• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Lost All Spark DYNA S

  • Thread starter Thread starter alkswheetinjur
  • Start date Start date
A

alkswheetinjur

Guest
Well what I enthusiastically assumed was a bad spark plug wire turns out to be a bigger issue. Lost spark on cylinder #1 thought a plug wire was the culprit so I replaced it with another to no avail. Plug wire worked fine on all other cylinders but #1 has no spark(#4 is still firing fine at this point). Called Dyantek to see if this is something they have dealt with before and or have any pointers. The tech said he has only once or twice seen them fail in this manner in his 12 years. Went to the local cycle salvage and got a used dc1-1 and got it installed. Popped a fuse when testing and now cylinders #1 and #4 aren't firing. Figuring the "new" used coil was bad. I switched my #2-#3 coil over to that side and still nothing. Switched my #2-#3 coil back to its original side and now there's no spark on all 4. Been pulling my hair out because everything was running fine a few days ago. I also notice the ground on the regulator has broken off witch I reground to the battery. Running a Dyna S Ignition with dyna 3ohm dc1-1 green coils and a good battery. Kill switch seems to be functioning since it won't crank over whens its in the "OFF" position. Electrical issues have always been a weakness for me. Hopefully I'm missing something dumb.

What now?
 
I'd go back to your original setup (coils and dyna s) then carefully check for the plug wire grounding out somewhere along path from coil to plug. If both 1 and 4 are not firing,carefully check for the wire from dyna to left coil grounding out somewhere.
 
I am back with the exact setup I had when #1 wouldn't fire in the beginning except I now have no spark at all. Could the lack of ground on the regulator/igniter box (what do you call it?) have fried something? Just wanna make sure I cover all my bases before I start tearing into the harness.
 
So now you have no spark on any plug? The r/r losing ground connection would mean r/r would be unable to charge -internally,it would likely see a high stator output with no where to send it. Maybe it would fry itself, but you started this thread by just losing spark on #1 and then swaping out items with problems escalating. I'd review my connections.

edit: does rhis bike still have separate rectifier and regulator?
 
Last edited:
As far as I can tell all connections at the coils are tight, clean and on the correct leads. I believe the rectifier and regulator are factory items just relocated. The PO rewired a lot of stuff and though it looks like a mess I think everything was done "right" since I never had any issues until now. Bike will crank over but has no spark at all.

IMAG0058_1.jpg
 
have you measured the coil resistance ?
Don't know what the Dyna's should give
but 3 Ohm on the primary side and 15KOhm
on the secondary should be in the ballpark.

Or try the quick and dirty test, make sure coil
has a proper 12v and stick a wire in the other
'ground' or 'signal' connection and rub against
ground.
Hopefully tells you if you can rule out the coils.

 
Coils both measured 3.3 so I think they are good? Pulled the black wire and white wire off the coils and cut them out of the harness traced them the down to the Dyna they seem to be in good shape other than one tiny spot on the white wire where a single copper thread is exposed through the shrink wrapping. I have my doubts that this is my main issue.
 
Have you got 12 volts to the coils and also power to the ignition? Also check the connector in headlight bucket that goes to kill switch , and start button. Probably find it burnt
 
Last edited:
alkswheetinjur said:
Coils both measured 3.3 so I think they are good? Pulled the black wire and white wire off the coils and cut them out of the harness traced them the down to the Dyna they seem to be in good shape other than one tiny spot on the white wire where a single copper thread is exposed through the shrink wrapping. I have my doubts that this is my main issue.
Click to expand...

A short on the white wire against ground may cause one coil to not
work - that would mean 2 spark plugs not sparking.
Serious issue if that is the case, good find.
You mentioned 1 and 4 not firing, are these on the coil with the
damaged white wire ?

Next step is to repair the damaged wire or pull a new wire.
And hopefully find out why the copper wire was exposed.

ok so primary is good. Did you measure secondary ?
Or try the 'scratch test' ?
 
Last edited:
If the connector you are talking about is green/lime green then I think you might be onto something. Not sure if its burnt but there does seem to be some white corrosiony/oxidationy stuff inside. I am guessing the orange wires on the plug end are the same wires that connect to the coil. Its a pretty tight spot so I'm not sure if this is something can be cleaned up or will need to be replaced.
 
alkswheetinjur said:
Coils both measured 3.3 so I think they are good?
Click to expand...

