Okay so I was stoked to get me pamco the other day, Installed per the directions red wire to coil and to kill switch green wire to coil and black to negative. Tried to fire it up and no spark, I used a volt meter and I am getting power to the coil on the red wire on the green wire I am getting power pulses as the engine turns over. But still no spark? Any ideas? I damaged the coil it came with by accident so I got a loner from a friend tried using all different coils from some harleys. Does the coil have to be perfect ohms for it to work? Pulling my hair out trying to figure out why no spark when I it seems to be setup right.
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
Pamco Help! no spark
- Thread starter xs650tony
- Start date
-
- Tags
- electrical
pamcopete
Ride.Enjoy.Life is Simple
xs650tony,
1. How are you checking for spark?
2. Do you have both plug wires connected to spark plugs, one in the engine and the other just sitting on the engine?
3. What is the primary resistance of the coil?
Here is a procedure to check both the coil and the PAMCO without turning the engine over:
Testing the coil:
1. Using the lowest scale on the meter, measure the resistance between the primary terminals with the wires removed. Should read from 2.5 to 4.5 Ohms.
2. Using the highest scale on the meter, measure between one of the primary terminals and the center core of the coil. Should be infinite resistance. (open)
3. Measure between one of the primary terminals and one of the plug wire terminals. Should be infinite resistance. (open circuit)
4. Measure between one of the plug wire terminals and the core of the coil. Should be infinite resistance (open circuit)
5. Measure from one plug terminal to the other. Should be 15,000 to 20,000 Ohms
Testing the PAMCO
1. Use a voltmeter and check for battery voltage on each of the red/white wires with the key and kill switch are turned on.
2. The dual output coil has to have both spark plug wires connected to a spark plug at all times.
3. To test for spark, connect one of the spark plug wires to a spark plug that is grounded to the engine.
To test for spark without having to turn the engine over, do this procedure:
1. Remove the PAMCO rotor.
2. Remove the locating pin in the advance rod.
3. Reinstall the rotor, but without the pin.
4. Replace the nut holding the rotor on loosely. This will allow you to spin the rotor to produce a spark without having to turn the engine over.
5. Connect one of the spark plug wires to a spark plug that is grounded to the engine, but not installed in the engine.
6. Make sure that the other spark plug wire is connected to a spark plug in the engine.
7. Turn on the ignition switch and the kill switch.
8. Spin the rotor while looking at the gap in the spark plug for a spark.
9. Turn off the kill switch and the ignition switch.
1. How are you checking for spark?
2. Do you have both plug wires connected to spark plugs, one in the engine and the other just sitting on the engine?
3. What is the primary resistance of the coil?
Here is a procedure to check both the coil and the PAMCO without turning the engine over:
Testing the coil:
1. Using the lowest scale on the meter, measure the resistance between the primary terminals with the wires removed. Should read from 2.5 to 4.5 Ohms.
2. Using the highest scale on the meter, measure between one of the primary terminals and the center core of the coil. Should be infinite resistance. (open)
3. Measure between one of the primary terminals and one of the plug wire terminals. Should be infinite resistance. (open circuit)
4. Measure between one of the plug wire terminals and the core of the coil. Should be infinite resistance (open circuit)
5. Measure from one plug terminal to the other. Should be 15,000 to 20,000 Ohms
Testing the PAMCO
1. Use a voltmeter and check for battery voltage on each of the red/white wires with the key and kill switch are turned on.
2. The dual output coil has to have both spark plug wires connected to a spark plug at all times.
3. To test for spark, connect one of the spark plug wires to a spark plug that is grounded to the engine.
To test for spark without having to turn the engine over, do this procedure:
1. Remove the PAMCO rotor.
2. Remove the locating pin in the advance rod.
3. Reinstall the rotor, but without the pin.
4. Replace the nut holding the rotor on loosely. This will allow you to spin the rotor to produce a spark without having to turn the engine over.
5. Connect one of the spark plug wires to a spark plug that is grounded to the engine, but not installed in the engine.
6. Make sure that the other spark plug wire is connected to a spark plug in the engine.
7. Turn on the ignition switch and the kill switch.
8. Spin the rotor while looking at the gap in the spark plug for a spark.
9. Turn off the kill switch and the ignition switch.
pamcopete
Ride.Enjoy.Life is Simple
xs650tony,
Well, the PAMCO will produce a weak but useful spark all the way down to 6 volts, so your battery must have been in bad shape. The other possibility is that you have excessive voltage drop across the ignition switch and / or kill switch which is dropping the voltage below 6 volts at the coil.
If you have never cleaned the ignition switch and kill switch, then they have probably never been cleaned in 35 years and the brass contacts in those switches are now corroded. This condition is very common and would be a problem regardless of which ignition system you use, not just the PAMCO.
Well, the PAMCO will produce a weak but useful spark all the way down to 6 volts, so your battery must have been in bad shape. The other possibility is that you have excessive voltage drop across the ignition switch and / or kill switch which is dropping the voltage below 6 volts at the coil.
If you have never cleaned the ignition switch and kill switch, then they have probably never been cleaned in 35 years and the brass contacts in those switches are now corroded. This condition is very common and would be a problem regardless of which ignition system you use, not just the PAMCO.
FOGERTYjohn123
XS650 Member
Same as above, but my problem is I got voltage all the way back to coil/sensor unit thru the green wire, but nothing going out from the sensor unit.
