boyer ignition system might be dead, should I go with a Pamco system?

1979cafexs

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So iv had the boyer system on my bike for about 3 years now. It was the system that came with the bike when I bought it and for the most part its been reliable except now i think it might have died. I got stuck in rush hour traffic the other night and the motor was running hot and then it the motor died on me. It wouldn't crank over with the electric start and no mater how many times i kicked it over it wouldn't start again. I left it and came back the next day, and found that the wire from the igniter box to the coil had burnt up and was causing a short in the system and the reason that the ignition fuse kept blowing out. Rewired it and replaced the fuse and got it cranking again except now Im not getting any spark. My guess is that the igniter box is fried but I could be wrong. what i would like some advice on is do you think its better to stay with the boyer system or to switch it over to a pamco system and if so which one?
 
Boyer's are known to have poor coils. I replaced mine with a G.M. coil. Follow Mr. Rigg's articles on his homebuilt Toyota ignition. Good luck Tony C

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Did You check ignition fuse again, it could have blown too.
I havent heard anyhing bad about the boyer system.
Pamcos have been good to me. Your choice really.
 
Yes Iv checked the fuse and it's not blown out, After I fixed the burnt up wire it stoped burning up fuses.

@ tonyc, where could I find those articles and what kind oh GM coil did you use?
 
79, since the Boyer ignition was on your bike when you got it, it could be the current Micro Power system or an older version; a look at the igniter box will tell you which you have. If it's the newer MP, you'll have the compact Gill coil, and any coil with 0.6 ohm primary resistance will do the job for you. If you have an older system (Micro Digital, etc.), any coil with 4 to 5 ohm primary resistance will work.

Before you spend the money on a new coil, check primary and secondary resistance of the coil you have. A short in the signal wire could easily damage the igniter box, but is much less likely to have damaged the coil.
 
So I have the current micro power system with a gill coil. I pilled it off and checked the primary resistance and got 0.2 to 0.0 ohms and wasn't able to get a reading for secondary resistance therefor I will assume that the coil is bad. Should it be replaced with another gill coil orsomthing else? and does anyone know where i can find an coil with 0.6 ohm resistance? I'v looked on MikesXS but cant find one with the right resistance rating.
 
1979, you'd be well advised not to use another Gill coil; the have a very bad reputation. Accel and Dyna make fine products. Google is your friend.
 
I have been looking at the Accel and Dyna coils but I can only seem to find ones that are either 0.5 or 0.7 ohms of resistance for primary resistance. Does the coil have to be 0.06 ohms of resistance or is there some wiggle room? and if so is it better to go with a higher or lower resistance?
 
Yep, there's wiggle room, and it's better to go a little higher than a little lower; better protection for the igniter box.
 
+1 on Pamco. Cant beat the simplicity of the electronic ignition with mech advance. The simpler you can make these things the better off you are. Imo..
 
Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but I've seen more XS650 engines destroyed by the mechanical advance than any other single cause. Ask yourself this. Would you rather have an electronic igniter box fail and have to wait for a tow and replace the igniter box, or have the ATU come unglued, wait for a tow, find that a piston is holed, and rebuild the engine? You haven't been around the XS650 much if you haven't seen that happen.
 
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