'82 GS300L Restore & Timing Adjustment - Complete Noob

[Guest]

Wow, what did I miss in the last 12 hours


A good quality vinyl electrical tape is what they used for the factory harness.

Its like $3-4 a roll, not the 29 cent stuff.

OR http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=...p+braid&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

I would think that the Dyna coils are smaller than the stock gs ones.

 

[hjacobmiller]

Ha ha yeah. There is some info about the dyna that will work for yours down below. The link you sent me won't fit any of our bikes, but obviously the one Pete put in does.

Z1 and Dyna explained to me how little I knew

Wow, what did I miss in the last 12 hours


A good quality vinyl electrical tape is what they used for the factory harness.

Its like $3-4 a roll, not the 29 cent stuff.

OR http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=...p+braid&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

I would think that the Dyna coils are smaller than the stock gs ones.

 

[Guest]

Okely dokely... not only did I remember to measure my signal generator plate but I actually found it really easily

So, it's 70mm centre to centre for the mounting holes:

The centre hole is 32mm diameter:

And the plate outside diameter is 80mm:

That should be the crucial measurements to compare... the DS3-3C is identical in measurements.

Oh, and ignore the extra cutouts and things on mine, that was part of trying to get it running with a different setup after I found the ignitor was toast.

 

[hjacobmiller]

Thank you so much!

Do you think that the center diameter matters? I mean I guess it should be the same since that is the same part for the GS250.


Update: Just bought the DS3-3C kit and Dyna is going to send the spacer. Should be here mid-next week. Until then, she sits with no wires and no spark. A local junkyard has the mechanical advance for $25. A little much but don't have to pay shipping.

I wish the connections within the harness weren't soldered. I suppose I could go Y bullet connectors with all of them... I just don't like the idea of those only being just soldered and taped together. Mechanix, you have any input on this?

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much!

Do you think that the center diameter matters? I mean I guess it should be the same since that is the same part for the GS250.


Update: Just bought the DS3-3C kit and Dyna is going to send the spacer. Should be here mid-next week. Until then, she sits with no wires and no spark. A local junkyard has the mechanical advance for $25. A little much but don't have to pay shipping.

I wish the connections within the harness weren't soldered. I suppose I could go Y bullet connectors with all of them... I just don't like the idea of those only being just soldered and taped together. Mechanix, you have any input on this?

Awesome! Good luck! When you get the advance mechanism, make sure you dismantle it and give it a good clean with kerosene or something then lube it with engine oil.

Also, there's a little washer that sits under the rotor and on top of the plate to help it move easily, so make sure that's there also. It's very thin so replacing with some other washer probably won't work.

I'm currently redoing my connections for the coils and Dynatek because I'm having an intermittent issue with it dropping to 1 cylinder.

My suggestion is don't run the Dynatek wiring straight to the coils, instead make a couple of short harnesses from each coil.

Here's how my coil connections look:

I'll be putting the other half of the two pin connectors on the main harness and a four pin plug there as well which I will connect the Dynatek harness into.

Sounds a bit complicated but I'll post pic's when I'm done and you'll see what I mean. I need to get it done this week ready to test it on the way to work and back next week so it's good to go on the GSR run next weekend.

Oh, and if you do this, make sure you reverse which side of the plug (male/female) on each coil so you can only connect the left to the left and right to the right... just makes it simpler not to connect them the wrong way around later...

 

[hjacobmiller]

Thanks! Will do. I'll probably go pick up the advance early sometime next week.

Are there any tricks you can share about wiring the new unit in? I found this link:

http://www.mpsracing.com/instructions/Dynatek/DS3-3C.pdf

but I don't know if it is useful and I'd imagine you're about the most knowledgeable person in this subject.

Were you able to remove any wiring from the original harness that was no longer necessary? I'm guessing that any that were related to the original signal generator can be removed (G/W, Black/Blue, and Brown) and went to the ignitor box can be removed. I don't know though.

This is going to be my first time doing anything like this so I would greatly appreciate any advice! Maybe if I do a good job, I'll be a hero at Dynatek - just like you! :lol:

 

[Guest]

Thanks! Will do. I'll probably go pick up the advance early sometime next week.

Are there any tricks you can share about wiring the new unit in? I found this link:

http://www.mpsracing.com/instructions/Dynatek/DS3-3C.pdf

but I don't know if it is useful and I'd imagine you're about the most knowledgeable person in this subject.

Were you able to remove any wiring from the original harness that was no longer necessary? I'm guessing that any that were related to the original signal generator can be removed (G/W, Black/Blue, and Brown) and went to the ignitor box can be removed. I don't know though.

This is going to be my first time doing anything like this so I would greatly appreciate any advice! Maybe if I do a good job, I'll be a hero at Dynatek - just like you! :lol:

You can PM me your email address if you like and I'll email the installation instructions I did up and sent back to Dynatek. I doubt they've had the opportunity to refine them for public distribution yet. Hang onto that PDF you have as my instructions refer to the stock ones rather than replacing them.

Note though that I'm changing things right now so that the Dynatek wiring doesn't go directly to the coils and I'll post photos of what I do differently for you also.

