Where once there was spark.. Running on capacitors

[Cougar]

Hey electrical gurus.

I have just finished soldering up my electrical system. PMA & capacitors. I ran the ignition circuit during a mock up, now with the soldered complete system I'm not getting spark. I will test for continuity on my next set of free time. I changed the leads to the capacitors since the mock up as well as glued the fuse block to the inside of the electrical housing. Here is a basic drawing of the electrical system as it stands.






What I am wondering is, if the leads to the capacitors are soldered together in what is essentially a "Single wire" will this cause the capacitors not to charge? This "Single wire" is illustrated in the real life photo
- I had each wiring connected individually. This is the only major change since the mock up that I can think of.

Any help sincerely appreciated!

 

[imwastefull]

hey brother, i'm no wiring guru but i was wondering... why would you run capacitors at all? doesn't the PMA do the battery elimination that capacitors would do anyway?

i may be a little in the dark but i would just eliminate the capacitors.

good luck!

 

[Cougar]

The PMA is simply a generator. The elec. system still needs a storage device. Maybe you're thinking of a magneto.

 

[XSLeo]

The PMA needs either a battery or a cap to load the reg/rec so it can put out the proper voltage. It doesn't store enough electricity to do much more than a small spark.
When you tested the ignition, how did you test it?
Leo

 

[Cougar]

I tested it by riding it around the neighbourhood. Any thoughts on my wiring question?
On this "single wire" I have the connection up the lead to the capacitor, this can be seen in the drawing and photo. During the mock up I had the connection AT the capacitors's terminals.
Could this be the hang up?

 

[Cougar]

Here's another childish drawing...
This is how I had it wired during the mock up with the connections at the capacitor's terminals.



Thanks for looking!

 

[XSLeo]

Ok, If it ran ok with your mock up and won't after you soldered things up, my guess is you changed something when you soldered things. I would recheck that it's wired the same now as it was.
Leo

 

[jefft]

I just installed a Sparkx yesterday after trying a Accel a few months ago which didn't work well. I was surprised when the bike fired up and ran actually. Couple kicks with key off than key on and it kicked right over. I thought the Accel was supposed to be a good capacitor and cost nearly twice as much as the Sparkx. No turn signals, starter, and led bulb for tail light. I think I'm going to like it a lot because this desert climate is hell on batteries.
jefft

 

[lowliferat]

Where did you get the sparx? I'm thinking of going battery less myself

 

[jefft]

Lowbrows customs. $15.99. Cheaper than a battery and lasts longer too.
jefft

 

[ember]

Swap fuses first. Double check all connections/grounds. I am having these same issues myself. Just don't have the time to mess with it until the weekend.
You running a Pamco as well?

 

[Cougar]

I had a small victory today on my sled.
I replaced my 2 4700uf 25v computer capacitors with 1 4700uf 50v cap. I turned off power to the fuse block, kicked it over a couple and quickly got to 10ish volts.
Good news is I now know beyond a doubt Hugh's PMA is charging!
When I turned on power to the fuse kicked it over, I didn't get a start, but heard a small pop like it was close. When the points opened voltage dropped down to 0.0V. I feel like I didn't get a start because of throttle setting. I didn't get time to fiddle with that before it got too late for my neighbors ears.
Planning on switching to sparx cap for the long run.

Is it concerning that the voltage dropped to 00 on the missed start?

 

[gkxs]

Just a question.. Why are you running 2 capacitors?

I have HHB PMA with pamco, and run battery-less with sparx capacitor. I find that if i have a turn signal on, or high beam, i am unable to kick start the bike, as it draws too much current to turn the bike over.

So where i'm getting at, is maybe your not getting enough charge to kick the bike over, with 2 capacitors, and / or you should run an off switch to your head light to minimise current draw.... Just a thought and worth checking?

Hope this helps