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TCI Replacement 2020 It Works
- Thread starter Team Junk
- Start date
RichRide
570Ride
I have found the smoking gun.....Interesting road of troubleshooting. I spent the last full week tearing down carbs, adjusting fuel delivery and tuning carbs with no change to the mid range sputter. At one point, I decided to check ignition with my timing light. It was at that point I saw the spark go flat completely at the mid range area. Which at first led me to swapping plugs, coils, leads and ends with no change at all. Just out of luck i happened to handle the reg/rec after a quick 5 minute ride and it was hot. I know the charging system works as i have checked system voltage. So this lead me to eliminate the charging system from the harness and BOOOM. It ran like a raped ape. No sputter, no hesitation at all!!!!! I was super stoked about this discovery. I ordered a new reg/rec and will plug it in to see if it was the reg/rec OR the generator. I wanted to share this for those who have a sputter or ignition issue and spend weeks looking at the wrong system like I did! At this point i believe the guy i bought this project from probably hooked shit up wrong and cooked the components because the stock TCI is fried too. Buying used and already molested shit is always interesting !
The other possibility is a weak magnet on the rotor for the TCI pickup. The magnetic field from the rotor can overpower a weak pickup magnet.
Hopefully it is a regulator issue. Sounds like the dreaded PO hooked the battery up backwards.
Glad to hear it run. Sounds good at idle. Nice and stable.
At least with all the carb work one (2?) less thing to worry about.
Hopefully it is a regulator issue. Sounds like the dreaded PO hooked the battery up backwards.
Glad to hear it run. Sounds good at idle. Nice and stable.
At least with all the carb work one (2?) less thing to worry about.
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RichRide
570Ride
That is a good point, I guess i will see once i plug the new reg/rec in. The issue occurs at range i would consider peak charging RPMs. My new CHI-na parts should be here late this week. My previous thoughts on it occurring at peak charging was the the rectifier was cooked along with a bad diode or something which causes the energy to dissipate as heat because it has no output. The issue is very specific to an RPM range. Above it and below it is very strong. It is very bizarre to me that i could have bad components that only affect a particular RPM causing ignition black out very briefly. Certain considerations would point me to thinking the issue should be consistent through all RPM ranges.
Not done a read up about the Gonzo system -- I have recently read about EMC disturbances
It can be radiated ( like radio signals ) and transmitted through leads.
There is electronics in there in the box that uses small currents and voltages ..That can be sensitive
Cant say if it is a factor here but the Gonzo box can have been tested and shielded for the environment
in the Suzuki ..
I suspect that some of the ignition problems some people have had with some other electronic units is and remains
Not taken this into consideration . Often solved via separate ground ..of the ignition coil and box
directly to the battery.
Separated to other electronics.
With appropriate shielding and damping perhaps Capacitors. It works there. In the Suzuki
That is not certain it can work in another place.
There might be a need for the tweaking and finetuning that occurs .With other non stock components Like Carburetors.
IN that case jetting ..here perhaps shielding and decoupling Capacitors ..
It can of course also be a defective regulator.. .I am no expert ..But it is not always the same as moving a lamp from the kitchen to the garage getting light.
A Microcontroller has more physics to take into consideration . At some installations
I shall not preach for those better into this .. I suppose the People that has been into the Aircraft Technology knows more about this.
But if this was me and any other ignition I know of ... I would draw separate Ground Wires rather soon after if not the New regulator does it.
It can be radiated ( like radio signals ) and transmitted through leads.
There is electronics in there in the box that uses small currents and voltages ..That can be sensitive
Cant say if it is a factor here but the Gonzo box can have been tested and shielded for the environment
in the Suzuki ..
I suspect that some of the ignition problems some people have had with some other electronic units is and remains
Not taken this into consideration . Often solved via separate ground ..of the ignition coil and box
directly to the battery.
Separated to other electronics.
With appropriate shielding and damping perhaps Capacitors. It works there. In the Suzuki
That is not certain it can work in another place.
There might be a need for the tweaking and finetuning that occurs .With other non stock components Like Carburetors.
IN that case jetting ..here perhaps shielding and decoupling Capacitors ..
It can of course also be a defective regulator.. .I am no expert ..But it is not always the same as moving a lamp from the kitchen to the garage getting light.