The only original wiring removed is the signal generator harness and the ignitor module. The Dynatek is all contained within the timing cover so all it needs is 12v from the original stock coil connections, but all that's covered off in the installation guide.

Once I've finished my refinements I probably should take the time and post a thread up with the whole process...

 

[Guest]

Oh, just had a thought... the only thing the DS3-3C kit doesn't contain is the HT leads. Did you get some of them as well? I don't believe there's any reason not to use generic ones if you didn't...

 

[Guest]

Ok, so in addition to the little harnesses on the coils I posted before, here's the rest of what I finished up today to hopefully get my intermittent single cylinder issue sorted.

Ignore the RPM and wideband RPM connections, and it's a little ugly, but here's what I did on the whiteboard:

Put a four pin plug on the end of the Dynatek harness and I both soldered and crimped the pins on:

The other side of the four pin plug ties into the coil connections in the main harness, and the other side of the two pin plugs for the coils are on there too, and again soldered and crimped:

And yes, the coils are a bit bigger than stock and it will be a bit cramped under there, but a bit of creative wire routing will sort that out:

The biggest mistake the first time I did this was rushing, which is why I ended up with the Dynatek harness stretched to the max and connected directly to the coils and why I suspect I ended up with a dodgy connection somewhere in there.

Take your time, focus on one bit at a time, and plan out your connections and wire routing and so forth. The end result will definitely be worth it when you get some nice big blue sparks

 

[hjacobmiller]

Awesome - thanks for the emails Pete.

So here is what I am thinking currently. I was going to see if I could get rid of some wires from the old ignition since I have the harness unwrapped currently. I'm thinking I can get rid of the O/W leg from the coils back to the ignition box, and the b/y and the white from the ignition box to the coils. Also, the g/w, brown and b/bl from the signal generator to the ignition box.

Here is what I am thinking:

Here is the O/W "leg" I'm referring to:

While I was cleaning the harness I found this which I believe is no good although I don't know what it is:

I'll have to see if I can get some connectors from that vintage connectors place or something.

Am I completely going down a wrong path here?

 

[Guest]

Depending how far you're going with your harness, I wouldn't bother trying to remove stuff. Most of that goes away by simply unplugging the ignitor and signal generator, but up to you...

I simply cable tied the ignitor connector with the rest of the harness around my relocated electronics tray so it's out of the way.

As for the plug, yeah that's not good.

The white w/ red tracer reminds me of the stator leg wire that goes to the headlight, so that's probably a connector for the right handle bar switch block at a guess. The colour combinations appear different to my 450 though so I can't be certain.

 

[hjacobmiller]

I think I must have bothered Mechanix too much with my newb questions. Or my saga is not that interesting...

I picked up the advance/rotor/bolt today. And.... (drum roll).... it fits!!!!

Here are some pics of before cleaning, after, fitting on the crank, etc.

Pete - I see the tiny washer you are referring to. Underneath the arms? It seems paper thin! I didn't even know what or where it would be until I started cleaning.

I see what you're saying about removing things from the wiring harness, although the though of extra unnecessary connectors doesn't exactly please me. Although, if someone else ever needed to work on the bike, having the original wires might be useful in interpreting the OEM wiring diagram.

So back to the pictures. As you can see the bolt from the GS250 was slightly longer than the GS300 rotor bolt. Which makes since because the GS300 just had the rotor with no advance. The thread is the same and the diameter is the same. 6mm diam X 1.0 pitch.

Here it is all cleaned up and put in. It rotates perfectly and fits neatly under the timing cover.

I figured since I had all of the electrical off now I might as well do some cosmetic things too like paint the battery box and the junction box.

As soon as I the Dynatek comes in I will being the installation of that complete with pictures. Wish me luck!

Is there anyway to transfer this thread to another? I think it may be more useful in the electronics or rebuild section...

 

[Guest]

Looks like your making some good progress, I've been watching, Pete has been teaching you well young grasshopper.

 

[Guest]

Good stuff Jake!

Once you get the Dynatek, you'll see why you need that spacer I reckon, looks like the same setup as my 450 pretty much.

And yes, that washer I mentioned is paper thin and is just there to help the rotor rotate freely on the advance mechanism.

Very keen to see the Dynatek install so... should give you some nice big blue sparks once you make sure your charging system is all up to snuff

As for moving the thread, if you ask Frank (the Administrator) nicely, he might do it for you as I think it's possible.

Looks like your making some good progress, I've been watching, Pete has been teaching you well young grasshopper.

Teaching? Me? Hahahaha classic... well... maybe a little

 

[hjacobmiller]

Got the kit and the washer!

Only problem is that the Dyna coils will not fit underneath the tank when mounted right side up:

I can only fit them upside down like this:

There is plenty of room underneath the tank this way and plenty of room to route the HT leads to the plug caps. Should this be a problem? I have emailed Dynatek with the same question.

 

[Guest]

Aaah your coils mount a little differently... the mounts for mine are attached to the back bone of the frame, not the side rails where yours are.

Having them upside down won't make a difference, it'll just mean longer leads.

The only question is clearance to the bottom of the tank but you've covered that off so you should be all good.

