Olds Eddie Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 I installed headlights and handlebar switch which had been removed by a previous owner and now it won't start. I have a weak spark but there never was a good one. I am an automotive tech with a strong background in electronics so while I was at it I rebuilt the wiring harness. I did away with the TORS wiring and cleaned up the harness. When it wouldn't start I tore it back apart and verified wiring and used solder and heatshrink on all connections and checked the operation of the switch with an ohm meter. I am wondering if the stator is not up to the job. Will this cause a weak spark. Have checked for sheared key in flywheel as well as pulse coil gap. Thanks for any help on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 It's the stator! I would give a smart ass comment but it no use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olds Eddie Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 It's the stator! I would give a smart ass comment but it no use. I checked the stator source coil resistance and it is within specs. The pick-up coil is also within specs. The ignition coil primary resistance is within specs but the secondary resistance reads open on either plug wire with caps removed. I just can't understand how the coil can go bad overnight. It's not like leaving the ignition on with a battery ignition and burning it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KX4FIFSHEE Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 maybe bulbs require too much, dual 35 watts are max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theshee Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 It will be something with the stator... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olds Eddie Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 I was thinking stator but with the coil secondary resistance reading infinity it about has to be the culprit. With the light switch off there should not be a load on the stator to take away from the ignition. If I read the wiring diagram correctly, there is a seperate circuit on the stator for lighting. Does a heaver load on the lighting circuit effect the ignition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snopczynski Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 (edited) I was thinking stator but with the coil secondary resistance reading infinity it about has to be the culprit. With the light switch off there should not be a load on the stator to take away from the ignition. If I read the wiring diagram correctly, there is a seperate circuit on the stator for lighting. Does a heaver load on the lighting circuit effect the ignition? I am an auto tech also, so you know as well as I do 99% of problems are man induced. You did something wrong, so you need to find it and fix it. If it ran before, it should run now. I would make sure none of the tors wiring is connected, all the tors wiring needs to be open circuit and have the plug ends cut and taped so they dont touch. Make sure the tors module is not hooked up and is removed. The lighting circuit is not associated with the ignition circuit at all, so bigger bulbs would not cause a no start condition. Make sure the yellow and black seperate stator wires are plugged into the right correlating colored wires down on the case also. PM Me if you need more help. Edited March 15, 2007 by Snopczynski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olds Eddie Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 I am an auto tech also, so you know as well as I do 99% of problems are man induced. You did something wrong, so you need to find it and fix it. If it ran before, it should run now. I would make sure none of the tors wiring is connected, all the tors wiring needs to be open circuit and have the plug ends cut and taped so they dont touch. Make sure the tors module is not hooked up and is removed. The lighting circuit is not associated with the ignition circuit at all, so bigger bulbs would not cause a no start condition. Make sure the yellow and black seperate stator wires are plugged into the right correlating colored wires down on the case also. PM Me if you need more help. I would tend to agree with you but hope your wrong. I totally rebuilt the harness using wire I obtained from a new automotive wiring harness using the proper guage and color coding. I grew up in a new car dealership and learned that wiring harness replaced for any electrical problem are scrapped after the warrnaty claim is paid. They have the most up to date fireproof insulation and a wire of extremely high quality. And they have lots of colors in them. Most dealers parts deptartments will give or sell you one if you ask the Mgr. nicely. I thought I had missed something so I took it all the way back apart to re-check the wiring. I eliminated the TORS circuit and the Ign. key circuit. and uprated the guage of main wires. I may have missed something but after checking the coil and finding it out of spec I feel I must replace it before I look elseware. It is an original '87 coil and I find that the plug wires usually fail first. I'll keep everyone posted when the new coil gets here from Vito's. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olds Eddie Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Well I installed the new coil and now I can see a spark in daylight but still no joy. Before I could only see a spark in a dark garage. It would appear to me that this is what is referred to as a duel fire ignition that would fire both cylinders at the same time. When I kick her through I get an ocassional spark. I would think that the CDI unit would have to be OK if I get any spark so I'm thinking stator or flywheel. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox_forma Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 you need fuel, spark and air to start. If you have spark, then something isnt right with the fuel or air most likely. Have you had the carbs off or anything when you re-wired the harness? Maybe something got in there. Did you try new plugs? As for the secondary ign coil having infinity resisitance, i could never get a reading on that for some reason. I heard it needs to tested with some juice going through it. But if you have spark, its most likely something within the carbs or air filter possibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olds Eddie Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 you need fuel, spark and air to start. If you have spark, then something isnt right with the fuel or air most likely. Have you had the carbs off or anything when you re-wired the harness? Maybe something got in there. Did you try new plugs? As for the secondary ign coil having infinity resisitance, i could never get a reading on that for some reason. I heard it needs to tested with some juice going through it. But if you have spark, its most likely something within the carbs or air filter possibly. Thanks for the reply. The Shee was running great before I installed the lightsw and modified the harness. It has new top end with good compression, new plugs and the carbs are freshly rebuilt, and TORS eliminated. I've got spark, compression and fuel, but as I stated the spark only happens maybe once per kick. I would think that it should occur more often. I think I remember multiple sharks taking place before. The fact that I now have a much stronger spark tells me that the coil was a problem as it has always had a weak spark and was hard to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fast500#12 Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Thanks for the reply. The Shee was running great before I installed the lightsw and modified the harness. It has new top end with good compression, new plugs and the carbs are freshly rebuilt, and TORS eliminated. I've got spark, compression and fuel, but as I stated the spark only happens maybe once per kick. I would think that it should occur more often. I think I remember multiple sharks taking place before.The fact that I now have a much stronger spark tells me that the coil was a problem as it has always had a weak spark and was hard to start. i know it sounds retarded but, unplug your lights from the harness and try it. when my cdi went out i could only kick start it if the lights were unplugged. i was trying any thing because i couldn't figure it out and that worked and i don't know why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olds Eddie Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I will try anything at this point. I was brainstorming with a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic and he said it's possible that the stator is putting out so little energy that it may take a few kicks just to energize the CDI box. That would explain why the spark is so erratic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snopczynski Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I will try anything at this point. I was brainstorming with a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic and he said it's possible that the stator is putting out so little energy that it may take a few kicks just to energize the CDI box. That would explain why the spark is so erratic. I am betting its the wiring, something not right, or one of the components you installed is faulty. If it ran before, it should run now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olds Eddie Posted March 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 I am betting its the wiring, something not right, or one of the components you installed is faulty. If it ran before, it should run now. I think I'm on to something. It started but didn't stay running. I think the fuel in the tank is just old or something. I get gas in the fall to run my generator on and treat it with Stabil. I mixed some with oil and topped her off right before I parked her to work on wiring. I'll take the carbs off to inspect the bowls and drain the tank and refill with new gas and oil mix this weekend. What is the life expectency of reeds? Will a broken reed cause hard starting and such? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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