Ignition Upgrade Questions (pamco, boyer, coils)

[rich_mcd]

I have a 1980 xs special with stock TCI ignition, charging system, reg/rect. I have open 1-1/2" pipes with washers in them. Rejetted pilot and mains. Plugs are in decent shape (maybe a little lean if anything) Carbs were stripped and cleaned in the spring. I have had some intermittent issues with my bike firing on one cylinder, not turning over, and just all around not running well. It ran well for the majority of the season and once fall hit it just began to run worse and worse. I have been running fuel stabilizer throughout the season and use premium/low ethanol fuel.

I had planned on replacing the ignition system and adding in hugh's PMA when needed. I think the upgrades might be needed now. I was thinking that I would start with just upgrading the coil for now and see how it runs. If the problems don't resolve I was going to add the Pamco with E-advance or the boyer ignition found on Lowbrow http://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/p2595/buy/m-c-parts/electrical-amp-wiring/metric/ignition/boyer-bransden-electronic-micro-digital-ignition-system-for-yamaha-xs650s-kit-00103/ I am trying to avoid using points and keeping the electric.

I am trying to avoid buying a coil from Mikes, so the options I have been looking into are the Honda MP08 (used) Andrews 2.8 OHM dual fire, ACCEL HEI super coil 2.3 OHMS or the Drag Specialities 3 OHM dual fire coil.

The big concern I have is compatibility between the coils I mentioned and the upgraded ignitions (ie - boyer or pamco) and the PMA. I am currently running a Ballistic battery and never use the electric start.

The other question I had was regarding the andrews/drag specialities coils and attaching the plug wires. Do they screw onto the threaded studs on the end? Is there a cap that goes along with it like some of the coils from Mikes?

Sorry for the long winded post.
Thanks guys

 

[XSLeo]

On your stock TCI it calls for a 2.5 ohm coil. I think the 2.3 and 2.8 ohm coils you mention should be fine. I think the ignition can even handle the 3 ohm coil.
I don't know enough about the Boyer to say if these coils would help.
Any of these coils will work fine with the Pamco.
On Mike's coils The Ultimate coil is a good one, I have been running the Green Monster coil for a few years with no problems.
A new higher output coil might help, it surely won't hurt. The same with a new ignition.
The PMA won't really effect the way it runs. That's a charging system change and is a separate system from the ignition.
Now when you change from the stock ignition to a PMA you will need a new ignition, the stock TCI uses a magnet in the rotor and a pick up on the stator that the PMA eliminates.
Leo
Form the sounds of your symptoms I would go through the carbs before I started throwing money at it. Usually when an XS650 starts the running on one cylinder thing it's dirty carbs.

 

[rich_mcd]

I was thinking a carb problem initially, or a gas issue. I ran some Seafoam through it and let it work through the system, took some time, and eventually the pipe from the non-firing side starting throwing some white smoke, cleared up and ran fine. Went for a ride, everything was going well. Put new treated gas in it, kept running well. Left for a couple of days and then the issue came back again. Would the carbs cause intermittent issues, I assumed that if the carbs were the problem it would be more consistent. I thought that a newer hotter coil would at the very least be an upgrade in the right direction.

As of right now I think the charging system is ok, so that update is planned when the system actually fails. Basically I want to make the bike more reliable and would like to slowly replace the parts susceptible to failing over time.

Guy at a shop here said ethanol could be affecting the carbs and gumming them up. Would that happen over the course of a couple days?

 

[XSLeo]

Depending on the crud floating around in your fuel, yes it can be inconsistent. The Seafoam may have cleaned it out a bit but if there was more crud things can plug back up.
Ethanol is about the stupidest thing the government has foisted on the public in years.
It is not good for most fuel systems. It is corrosive, absorbs moisture out of the air and collects this moisture in the bottom of the tank. This moisture will rust your tank and can plug the tiny passages in the carbs.
Depending on the conditions this can happen quickly.
Do you run a inline fuel filter? This can help.
Leo

 

[rich_mcd]

Thanks for your help Leo,

I have a clear inline filter I bought from Mikes. I have never seen and garbage in the filter. I will pull the carbs off again and clean them throughout again...since there is over a foot of snow on the ground I won't be riding anytime soon.

 

[rich_mcd]

one more question regarding the upgraded ignition coils. How do I choose the right wires to go with the coil? The coil options I mentioned ealrier are from the parts unlimited catalogue. It shows wires ranging from 7mm to 8.8mm. What should I be looking for in wires and caps? Also, can anybody explain how the wires are connected to the andrews/parts unlimited coil?

After finding some posts from 5twins, I think I understand the set up. Will these wires work? Just plug in the straight end boot http://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/p2227/buy/m-c-parts/electrical-amp-wiring/harley-davidson/spark-plugs-amp-wires/drag-specialties-8-8-mm-spark-plug-wire-set-2004-2006-sportster-xl/