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No spark - here is the trouble shooting I've done

  • Thread starter Thread starter williampkerr
  • Start date Start date
rustybronco said:
No, you should see the negative side go from close to zero to battery voltage then back down repeatedly as she's cranking.

You have a glaring issue in that the positive side of the coils are dropping down to 9 votes as its cranking. Look for bad contacts in the wiring connectors, fuse box or possibly even a bad ignition switch internally.
Click to expand...

I inspected the fuses and fuse block, all appear is good order. I reconnected each connector. Side note, I have all the wires for the ignition system and starter system connected with wire nuts. I removed the old connectors because many were loose and I just didn't trust them. So tonight I disconnected each connection and snipped off the exposed wire ends then made new ends and reconnected. I also checked voltage at the ignition switch. With the key in the on position the red positive wire shows 12.7v then when I hit the starter button the voltage drops to 10v. I took the battery in to the auto parts store the other day and it tested good. I have the test results receipt somewhere but can't find it right now. I wonder if the battery is bad. It is a cheap Autocraft battery.
 
When you hit the start button, what is the voltage across the battery terminals?
 
Then you're still loosing 1.9 volts between the battery and the coils. Put your volt ohm meters negative on the battery's positive lead and the other on the coils positive lead and you should see the 1.9 volt drop while cranking. If you take that same lead and connect it to each connector preceding the one you connected to last you will see the voltage drop for that connection. Clean each connection until you get the lowest drop possible. You are trying to shoot for a total of. 25 volt loss, although it may not be completely obtainable get it as close as you can I. E. .5

Next, is to get the wiring diagram and start cracking.
 
Assuming i performed this test correctly my meter showed .01v when the negative meter lead was placed on the battery + and the positive meter lead was connected to the positive side of coil. When cranking my meter reads 1.1v. I made four new wire ends on the positive side of the coil as well as all other connections for the starter and ignition wiring. All of these wirings are connected with just wire nuts as I removed all old OEM connectors. Side note: when I disconnect the common positive wires from the coils and touch the leads to the frame I see a spark.
 
Assuming i performed this test correctly my meter showed .01v when the negative meter lead was placed on the battery + and the positive meter lead was connected to the positive side of coil. When cranking my meter reads 1.1v.

This means you're still losing 1.1 volts somewhere along the way. Not terrible, but you might want to try and find where you're losing it.


I made four new wire ends on the positive side of the coil as well as all other connections for the starter and ignition wiring.

Huh? Four new ends on the coil? What exactly do you mean? You should have one connection at the positive side of each coil, and that's all. Cleaning the other connections was probably not a bad idea, but you need to focus on getting battery voltage to the positive side of the coils without loss.

All of these wirings are connected with just wire nuts as I removed all old OEM connectors.

Use wire nuts in your house. Use crimp on terminators on your motorcycle.


Side note: when I disconnect the common positive wires from the coils and touch the leads to the frame I see a spark.

If you're touching the positive wires from the coil to the frame you're shorting the battery to ground. You're going to see a fire too if you keep doing that.
 
Just wanted to let you all know that she is getting spark now. I rewired the ignition system with new connectors. However, I think ultimately that the ground wire to the CDI box was faulty and has since been replaced as well. Either way, she has spark now and I was able to get her running again.
 
williampkerr said:
I received new spark plug caps in the mail today. Sadly, after installation I'm still not getting spark. Any suggestions on what to troubleshoot next?
Click to expand...

The 1st thing I would do is run a hot lead from the battery to the coils and see what happens. I find a lack of voltage to the coils to be the most likely cause of no spark anywhere. If it runs you go from there for the cause.
 
williampkerr said:
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/electrical_odd-n-ends.html#A17

Can't find mention of checking ground wire to CDI box as a troubleshooting step when not getting spark. This is the second time if have chased electrical issues that ultimately were easy fixes; once for starter solenoid not engaging and once for no spark. Both issues were resolved by making new grounds to solenoid and CDI box.
Click to expand...
I mean even simpler than that one. I think people must be having problems using it.
 
posplayr said:
I mean even simpler than that one. I think people must be having problems using it.
Click to expand...

Yea, I know that most people are familiar with BassCliff's info but hopefully they also see this thread and understand that verifying grounds is a great first step when troubleshooting electrical issues. Lesson learned for me two fold.
 
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