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Not getting spark. Now what?

  • Thread starter Thread starter fyarl666
  • Start date Start date
Process of elimination.

Ignition coils... good.
Pickup coils... good.
Voltage tests... good.
Point to point resistance checks... good.

Ignitor...fail
 
rustybronco said:
Process of elimination.

Ignition coils... good.
Pickup coils... good.
Voltage tests... good.
Point to point resistance checks... good.

Ignitor...fail
Click to expand...

Sounds more like a process of inclusion.................:rolleyes:

All the stuff above is factored in and unambiguous if he just follow this:

After verifying that there is +12V on the Coil(+)

If the coil(-) is not being modulated then the ignitor is either not grounded or BAD.

If the coil(-) is being modulated and there is no spark then the coil is BAD.

modulated means going between a high voltage close to 12V down to a law voltage close to 1 volt as the engine is turned over.

This is a 5 minute test, as long as you can hold alligator clips between your knees.
 
posplayr said:
If the coil(-) is not being modulated then the ignitor is either not grounded or BAD.
Click to expand...
If there is no input from the pickup coils to the igniter it won't be modulated either.
fyarl666 said:
Plus, there's no real way to test if the ignitor is good, is there?
Click to expand...
See Pg 148 in the manual I linked (note the colours might be different than what is on your bike.)
 
Last edited:
Okay, now it gets weird...

Took the cover off the pickup coils to have a look, everything seemed fine. Did a quick ohms check in the pickup coils, all good there. Sprayed it with a bit if contact cleanser just to clear off any schmutz. Started to set up for a 12v test on the ignitor coil, hit the starter button, and she fired up just line a dream come true.

I shut it off cuz I don't have a gas tank on it at the moment. But just to be sure, I hit the started button and it fired up again, no problem.

What. The. Hell???
 
fyarl666 said:
Okay, now it gets weird...

Took the cover off the pickup coils to have a look, everything seemed fine. Did a quick ohms check in the pickup coils, all good there. Sprayed it with a bit if contact cleanser just to clear off any schmutz. Started to set up for a 12v test on the ignitor coil, hit the starter button, and she fired up just line a dream come true.

I shut it off cuz I don't have a gas tank on it at the moment. But just to be sure, I hit the started button and it fired up again, no problem.

What. The. Hell???
Click to expand...

Poking and prodding likely re-made a dud connection or broken wire. It's still there.
 
Grimly said:
Poking and prodding likely re-made a dud connection or broken wire. It's still there.
Click to expand...

At least he knows all of his components are capable of working. Wiggle and jiggle the wiring in different places while the engine is running to see if it makes it quit or misfire.
 
Be sure and check recharging system voltage while you're at it.
 
One thing I noticed, the sparks aren't really big. I'm used to seeing big fat blue/purple sparks out if a good plug. These plugs are new as if April, but the sparks are pretty thin. They're the right color, not yellow/orange, just not as thick as I thought they'd be.

Is that normal? If not, how can I boost that up?
 
Discovered the source of my woes, it's the wire leading from the pickup coil. It connects to a plug inside a rubber boot next to the negative side of the battery. I would nudge that boot and wire every time I took the side cover off. I nudge the wire, bike starts fine. Nudge it the other way, bike sputters and dies.

Glad I figured it out!
 
rustybronco said:
If there is no input from the pickup coils to the igniter it won't be modulated either.
See Pg 148 in the manual I linked (note the colours might be different than what is on your bike.)
Click to expand...

That is true as well, and probably some others which is why we should always start by checking the (-) side of the coil.
I guess I fixated on the ground because some I was helping with a bike had the issue where they were using the ground to prevent engine starting until the stater stopped cranking.
 
fyarl666 said:
Discovered the source of my woes, it's the wire leading from the pickup coil. It connects to a plug inside a rubber boot next to the negative side of the battery. I would nudge that boot and wire every time I took the side cover off. I nudge the wire, bike starts fine. Nudge it the other way, bike sputters and dies.

Glad I figured it out!
Click to expand...

Most times it is a process of elimination through divide and conquer. Good work.
 
posplayr said:
Most times it is a process of elimination through divide and conquer. Good work.
Click to expand...

I think this time it was a happy accident I tried to do the 12v test on the igniter coils just after I had Ohms tested the pickup coil. I jiggled the wire back the right way just before trying to start the bike, and that narrowed down the search. After that, it was a pretty obvious culprit.
 
fyarl666 said:
I think this time it was a happy accident I tried to do the 12v test on the igniter coils just after I had Ohms tested the pickup coil. I jiggled the wire back the right way just before trying to start the bike, and that narrowed down the search. After that, it was a pretty obvious culprit.
Click to expand...

Sometimes the fastest diagnosis is the lucky or most likely diagnosis. It is really a game of probabilities on top of a process of elimination.
 
fyarl666 said:
Discovered the source of my woes, it's the wire leading from the pickup coil. It connects to a plug inside a rubber boot next to the negative side of the battery. I would nudge that boot and wire every time I took the side cover off. I nudge the wire, bike starts fine. Nudge it the other way, bike sputters and dies.

Glad I figured it out!
Click to expand...

Tolja!
For future reference - you noticed a weak spark, and the GSs are pretty good at signposting a problem in the LT side of the ignition by producing a weak spark with an orangey tint.
 
Grimly said:
Tolja!
For future reference - you noticed a weak spark, and the GSs are pretty good at signposting a problem in the LT side of the ignition by producing a weak spark with an orangey tint.
Click to expand...

A lot of things do that. However with good voltage and stock ignitor my acce 3 ohm coils are definitely lightening blue.
 
The most common thing is a simple dirty connection, closely followed by a breaking wire, down to its last strand. Depending where, it's producing low trigger voltage or low feed voltage.
Either way, LT indications.
 
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