowed to run in normal duty cycle we don't see many hardware issues. However once per year we are forced to do a complete power shutdown for a minimum duration of 10 hours. During this time all the devices get cold, and upon power up we can normally reckon on at least 1% failure of either peripherals or motherboards immediately or over the following week or two.

cliffa
 
cliffa said:
I would be careful cooling anything electronic too quickly (especially from working temperature), as it will lead to failed components or fractured solder joints due to contraction. This may only manifest itself some time later (and probably at the least convenient time). We run over 500 servers at work, and allowed to run in normal duty cycle we don't see many hardware issues. However once per year we are forced to do a complete power shutdown for a minimum duration of 10 hours. During this time all the devices get cold, and upon power up we can normally reckon on at least 1% failure of either peripherals or motherboards immediately or over the following week or two.

cliffa
Click to expand...
thanks for all the tips people took it out on weekend
same issue replaced coil same issue going to replace the trispark
 
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