A Microcontroller has more physics to take into consideration . At some installations
I shall not preach for those better into this .. I suppose the People that has been into the Aircraft Technology knows more about this.
But if this was me and any other ignition I know of ... I would draw separate Ground Wires rather soon after if not the New regulator does it.
Spinning magnetic fields do very weird things I have nothing but respect for the EE's that understand hysteresis, eddy currents etc. Magnets and magnetic fields are just plain magic to me.
The reason I mentioned a weak magnet is several people here have solved similar issues with the stock TCI by replacing the magnet. A 40 year old magnet subjected to heat, shocks, etc can be iffy. It has to compete with the magnetic field of the rotor which is much greater than the 5mm magnet for the TCI pickup.
I agree that good grounds are often overlooked in ignition systems and the bike overall.
I agree that good grounds are often overlooked in ignition systems and the bike overall.
I'm a little contrarian when it comes to blaming the rotor's magnet. I know people (claim to ) have fixed problems by replacing the rotor, but I'm not convinced that's actually the fix. There's one exception... the aftermarket (Chinese junk) rotors. I know of one case where replacing an aftermarket with a rewound one fixed a misfire problem. Maybe @delagem has time to elaborate here. The problem with the repops is the copper rings... they're paper thin.... go figure. 
That allows the the charging systems magnetic field to interfere with the TCI magnet.
I've rewound well north of 100 rotors now with prolly close to half of them being the TCI flavor. I've not yet ran across a weak TCI magnet. You'd think the law of averages would have given me one by now.
For a look at how the copper rings shield the magnet, watch this video I made. It's toward the end.
That allows the the charging systems magnetic field to interfere with the TCI magnet.I've rewound well north of 100 rotors now with prolly close to half of them being the TCI flavor. I've not yet ran across a weak TCI magnet. You'd think the law of averages would have given me one by now.
For a look at how the copper rings shield the magnet, watch this video I made. It's toward the end.
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Gonzo has made it mainstream. You can buy it from Walmart.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/LYUMO-Di...q0O8pMqthz3iCeqAqg8aAmPHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://www.walmart.com/ip/LYUMO-Di...q0O8pMqthz3iCeqAqg8aAmPHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
From Walmart at $15.05 you can beat China mail and get a guarantee.
On top of every else a price drop. Yippee
That vendor Walfront seems to get OK reviews (3.5 out of 5, so not stellar) but understand; walmart is just acting as a webfront like ebay or Amazon, many times they don't touch the goods, just handle the $ transaction. Ordered some wet or dry sand paper through walmart, vendor "supposedly" located in california it took a month to receive. 
Run into that crap on fleabay too, specify located in USA, pay a bit more to avoid international shipping delays, then sit and wait anyways. The trials and tribulations of being a bottom feeding shopper.
Run into that crap on fleabay too, specify located in USA, pay a bit more to avoid international shipping delays, then sit and wait anyways. The trials and tribulations of being a bottom feeding shopper.
Amazon just delivered three Buick coils to me ($40.00 Cndn) just like what's shown in post 1058. I am completely mystified. Where do the two 12v lines go in? Does the back pry off?
Holes for 2 spade terminals on the back?
Holes for 2 spade terminals on the back?
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Look on the back. 2 plugins. One should be pwr in and the other goes to the GN box for the trigger signal. Since it's dual output, it shouldn't matter which one goes where.
But you might want to check them for continuity to the metal ring on the mounting bolt hole....
Thanks Jim.
Gary, there is no continuity between either plug in and the collar in the mount hole.
That cover pops off. Spade connectors underneath.
RichRide
570Ride
What would cause this pile to eat up coils? I am running the GN250 igniter and have since eaten 2 original 1980 coils and now a modern replacement. I have scoured the entire system and found nothing out of place. I am very intimate with it since i spent all winter troubleshooting. Each failure, the bike was running and quit. Prior to this issue, the reg rec was bad so I replaced that. Now I have swapped charging systems completely off another 1980 xs650 so different pickup. Rotor stator etc. New GN box. New reg rec. I am at a loss. Can’t figure out why these coils keep frying. The only thing not replaced entirely is my wiring..... I have triple checked grounds and connections. Brand new battery. I can’t figure out what else could be wrong.
Is the coil enclosed in a box or out in the open where it can get some cooling air?
