Well, I've been narrowing down the search to fix my problem and I still have a few other things to check out, such as if the ground wire at the box is doing its job. I tested the ignition receiver by tapping the pickup lead wires and it sparked like it was supposed to. So far so good, but I don't get a spark turning the key on or off, which I guess is not a big deal? I think the older MK III would spark, but not any of the ones made nowadays (I only bought this a year ago). Does that sound correct? I'm wondering now if I have a duff coil. As many times as I've read on it, I can't cypher what the voltage should be at the coils. Should there be 12V between the box and the left coil? I suppose it reduces between coils where the jumper resides. How much shouild be there? Or should there be no voltage to the coils at all unless they receive an impulse? Just because the ignition fired off when I tested it, I don't know quite yet what to think. I'd sure rather it be bad coils vs. the ignition. Any suggestions how to troubleshoot at this point?
Starting Woes
- Thread starter slupdawg
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slupdawg said:
You should have 12 volts on one side of one coil, if the ignition is turned on, the voltage on the other terminal should be about 6 volts and this should carry to one terminal of the other coil while the last terminal (the one that goes to the Boyer) should be close to 0 volts. This condition should be present for a few seconds if you kick the bike over because there is a circuit preventing the Boyer from being on all the time when the engine is NOT running to protect both the Boyer and the coils. Check continuity of the pickup too and if you put your multimeter on a low AC scale, you should see some voltage (probably in the millivolt range) at the pickup wires when you kick the bike over. Best bet would be to try another Boyer if you can borrow one for a few minutes of testing.
Good luck
Jean
Just a follow-up to help anyone in the future: The coils were suspect. I tested the voltage to the right coil which was a strong 12V. As Jeandr said, the 2nd should have been at 6V, but read at 0V, so I opted to try installing a new single coil. I kicked it over, and....nothing. It also fired, but no noise from the engine. Compression test gave 160 each cylinder. As it turned out my problem was two separate things, as so often happens with me. The only other change I had made recently was to install an angle tube to my carburetor due to the lack of clearance at the top where it meets my tank. The cable doesn't have enough slack, so it was lifting the slide up into the body of the carb and starving the engine of enough fuel. I put the original back in place and....voila! Starts on the 1st kick, which it never did before, unless the engine was hot. So now I'm hoping I have this licked: all new electrical (and I DO mean everything) and a couple of upgrades have finally got me where I want to be (I hope, because I'm getting weary of roadside breakdowns.) If I had more experience in the 1st place, I might have avoided some pitfalls, but I guess I'm learning the hard way. This bike had all the requisite mechanical restoration done to it previous to my purchase, but the electrical system was neglected. I won't make the same mistakes twice, I'll guarantee.
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slupdawg said:
Education is expensive, especially if you teach yourself. :mrgreen:
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