First I've heard of it. I can't believe how five years have flown by. Seems like nothing, but it's the amount of time you spend in college, or in the Army, or in marriage. If you're miserable it might at least make time move slower.
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How to troubleshoot the TCI ignition system
- Thread starter bpeckm
- Start date
-
- Tags
- electrical
ihaxs650
XS650 Enthusiast
I agree! I was experiencing a 1980 special not running correctly under load. My problem was corrosion in the connector from the TCI to the main loom. Once that was taken care of the problem went away!I bought my 1980 TCI earlier this year and its always had a hesitation at speed, around 3K rpm. This string and others on the forum have been great in helping me troubleshoot the issue. As I was doing the tests detailed here by bpeckm, I noticed that my pickup coils described in response #6 were heavily corroded. I used some fine grit sandpaper to gently clean them up...appears to have worked! Went for a cruise yesterday and the hesitation was goneStill need to do some more test drives to make sure but fingers crossed!
Just one more thing for folks to check, perhaps especially in humid/wet locations or when dealing with a bike from a neglectful PO.
"No Spark" Quick & Dirty question....1980 XS 650 SG with with TCI ignition was running, after storing f has no spark ts (fresh battery).
-I seem to recall when I move the kill switch to on I would see a slight dimming of the green neutral light, I do not see this now
-I also recall after the first kick , whether the bike started or not the headlight would go on. I assume this has to do with getting initial
signal quote: "The TCI grounds the orange wire so current flows through the coil." The headlight stays off now. Bad TCI ? Went bad Just from sitting in a dry environment ?
Feedback appreciated...
-I seem to recall when I move the kill switch to on I would see a slight dimming of the green neutral light, I do not see this now
-I also recall after the first kick , whether the bike started or not the headlight would go on. I assume this has to do with getting initial
signal quote: "The TCI grounds the orange wire so current flows through the coil." The headlight stays off now. Bad TCI ? Went bad Just from sitting in a dry environment ?
Feedback appreciated...
The headlight lights when the headlight relay gets voltage from a special (yellow) alternator wire, that relay then "latches" and the headlight stays on til the ignition is switched off. It's not directly tied to the TCI. Is your battery fully charged? I'd start there. The TCI is pretty fussy about voltage and won't fire the plugs with a low battery. Then if it runs, check that your charging system is working. Let us know how it goes.
Also check fuses, the fuse holders, battery and ground connections. Cycle the ignition and kill switch a few times, (dirty contacts?)
Also check fuses, the fuse holders, battery and ground connections. Cycle the ignition and kill switch a few times, (dirty contacts?)
