Recent content by anothermammalwiththumbs

Yeah, I adjusted and lubed the cable and all is good. Went for a long ride yesterday with no problems.

Ok, the clutch cable just needed adjusting. It's amazing what can work one day and not work the next. I guess it got cold and something shrank just enough.

Hey Leo, your bike looks a lot like mine - I'll have to post some pics when she's feelin a little friendlier.

That makes sense... the clutch feels strange, too. It's definitely not any of the usual suspects - fuel, battery, kill switch etc. - the kickstart feels terrible. Now that you mention it, it does feel like the one or two times i've kicked it while in gear by accident...

Ok, so 1 day and a half mile ride after I get the ignition sorted out, the kickstarter stops working. It feels like there's no compression, but it was running strong yesterday, and sat in a garage overnight. After a few tries and a roll back and forth, it feels like there is compression in one...

Ah! A personal visit from the man himself! Thanks for the info on testing the HEI unit - that'll be handy later, I'm sure. I actually connected the HEI ground straight to the battery's negative terminal - seems like a reasonable place to get a good connection.

I made an extension for mine out of a small L-shaped piece of steel; Bend the L so it catches over the side of the existing arm, then bolt through and drill a new hole to attach the clutch cable. That's a terrible description. I'll take a picture sometime or make a drawing.

Ok, fixed it by accident. It must have been the HEI ground connection, though I still can't figure out how that worked in the first place. Thanks for all the help, guys!

Nah, I tried jumping it from a car battery. Checked for spark and positive voltage at the coil while it was hooked to that, too. Gonna slap it all back together tomorrow and see what happens. With any luck, I've fixed it by accident. :shrug: Made a heatsink and ground connection tab for the HEI...

yeah... haven't spent too much on it at this point, but it's sure as hell costing a lot of patience. This winter I might strip her down and give everything a good scrub and polish, neaten up the wiring, relocate components and whatnot. One big thing I have to do is locate some power terminals...

I'm not using a spark tester, but I've checked the spark by just gapping it before, and could see it really clearly. I use some clip-on jumper leads so the plug is in place and have a friend hold them so that they're steady and easy to see. I'll be checking the engine grounds tonight. I've...

Ok - for posterity: Here are Wells/Duralast specs on parts for mrriggs GM/junkyard ignition, as well as testing diagrams: Ignition Coils Pickup Coils There is nothing about the HEI unit other that a pinout diagram. Parts on my bike, and - as far as I can tell - on Mr Riggs' setup in his...

Ok, Autozone, Advance and Napa did not have testing equipment. A guy at Autozone managed to find the parts stats in his computer and I got a phone number for Wells, the supplier of the HEI unit. Will call them tomorrow. The coil is supposed to have .2 - .7 ohms resistance in the primary coil...

Any idea how to test an HEI module? I'd like to know for sure if that's the problem. I have two, and have put both in, grounded, with no luck. Also, how do I test the secondary coil resistance? And what is "lead resistance" that jd750ace mentioned? I checked the one between the red and black...

Here's a link to my ignition setup: $19 junkyard ignition From that thread, "Post by mrriggs on Mar 13, 2006, 12:46pm" says that the unit needs to be grounded through the mount holes. Dunno, maybe it's unnecessary... I'm going to try to find info on testing the pickup and HEI unit, because...