Just remember when putting the rotor and spacer in that once everything is all tightened up the advance mechanism needs to be able to rotate and spring back freely. You'll know if it can't because it won't rev above about 3000 - 4000RPM...

 

[Guest]

I figured since I had all of the electrical off now I might as well do some cosmetic things too like paint the battery box and the junction box.

Just realised you said you were painting the junction box... I'm assuming this is where your starter solenoid and R/R are mounted?

If so, scrub some of the paint off where the starter solenoid mounts as the bolts ground the solenoid. Run an extra lead from battery negative to one of the starter solenoid bolts and move your R/R ground to the same bolt.

Another suggestion I haven't done myself is to use start washers so they bite into the metal and ensure the grounding connections stay good.

 

[hjacobmiller]

Lots of progress, but man I am tired!

I had to do a little cutting and bending to get the coil mounts the S-kit came with to fit in how I wanted. The original frame had little tabs on the mounts that I just bent back a little bit so that the brackets would seat. I'll put up some pictures, but all in all good progress!

Except for a couple of burns, the soldering went pretty well, thanks to YouTube! I didn't get quite as extravagant as your mini harnesses Pete, but I did make one mini harness so that it gives me a little extra wire to work with.

What I have left to do:

1. Finish the mini harness by putting the ring connectors on the coil terminal side.
2. Double check my wire/cable routing through the frame. Its a little messy.
3. Build the spark plug wires and route them accordingly. Anyone know of a good tutorial on making these?
4. Lube up the advance - Pete you mentioned with just motor oil?
5. Finish installing the S kit and run the oil pressure switch wire with it. Would a ring terminal be OK underneath the screw? I just was hoping to keep it a little more secure, and honestly I don't have the little forked terminal and I'd hate to buy a whole pack for just one.
6.Put everything back together and see if I can get some nice blue spark!

 

[Guest]

Lots of progress, but man I am tired!

I had to do a little cutting and bending to get the coil mounts the S-kit came with to fit in how I wanted. The original frame had little tabs on the mounts that I just bent back a little bit so that the brackets would seat. I'll put up some pictures, but all in all good progress!

Except for a couple of burns, the soldering went pretty well, thanks to YouTube! I didn't get quite as extravagant as your mini harnesses Pete, but I did make one mini harness so that it gives me a little extra wire to work with.

What I have left to do:

1. Finish the mini harness by putting the ring connectors on the coil terminal side.
2. Double check my wire/cable routing through the frame. Its a little messy.
3. Build the spark plug wires and route them accordingly. Anyone know of a good tutorial on making these?
4. Lube up the advance - Pete you mentioned with just motor oil?
5. Finish installing the S kit and run the oil pressure switch wire with it. Would a ring terminal be OK underneath the screw? I just was hoping to keep it a little more secure, and honestly I don't have the little forked terminal and I'd hate to buy a whole pack for just one.
6.Put everything back together and see if I can get some nice blue spark!

Good stuff! Sounds like you're getting there

I'd be adding a step 5a to your list... double check all wiring to make sure the left Dyna module is still firing the left coil and right firing the right coil and make sure the switched 12v is going to the + side of the coils and red lead of the Dyna modules.

For making the spark plug leads, I'm guessing Youtube again. I just went by the direction on the Dyna packet and that worked out ok.

Engine oil is fine on the advance mechanism. It just needs to be able to rotate smoothly on the shaft so it can advance and retard at the right rev's.

Ring or fork terminal will be fine on the oil pressure sensor, but I found the ring terminals I had access to were too big for the little screw but the fork terminals were good. I also found it much less fiddly to leave the screw in and slot the fork terminal on rather than have to hold the Dyna module and ring terminal and try to get the screw in...

 

[hjacobmiller]

More progress! I have a lot of pictures to upload too, but I'm still not running.

Everything is connected and I get spark! On both sides! Big wonderful blue sparks! Good voltage at the coils. Although I may have gotten a little carried away with zip ties

I think that I have a problem with the ignition timing as I can't get it to fire. I tried doing the light test in the instruction but I there is another problem because I couldn't get it to work.

Pete you mentioned mechanism rotating freely on the shaft... Is there a shaft that the center bolt goes through that rotates within the advance mechanism?

When I go to turn the advance it automatically starts to turn the whole crank, and doesn't allow it it to go to the "full advance." I'm guessing this is because it is not rotating on the shaft, just turning the whole mechanism at once.

On the back of the advance mechanism, there is a groove that aligns with a knob on the crank shaft. There are also the two teeth on the end of the advance that engage with cross-haired grooves on the (19mm) nut. As I turn the nut (19mm) it instantly starts turning the crank because these teeth are engaged. From what I understand there should be some play before the crank starts to turn (to the full advance position) right?

Is the advance supposed to rotate slightly to the full advance position BEFORE the crankshaft starts to turn?

Just out of curiosity, your center bolt isn't reverse thread is it? Mine's not, I just want to double check.

Maybe I am not putting it together correctly or something...

All in all I think I'm getting REALLY close and seeing sparks made me hopeful!

Would it be OK to soak the advance in carb cleaner? I don't have any kerosene.