Boyer Bransden Igniton problems

[desmodromic]

I bought a BB ignition about a month ago and it ran for about 3 days before it quit. The ignition sparks when it wants to. I have very good ground and good connections and connected everything correctly. At first I thought it was my wire harness or a bad connection but that was not the case, its not the coil or the pick up, and all wires are intact. Fuse is a 10A and has good connection.
After deciding that it was the ignition box I decided to order another new BB ignition system. Prior to installing it, I tore apart my old wire harness and remade it just make sure that there was not a bad wire present. It checked out great. So after installing the new system my bike started right up and ran great for about 5 days before it quit again, its doing the same thing the old one was doing, sparking when ever it pleases. Im running a 13V Anti Gravity Race battery in the bike with a HHB pma and charges at 14.4V. All my connections are good and the wire harness has been verified/checked by 3 different techs and has been good. Its starting to get under my skin because i paid $600 for two of the systems plus Ive gotten towed 3 times already. Towing in NYC is not cheap

Anyone ever ran into this problem with the BB ignition systems? From what I hear they are very reliable. Maybe its just my luck. lol Good thing they are still under warranty

 

[retiredgentleman]

The PMA/battery combo may be causing interference with the BB ignition. Try connecting the BB to a separate charged battery sitting beside the bike. Let the engine run on the PMA/battery; let the BB run on its separate battery.

Just so you know..............I've never had a BB or a PMA...........my thoughts are just based on general trouble shooting principles.

 

[WickedKlown2]

Did your BB Ignition come with a matched coil or is it something different ??? I ask this because a unmatched coil can provide some bad juju back to the control module and let the smoke out... The Coil should be a dual output 4.5ohm primary resistance coil...

From the BB Website : http://www.boyerbransden.com/faq.html
Do you offer a warranty on your parts?
All ignition units come with a 5 year warranty. All coils come with a 1 year warranty. Warranties are only valid if the original labels are attached to the parts and proof of purchase is supplied.

Just my 2 pennies and best of luck

 

[blackbetty]

I have a Boyer and a PMA from hugh. My ignition has been a set and forget item; I'm using a slightly smaller than stock battery.

My understanding is that these ignitions will be strange with lower than 12.4v on the battery; so, check your battery with the bike off and if you're swinging lower than 12.4, I'd charge it up and see if it's gradually losing charge after running.

Double check your reg/rec wiring too, make sure it's charging the battery properly.

Why did you buy a 2nd ignition as opposed to sending back the first one for warranty? Did you fry the box?

Don't do dead cylinder w this ignition without grounding the plug. It'll pop the boyer in a snap.

Did you wire the coil through a kill switch?

 

[desmodromic]

@ retiredgentleman, Thanks for the help but it has nothing to do with the battery or the pma.

@WickedKlown2, I bought both of my ignitions from MMM. Yes, all the parts are from BB. All labels are still attached.

@blackbetty My battery is at 13.4 with no load. my charging system is all good/ wiring system is all good. I bought the second ignition because I just wanted to get out on the road and did not want to wait for my first ignition to be sent out. Thanks for the heads up on running the "dead cylinder"
I do have a kill switch and it is ok as well.

The bike started up again today with one kick and ran fine but I don't trust it, I feel like its going to leave me stranded or something

 

[hotrdd]

desmodromic - I did a lot of playing with my Boyer ignition when I first got it and thought everything I was testing was fine. In the end a new battery solved my problems. I personally don't like the Boyer just because it is so sensitive to battery voltage and condition.

 

[hooktool]

Put a 12 gauge wire right from the battery to the Boyer/coil, and use a simple switch. See how that runs for a few days-it will eliminate everything in the crappy old harness, and most all of them are old and crappy.

I like Boyers.

John

 

[desmodromic]

I maybe forgot to mention but I did my own harness outta 14g wire and used aircraft approved connectors. I am running a starter but that is using like 8g wire (I think), thicker than the oem. So my harness is not the problem. its not the battery because it starts with my battery and I've tried with other batteries and it also starts.

 

[Paulrxs650]

Hi Desmodromic

I have a BB and I am in the UK.mi had a shitty issue with mine running a cutting out. I knew my harness was good as a similar build to your good selfs! Went through all sorts and tested with meter all sorts of voltage and resistance to no avail. Eventually I changed the plug wires which were relatively new. Problem solved! Swapped ack to the old ones from curiosity and the problem returned. The BB unit is good and I have had many with good results! Try the leads, hopefully you ll be fine!

Best regards
Paul

 

[WickedKlown2]

How about your grounds then ??? Ground from Battery to Frame / Engine to Frame / Electronics to Frame ... Check all your ground points and make sure they are touching bare metal with no rust or paint in the way... Use a Digital multi-meter with the setting on continuity and listen for the sound and 0 in the readout... Any resistance and you have a faulty ground...

 

[blackbetty]

Hi Desmodromic

I have a BB and I am in the UK.mi had a shitty issue with mine running a cutting out. I knew my harness was good as a similar build to your good selfs! Went through all sorts and tested with meter all sorts of voltage and resistance to no avail. Eventually I changed the plug wires which were relatively new. Problem solved! Swapped ack to the old ones from curiosity and the problem returned. The BB unit is good and I have had many with good results! Try the leads, hopefully you ll be fine!

Best regards
Paul

This is a good point. Roger from Hoos uses Boyers and told me that this is usually his first place to look. Make sure your plug boots are securely screwed into the lead.

 

[member3480]

I have run the boyer on many of my bikes and only found two issues with them and i solved it by running a seperate wire to power the boyer box and coil. I had one breakup and bike studdered because it was hooked to the power that also feed the lights. Now i run three fuses and three seperate power wires. One for charging/one for boyer/and one for lights and other things and have not had any problems. The other problem was bad coil wire after it heated up it grounded out. I have more than 10 on bikes and no problems but voltage is a problem low you got problem and high over 15 volts and again you got problems. Call them they are very helpful. I have also used them on Triumph/BSA/Nortons and only low voltage issue with MINI MAX.

 

[spokes73]

I had a BB installed for a number of years, and I have had 2 complete failures of the little blue box. The first failure was preceded by about 6 month of the engine randomly cutting out. Let it sit for a few minutes, and it would start up and work for a few weeks, then it would happened again. On day while riding it just quit, stone cold and I got a towed home. I sent the failed box to Boyer for eval & they replaced it for free. The replacement lasted about 3 years. Last Nov I pulled up to a stop sign & the engine died dead, and I had to be towed home. After the tow home, I ran the BB spark test and everything looked OK. But, it would only run at 3K+ RPMs. Anything below that it would die
I do most of my own maintenance, but I do use a local shop for some things I don't want to do. Since my knees don’t do well on cold concrete anymore, I had them fix the problem. On their advice, they removed the BB and reinstalled the stock points & condenser. The bike has never run better & I have sharpened up my old points/timing skills for ignition maintenance. They said that they have seen so many problems with BB ignitions that they will no longer take in a bike in that have a BB installed. They forgot to ask me that when I made the appointment.
I use a Fluke multi meter for my ignition and wiring harness maintenance. So, I know my power & ground connections are clean.
I am no engineer, but I think BB has an unaddressed design reliability problem. The owner of the shop I use is a brit bike guy, and he says from his experience the BBs work well on brit bikes, but not Yamahas. Maybe the electrical power on a Yamaha 650 is too dirty for their little box, and power spikes punch out things in their electronics. I dunno
Anyway, your story tracks with the failures I have experienced. I have lost faith in BB, and I too cannot afford the towing. I like excitement when I ride, but wondering if I am going to get back home is not the kind of excitement I like.