Hesitation under load when Turn Signals are flashing! Lol

There is another thing that can cause rough/poor engine running when your bike has a TCI. Over the years the tiny magnet that is mounted on the face of the rotor starts to weaken its magnetic field. If it gets too weak the TCI black box receives a weak or intermittant series of pulses, which of course produces intermittant firing of the plugs.

To test this,start with a fully charged battery,then unplug the rec/reg combo unit (this removes the magnetic field that the rotor uses). Start the engine and try a short ride to see if there is an improvement. If there is, you can buy one of those powerful rare earth magnets and glue it onto the rotor. Search for................"rare earth magnet" to find threads on this.
 
Much appreciated.
Thanks guys.

Looks like testing with rec/reg unhooked and rare earth is next.
I will read up on that transistor.
 
I don't think the driver transistor is giving you problems, but, just for reference:

http://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/looking-for-transistor-data-etd41-035/

I understand that the TCI may be influenced by intermittant safety gadgets. Something to check...
Thanks TwoManyXS1Bs.
I ordered a 5-pack of these:
https://www.amazon.com/STMICROELECTRONICS-ST901T-DARLINGTON-TRANSISTOR-220/dp/B011NNK94O

This is the transistor that the site you linked me to concluded was the best possible replacement for the ETD41-035 transistor which is what I have pictured above.
I am going to replace this while I'm troubleshooting everything else to see if it helps.

While I wait for it to arrive I will be testing all other options suggested.

Thanks all.
 
Hey guys,

I grabbed a few rare earth magnets from Harbor Freight. They are 5/16" (7.9375 mm) as opposed to the 3/16" (4.7625 mm) Radio Shack ones.
I measured the magnet in my rotor and it measures out at 15/64" (5.9531 mm).

7.9375 mm (HF)
5.9531 mm (Actual)
4.7625 mm (RS)

How much does it matter to the TCI pickup how wide the magnet is?
I would assume that the timing would be affected by the exact placement and diameter of the magnet since this is what triggers the ignition.
 
My best guess would be that the front edge of the magnet, in the direction of rotation, would have to line up with the old magnet. That way it would arrive at and trigger the pick-up at the same time. Centering a larger magnet on the old one would put it's front edge farther ahead. It would reach the pick-up a little sooner and the spark would fire a little earlier (advanced).
 
So I ran the bike without the rectifier/regulator hooked up. No hesitation but it felt low on power.

Hooked it back up and it was back to skipping. I also took off the stator, cleaned up the surface of the rotor and tested the magnet... Seems weak to me!

I have the radio shack magnets coming in tomorrow. I will do a comparison of the two before selecting one. Too bad JB Weld is near permanent. I would like to be able to experiment more without potentially ruining a rotor.
 
Well it turns out the damn thing just needed a magnet glued to it!!!

I ended up JB welding the 3/16" Radio Shack Magnet to the rotor in the exact center of the original rotor magnet.
I let it dry over night and took it for a ride today. Runs like a dream.

I will be running it as is for the next month or so but I will definitely be upgrading to the Pamco ignition.
I know that the TCI is great etc. etc. but I can't really convince myself that the JB weld is a "fix" and not just a "patch".

Thanks again everybody.
It was really great to let her rip and hear her roar again!

Even better to have fixed all these other random issues along the way!
 
You probably did a good thing with that slightly smaller magnet centered on the old one. It will hit the trigger just a hair latter and that will retard your timing a little bit. Many of us think that's a good idea. I think my bike runs a little better and stronger with the timing retarded a little.
 
Certainly felt stronger. Felt like a whole new bike!

Now that it goes, I want it to go faster!!!

:D

Time for performance mods!!! Haha
 
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