ATU reasembly

[bkmarsha]

i am working on putting my bike back together after a teardown and following the manual pretty closely

i am at the atu shaft and bob weights and they say that the arrow goes out (which mine does) and that the mark lines up with the corespnding bob weight

i do not see any marks on the weight and they seem identical to me

help on this would be great

 

[yamaman]

G'day mate, pamcopete has a great how to on his website for the ATU
http://www.yamahaxs650.com/installing_the_advance_mechanism.htm

 

[bkmarsha]

that page is very useful but does not address my question (i feel my question is irrelevant and pointless but i just want to check)

there is a mark on the slotted disk in addition to the arrow that is supposed to match with something on the weights

does it really matter or is it pointless manual info...

 

[Sundie]

if someone in the past has replaced your weights, it's unlikely the factory mark is there. I think that's what you're asking?

 

[bkmarsha]

yea that is the question so does it matter where the weights go when i replace them

i did not mark them when i removed them

 

[weekendrider]

Maybe this is what you're wanting?

 

[bkmarsha]

perfect that is exactly what i was talking about and looking for

all you guys are great

thanks for the help

 

[pumps]

I'm thinking I put mine together once and it was dark, late and I didn't notice the marks and had some difficulties. Since then I have marked them with some white touch up paint so they are easy to see they are aligned.

 

[pamcopete]

bk,

The mark lines up with a corresponding mark on the advance plate.

 

[bkmarsha]

so i got it all put back together today and fired her up

it started on the first try but is only running on one cylinder

also probably helps for you guys to know that i am running the pamco ignition system and the green monster coil

i checked and i know i have spark and gas on the right side which leads me to believe it is a timing issue of some type

 

[Sundie]

Oh. If you're running the Pamco, that mark won't matter. That mark is for correct alignment of the points. With the Pamco, it wouldn't matter which way it was.

If you have spark on one side with the pamco, you have spark on the other side. They both fire at the same time.

 

[bkmarsha]

well i know that one side is not firing because after i ran the left side was hot and the right side was still cold

 

[pamcopete]

bk,

Sundie is correct. Also remember when testing for spark, the "Green Monster" coil will self destruct on the very first pulse if one of the spark plug wires is not connected to a spark plug, but, as sundie says, if you've got spark on one side, you've got it on the other.

If you want additional assurance, then just swap the spark plug wires right to left and see if the dead cylinder moves to the other side. You could also just have a bad spark plug.

 

[Sundie]

Hey Pete, i was thinking about something else - what if your plug fouls? Doesn't that count as the spark not grounding?

 

[bkmarsha]

yea i know the ungrounded situation will be bad news i checked for spark by having a plug grounded to the cylinder

i tried switching the plug wires and the bike wouldn't start at all

 

[pamcopete]

sundie,

If the plug was fouled, it would create a short, not an open so current still flows. There just isn't any spark.

Even if the ground electrode breaks off, or the gap is excessive, there is enough voltage (75,000V) to jump from the center electrode to the shell of the spark plug.

A partial wire pulled away from the tower would still be OK as long as the gap is less than an inch, the voltage will jump the gap, and you can hear it.

About the only thing that can cause a problem with the coil is if you deliberately pull the wire off of the plug, so it's self destructive tendency is not that bad. You just have to pay attention.

 

[pamcopete]

bk,

Well, lets review your ATU installation. You probably know all this, but just for a sanity check:

There are 3 locating pins. One for the advance mechanism itself located in the cam shaft, one for the PAMCO rotor located in the advance rod and one for the slotted disk that engages the weights located in the advance rod as well on the right side.

It's the one for the advance mechanism located in the cam shaft that is often overlooked.

 

[pamcopete]

bk,

Here is a procedure to check for spark without having to turn over the engine:

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.

 

[bkmarsha]

good way to check for spark hadn't thought of doing it that way

i guess i feel that my problem is timing or valve related

seems odd that one side fires and the other doesnt

 

[Sundie]

have you visibly confirmed that one is firing and the over isn't? It's not out of the realm of possibility. But it's likely something else, especially because you said you switched the leads and it didn't start at all. Which means you have multiple issues.