What we call a coil, in fact are 2 separate coil windings in one housing.
The primary coil is physically separated from the secondary coil.

So 3.3 means your primary coil is probably ok,
but that does not tell you anything about the secondary coil.
Hope the picture clarifies this.

timing11.gif
 
Last edited:
alkswheetinjur said:
12.63 and 12.82 @ 20k
Click to expand...

excellent, that is pretty close to what it should be for your DC1-1.
Looks like the coils are ok then.

I found a Dyna checklist that has some additional tests, like voltage
check and maximal gap opening between rotor and magnets.
https://www.mpsracing.com/instructions/Dynatek/DynaS_Testing.pdf
Maybe the rotor has play or too wide a gap so the ignition
won't switch, worth following the checklist.
Hope this helps find the cause for no sparks.
 
Last edited:
alkswheetinjur said:
If the connector you are talking about is green/lime green then I think you might be onto something. Not sure if its burnt but there does seem to be some white corrosiony/oxidationy stuff inside. I am guessing the orange wires on the plug end are the same wires that connect to the coil. Its a pretty tight spot so I'm not sure if this is something can be cleaned up or will need to be replaced.
Click to expand...

tight spot indeed but they can be taken apart and cleaned up.

The corrosion could be a reason for popping the fuse, also
check no wires have been trapped between switch housing and
handlebar, causing a short.
That often happens with the awkward way it is designed.
 
Last edited:
alkswheetinjur said:
If the connector you are talking about is green/lime green then I think you might be onto something. Not sure if its burnt but there does seem to be some white corrosiony/oxidationy stuff inside. I am guessing the orange wires on the plug end are the same wires that connect to the coil. Its a pretty tight spot so I'm not sure if this is something can be cleaned up or will need to be replaced.
Click to expand...
Yes the yellow/green goes to start button and all orange wires are your ignition circuit
 
Well I sprayed some electrical cleaner in the connector and scraped it out the best I could, tested the orange wires as well as the red wire that goes to the Dyna. I got 11.72 V on all. Battery is at 12.15. I tested the red wire at the connector near where the coils mount. I couldn't find anywhere on the Dyna to get a reading. Not sure if these numbers are sufficient but I'm gonna try to get everything back together tomorrow night and see if there is any difference.
 
The plug going to the kill switch, when you turn the key on do you have power to any of the orange wires with the kill switch in the on position? I believe it is o/r is hot from key switch the breaks down from there through kill switch, also picking up power there for y/g to starter button and back out to coils . Another real problematic point on these bikes is the fuse box and the wiring to them
 
There is a threshold below which electronic ignitions will not work. 11.72 is not real good to start with and if it falls too much below that it is doubtful it will work at all. A good cleaning throughout the electrical system is going to be required in order to get a good solid voltage or it might be beneficial for you to investigate the relay modification that runs voltage directly from the battery without going through the harness, to your coils and ignition controlled by your kill switch (that is also controlled by the ignition switch). Voltage drop does not affect the ability to operate a relay so that might get you up and running while you sort out the rest of the electrical system.
 
OldVet66 said:
There is a threshold below which electronic ignitions will not work. 11.72 is not real good to start with and if it falls too much below that it is doubtful it will work at all. A good cleaning throughout the electrical system is going to be required in order to get a good solid voltage or it might be beneficial for you to investigate the relay modification that runs voltage directly from the battery without going through the harness, to your coils and ignition controlled by your kill switch (that is also controlled by the ignition switch). Voltage drop does not affect the ability to operate a relay so that might get you up and running while you sort out the rest of the electrical system.
Click to expand...

for the purpose of troubleshooting, i would simply run a direct wire from battery to coils...just my 2 cents :D
But it does not look like the op wants to try this sort of thing, i may be wrong ?
No problem ofcourse, i only offer options.
 
Last edited:
I think I'm gonna try the battery to coil method. Sorry for my ignorance. I have a little skill in a lot of things but diagnosing and repairing electrical issues isn't one of them. Is the ultimate goal to get the voltage on the power wire going to the coil to match the battery voltage?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top