yeah yeah, another wiring issue, but I swear- quick question

[alxire]

So a little background may help-

I got an 81 xs a couple months ago and decided to tear it down and brat it out. Im almost done and am hung up on the wiring (I think...). I have everything wired, see diagram, and am not getting a spark.

I have a pma, high output dual coil, pamco e-ignition and e-advancer and I am running a sparx cap

I have been working off of petes troubleshooting guide and am stuck on a part-


Using the highest scale on the meter, measure between one of the primary terminals and the center core of the coil. Should be infinite resistance. (open)


My question is how do you measure the center core of the coil when it is covered in plastic?

Would also be cool if someone could take a look at my diagram and let me know if I need to tweak anything.

Thanks

 

[ANLAF]

alxire, first I will need my glasses to have a good look at your diagram, but I can tell you my red from the reg/rect comes up then splits - one way to a 20amp fuse then to the battery, the other way to the ignition switch and then the fuses.

I will have to dig-out my diagrams.

Anlaf

 

[ANLAF]

Oh! yes, just a word of warning - some of the fellers have reported their SPARX have exploded because these little blue pill boxes were made as a copy of British capacitors which have POSITIVE EARTH - so, wow! Double check, or call Lowbrow. Perhaps someone will know the correct wiring for the SPARX - I have two, and not wired-up yet.

Anlaf

 

[alxire]

Thanks for the replies anlaf. I was pretty thorough when determining how to wire the cap. I have also read some of the post about them exploding.

I was just testing resistance on the coil. I am getting about 4 ohms, its supposed to be 2.5 - 4.5 so I think Im good here.

When testing a plug wire terminal and a main terminal I am not getting infinite resistance.

While I have found the troubleshooting guide I have not found a resolution doc

Does this mean my coil is shot?

 

[ANLAF]

alxire, I can't help with the shot coil. One of the fellers in the know will reply to that - if not (sometimes happens) just post a new thread 'help with coil' and it will be top of the list and attract attention.

Are you using a multimeter or other equipment to test?

Anlaf

 

[alxire]

I do have a multimeter.

 

[ANLAF]

I have just been trying to lay my hands on my manual to see if there is anything there about continuity from the terminals. Can't see what resistance/flow there should be to the cap.

Anlaf

 

[freemoRR]

when you turn your ignition on, do you have battery power at the positive terminal of your coil? use a multimeter to a good ground, than verify with a test light. the light should light up at the positive terminal of the coil and be relatively bright.

EDIT:: ground the test light to battery neg.

 

[ANLAF]

And alxire, have you got a kill switch in there before the coil, that will have to be on, too.

Anlaf

 

[retiredgentleman]

You could replace the capacitor with a fully charged battery, and then try a kick start to see if there is spark and if the engine will start.

 

[alxire]

when you turn your ignition on, do you have battery power at the positive terminal of your coil? use a multimeter to a good ground, than verify with a test light. the light should light up at the positive terminal of the coil and be relatively bright.

EDIT:: ground the test light to battery neg.

I do have power at the coil, however the coil is not marked with a positive and negative terminal.

 

[alxire]

Yep, I have a kill switch and it is on when trying to get spark.

 

[alxire]

You could replace the capacitor with a fully charged battery, and then try a kick start to see if there is spark and if the engine will start.

I have a battery that I have tried this with. Doesnt give me spark

 

[ANLAF]

alxire, I have a few variations of diagrams, but this is one that might help.

I said earlier that you should be spitting red from reg/rec (second post), and looks like it might be a simple wiring problem.

Anlaf

 

[freemoRR]

never used a pamco but I'm just doing some research here....is it a 3 wire setup you have? red, green and black? if so, ensure you have good continuity between green on the pamco plate and green on the coil....do the same with red (these tests need to be done with the bike powered down, key off, kill switch off, no power to coil or plate) apparently from what I'm reading those coils are not polarity sensitive, which is good, two less wires to cross haha. also ensure you have a good ground for the pamco plate as well... test for continuity from the plate black wire to frame ground. all readings should be .3 ohms or less.

PLEASE pay special attention to the grounds on the bike...if you've painted your frame/engine, you will need to REMOVE THE PAINT. from any place where you're grounding wires. many guys paint their stuff, then hook up their grounds and wonder why shit doesnt operate.

ground connections need to be touching BARE FRAME METAL, including the ground for the cap. also, the spark plugs find ground through the engine, and if the engine cant find ground to the frame (because of paint/corrosion), you can also experience no spark. if you think this may be the case, take the spark plug out of the engine and ground the threads directly to the frame or neg side of the cap/battery, than kick and watch for spark.

If you suspect that your engine may not be getting good ground to the frame, you can run a redundance wire from an unpainted engine surface to an unpainted frame surface. wont hurt to have it.

Hope that helps. If not let me know.... and I'll try and see how many times I can say GROUND in the next post

 

[alxire]

Yeah this is where I went first. I have checked and double checked all grounds. One thing that is kind of weird thigh is my pma did not have a ground, I figured it was pulling ground from the reg rec. is this not the case?

 

[freemoRR]

I know with my pma it was a straight connection 3 yellow wires to rec/reg and power and ground coming out of rec/reg. mine works fine.

 

[freemoRR]

and have you checked that the green wire from the pamco plate is wired properly to the coil with a continuity test? that appears to be the signal wire for the firing of the spark...by looking at the schematic anyways

 

[freemoRR]

one things I've seen guys do is crimp eyelets/connectors OVER wire insulation, so the actual wire isnt touching the connection. looks real pretty but wont work worth a damn lol.

 

[alxire]

I know with my pma it was a straight connection 3 yellow wires to rec/reg and power and ground coming out of rec/reg. mine works fine.

That's how mine is