Gentleman please. We are here for the XS650. Quarrels won't get my bike started. I'm still ridin the four wheels and cravin the open air. Ignition original tci no good right? Charging upgrade is beneficial but not necessary. I'm trying not to invest too much more money until I have a definate direction to advance in. But i want this bike to shine again on my streets.
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TCI is the only thing left, and still no start
- Thread starter Iron_Eyes
- Start date
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- Tags
- electrical
rwingsfan
Xs 650 Dummy
Sorry, there is no quarrel, on my part at least, but spreading opinion as gospel is just wrong. Back to your bike. The original TCI is not a bad ignition at all, in fact some guys swear by them. I personally have not had a lot of good luck with them, but they are 30 years old! If trying to get by solely on the cheap I would try to use as much stuff you already have. So if you can get the TCI working, by all means use it. At least until you figure out what direction you want to go.
jims428
XS650 Enthusiast
You tell em Iron Eyes !!
Yes, get a manual and start trouble shooting. It may be something in your wiring that is dragging the voltage down enough to upset the TCI system or you have a weak component in the ignition system somewhere, or...
Post anything that does not seem right and you will get some help here.
My 82 Heritage was not running when I got it. Traced it to the TCI and found a lot of crummy connections while I was tracing. It's been running good since but I'm always worried about that 30 year old wiring, charging and ignition system.
I bought a new wire harness last month. I just ordered Punkskaler's Complete Permanent Magnet Swap Kit to upgrade the charging system (I was too lazy to source all the parts for the conversion myself), and when MikesXS gets the PAMCO ignition system back in stock I'll be installing that.
The bike is running now so I will do the upgrades in steps so in case something happens I know where to look.
I'll do the PAMCO first, then the charging system. Last will be wiring harness since then I will know what changes to the wiring are required because of ignition / charging system upgrades.
After that I should be able to ride for many years without having to worry about the electrical system.
INXS posted this in the tech forum http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2736
One of the first things you should do is clean all the connections. It costs nothing but time. A manual is a must. Get a voltmeter, I found that a light probe was helpfull too. Take your time and you will find the problem.
The stock ignition works fine when everything is in order. On the newer xs's they added more and more safety features and some of these become problematic, but you have to be able to trace and test.
My mentor would be busting my stones unmercifully and saying bad things about my mother if I was to throw parts on trying too find a problem. Well, no, he likes my mom. She co-signed for his first bike back in 1970.
One of the first things you should do is clean all the connections. It costs nothing but time. A manual is a must. Get a voltmeter, I found that a light probe was helpfull too. Take your time and you will find the problem.
The stock ignition works fine when everything is in order. On the newer xs's they added more and more safety features and some of these become problematic, but you have to be able to trace and test.
My mentor would be busting my stones unmercifully and saying bad things about my mother if I was to throw parts on trying too find a problem. Well, no, he likes my mom. She co-signed for his first bike back in 1970.
littlebill31
Smells of Raw Fuel
1+ on cleaning connections. I found mud, yes mud, in the original wiring harness wrapping. Mud! It had covered all the wires to the point, that if I didn't have more to look at, that the colors were gone.
The TCI is perfectly fine. In fact, I bought a 1980 XS650 mostly because it had one rather than points. But if you're going to change the charging system, which is a real weak link on these bikes, you'll have to change the ignition on an '80-'83. If so, I'd get the Boyer for the reason stated. I don't consider that "drivel". I guess it's "drivel" only because it costs more than the pamco, which by all accounts is a good product. But it just went up as well, at least in some versions, with the buy-out of MikesXS. I would still suspect a weak connection somewhere in this bike and probably a bad reg/rect. Two other XSs I know, a '79 and and '81, were both likewise afflicted. Mine has a reg/rect from an XS750 triple but I plan to change it when I get the Sparx alternator.
Minor correction:
The 79-80 Kawasaki KZ1300 had three hall effect pick ups fired from a magnet mounted on a mechanical (spring) advance mechanism. Engine was designed that way, not a redo of a previous points ignition. Well there's a long story behind that engine but never say "never".
Lots of good ignition changes and repairs to the stock TCI are all possible and each has it's good and bad points. I have looked longingly at some of the programmable aftermarket Harley ignitions wondering if one could be adapted.
Much, much better than just cleaning connections is taking the female connectors out of the plastic holders and tightening them with pliers and pushing them back in. They have lost tension. It takes a paper clip or similar to push a locking prong back to get them out. My charging connections were clean but charging was only fair until I did this.
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Do know the cost of a Harley aftermarket ignitions but for the XS you might want to check out Bore Tech for electronics ignitions
deemudduck
XS650 Member
Personally i would check all the connections of your plug in electronics, thats where i had a problem. The culprit was the red wire on the retifier not fully in the plug. So check all your plug connections real good. I checked coil it was good and also pickup it was good.
Thanks everyone for yalls help. I found an original 1980-81 tci box on eBay for $110 so I bought it, plugged it in and my bike started like a dream! I'm halfway through my test ride now and its flawless! 2 months of no riding, today is a great day!
littlebill31
Smells of Raw Fuel
Awesome! Just in time for Spring.
Hmm, 30+ year old part for $110 with no warrenty or for less than a "C" note shipped new part with warrenty and the cost of a ATU. I'll take the new stuff. It may cost more after it's all over but it's new stuff and it's covered for a year with a warrenty and I'll pay the extra for that peace of mind. So I have and glad I did. Runs better than it did new.
They buy it now them for about that, but when they're actually auctioned they go for around $35, which is what I got my spare for. Then my original failed and I was able to trace the problem to the TCI absolutely, because I had that spare. They are reliable, but the failures that they seem to have when they do fail are easy to fix if you're electronically inclined. At least I think so, but at age 10 all I wanted was electronics magazine subscriptions.
So the situation is really more like your original and a spare, two complete systems, for only $35.
