I have a weird issue with my pamco ignition.

[sickofitall]

so today i took my first real ride on a bike i built. ran great. one kick start. good power. no stumbling. so i rode over to the local grey beard shop for an inspection. all went well. hung out and shot the shit fer an hour. went to leave, no spark... i truck it home. its pma, cap, pamco, headlight taillight. tested the coils per petes instructions. hook up a battery in place of the cap. test spin pamco rotor, no spark.... until i spin it and brush my finger over the black resistor/transistor/diode whatever. the item that loops up next to the rotor. then it sparks. take rotor off, put back on. no spark. spin/touch looped item, sparks. i did this a few times. im at a loss. pamco sparks if i touch the loop but not if i dont. and will continue to spark unless i remove the rotor and replace it or turn the key off and back on. but if i touch that loop it starts to spark. anybody got any ideas?

 

[pamcopete]

sickofitall,

My idea is to send you a new PAMCO. PM your address, please. Verify that it is the basic PAMCO, not the E-Advancer. When you get the new one, check the voltage on the cap immediately after starting.

 

[timbeck]

Talk about customer service, Pete is the best. tim

 

[gggGary]

Pete you are a freaking SAINT! Were I building these, I would state NO warranty on a PAMCO unless there is a 12 volt battery hardwired into the electrical system. Either that or a capacitor PAMCO model with some serious voltage clamping built in to the circuitry.

 

[sickofitall]

i second the customer service and i think a battery is the best option. but i have bad luck with battery life even if i trickle them so i figured wth... may just have to go with a battery cuz this is the funnest motorcycle ive ever owned.

 

[plane_ben]

I third the customer support comment. Pete did me right even though it was my voltage regulator that took out the ignition. On that note, is there a way to save the ignition should the VR go away/produce high voltage? I run a PMA, and cap with my Pamco. I like it that way, so simple. I do have an in-line fuse of 5 amps, but high voltage doesn't blow a fuse. When I'm riding, I don't have time or desire to keep watch on a voltmeter, no matter how small or cute. I want the visceral, not the stress feeling of riding. Maybe some kind of voltage filter that trips when volts go above 14volts. Any ideas are welcome.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Suppose you put a 15v zener (dumping to ground) on the line between the Pamco and its fuse (not part of the coil feed). The overvoltage would be dumped there, and if there was enuff of it, the fuse would blow, saving it. Of course, we're talking a fairly large zener here...

 

[sickofitall]

I just got it to start by touching said black/loop item and kicking at the same time. Didn't run quite right but I'm gettin @14.5 at idle but not more than 14.8 revved up at the cap. I don't think that's unreasonable but I could be wrong. I'm a mechanic not an electrician.

 

[pamcopete]

sickpofitall,

Try hooking up the battery with the PMA disconnected. I may have misunderstood your earlier test with the battery. Maybe you had the battery connected with the PMA?

 

[sickofitall]

The pma has always been connected. I just wire the batt in place of the cap to check for spark while spinning the rotor without the locating pin. But like i said if my finger is touching that black electrical piece (please tell me what it is so i dont sound like an idiot) it will start and stay running. And at my cap with the pma hooked i get between 14.5 and 14.8. So you want me to unhook the pma? And then what? I hate to be a PITA but i gotta know whats wrong.

 

[pamcopete]

sickofitall,

We'll just go ahead with the original remedy and send a new plate out to you tomorrow.

 

[sickofitall]

Ok. I feel like a mooch. But thank you!
and what is the black elec components name?

 

[sickofitall]

I think i found it. What would cause this...?

 

[pamcopete]

sickofitall,

That is the path of the black wire to ground. It implies that you do not have a good ground from the engine to the frame and some of the electrical load is using this path to ground. You should have a very robust ground strap from the frame to the engine so that there is a path from the engine to the frame and vis a versa. Could be a bad ground from the regulator finding a path to the PMA through the black wire of the PAMCO to the plate and the engine.

 

[sickofitall]

The engine doesnt ground thru its mounts? so just a fat wire from engine to ground? Should i ground everything to the same spot? The pamco and the reg/rec ground to the upper rear engine mount together and the cap grounds to a mount plate i fabbed that holds the cap and the reg/rec which is also mounted to the rear upper mount. The triple mount mid way up the bottom of the back bone. Its all 16 gauge except the pamco ground. If i caused this ill be happy to pay for the plate Pete.

 

[pamcopete]

Pete you are a freaking SAINT! Were I building these, I would state NO warranty on a PAMCO unless there is a 12 volt battery hardwired into the electrical system. Either that or a capacitor PAMCO model with some serious voltage clamping built in to the circuitry.

My neighbor across the street raised orchids in his back porch. Sold them. I used to visit him and he seemed to be tranquil and at peace with the earth, if not the world. He died recently. Maybe I'll take up the business......

 

[gggGary]

Lots have reported a bunch of electrical issues being the engine NOT grounding through the mounts. If no e-start I would still want a 10 gauge ground wire from the engine to your central ground location. All paint removed at connections.

Dang it i almost mentioned the rub your finger makes spark; sounds like a ground issue.

 

[gggGary]

My neighbor across the street raised orchids in his back porch. Sold them. I used to visit him and he seemed to be tranquil and at peace with the earth, if not the world. He died recently. Maybe I'll take up the business......

2many mentioned it and I was already looking around, there are some pretty robust board mount 14 /15 volt zener diodes available. Probably not robust enough to cover no ground path issues. I'd guess the trick is one strong enough to dump enough current to blow the fuse. Perhaps that and a board mount fuse?

I had a neighbor growing plants in his basement, he was pretty relaxed too.


The cops had a whole different attitude.....

 

[sickofitall]

Well there ya have it. I appreciate all the help! Ill run a 10 ground. Can i repair this? Pete, whats the easiest way to pay you for the plate?
So, my pamco and the reg/reg are wired to ground together thru the same same ground. Should i weld a bung straight to the frame and just ground everything there? Or maybe just the engine?

 

[plane_ben]

Suppose you put a 15v zener (dumping to ground) on the line between the Pamco and its fuse (not part of the coil feed). The overvoltage would be dumped there, and if there was enuff of it, the fuse would blow, saving it. Of course, we're talking a fairly large zener here...

Thanks 2many. Great idea. Sorry for the highjack sickofitall. Hope you got everything worked out.