I posted a while back and was having an electrical issue with my 88 vt1100c. I thought I narrowed it down to my CDI, but I bought a new one and it still didn't spark
I am super frustrated and would really like some help. I've noticed when trying to start sometimes it cranks and sometimes the solenoid starter clicks almost like it's shorting out... Would a bad solenoid keep it from sparking?
My coils are all to spec for resistance, fuses are good, CDI is good. I don't know what to do.
If your battery can't hold enough power when cranking it can cause the solenoid to click and because of the low voltage the ignition system may not fire. Check the voltage before and while cranking to see if it staying above 9.5 volts.
Easy way to bypass that problem is to hook a car battery to the bike for a test.
The coils could be shorted internally but for both of them to go bad at the same time is strange. Look for any cracks or swelling of the case or burned spots.
Here is an easy test when there is no spark. Get a 12 volt test light and touch it to one of the coil terminals with the key on. One should have battery power. (They both may show power when it is not cranked that is OK too). Then crank the bike and see if the other one will blink. That is the grounding signal from the CDI. If no power trace that. If no blink then the CDI or pulse generator is not working. Check the wiring to them first. Test both coils. Get a manual and follow the wiring for the ignition components. If it blinks then the coils are supposed to be firing the plugs. Check fire at the plug . You may have to inspect the kill switch an any other component that kills the ignition operation.
My coils are testing good, I checked a lot of connections using the wiring photo attached. From my testing, the black-white wire of the ignition coils gets connected to black which is grounded? when the k/s is on run. Does that sound correct? I couldn't find a car battery, but do wonder if it is my battery that's bad. I replaced my old one with one from advanced auto parts which worked, but I overcharged (where my trouble began) and got the same battery again. It is the TX9 with 120cca which seems like it could be too low, but my other one worked.
The black/white wires for each coil are the battery power to the coils. It comes from the start stop switch (Kill switch). It should have battery voltage when the key is on and the kill switch is not on. There is a black wire from the ignition fuse that powers several things incl. the ignition module( CDI )and the start switch but it should not be grounded, if it is and the fuse is blown that would be the place to repair.
That is the same black wire I was tracing that powers various units and comes off the ignition fuse. If it is grounded that is bad! It is powered from a red/black wire that comes off the ignition switch and powers 5 fuse incl. the ignition fuse. You can see that in the fuse box area on the lower right.
Okay. I will check it tomorrow. I know the fuse isn't blown. Is there anywhere in particular that I should check first or do I just need to trace the entire wire down the harness?
If you have battery voltage at the fuse on both sides, then check for power on the black wire at the CDI. Then test for power at the coils, all those places should have power if the kill switch is good. If the kill switch is bad there will be no power to the black/white wires on the coils. Flick the switch a few times to see if it gets to the coils.
I did some more testing today with the wiring and it seems fine and getting to the coils. I'm starting to think its either the coils or may just be my battery doesn't have the power to crank. It's new, but from advance auto parts and only like 120cca. Thoughts?
It is easy to jump it from a car or truck with some jumper cables.If you don't have any you could use 10 gauge wires to jump with . Any added cranking power will show up a poor battery or starter. Test for a blinking light at the coils while cranking. It should be sparking unless the coils are bad.
If you were using a 12 volt test light it would show steady battery voltage and then start blinking as the CDI unit was trying to ground the coil and that is what fires the plugs. So if it blinks then the CDI and other components are working properly. It is just a quick test. But a meter would be hard to read that.
I recently have been working on a 87 vt1100 and man i will tell ya if u don't have the amps that thing will spin the starter moter like a mad dog but will never spark I would hook up a car batt to your bat as a jump and try if that's it I got a batt for my bike from orileys for like 78bucks tax and core charge included and she works just fine just DO Not crank that thing with out some batt in there I tried jumping my off a batt booster to the leads with no bat and it fried my cdi was a very expensive lesson they only made our cdi for 87 88 and there almost impossible to find
Thank! I plugged in a car battery today with both the new and old CDIs and no dice, so I'm probably going to sell the new one. but I think I will definitely be getting a better battery soon and troubleshooting the coils a bit more, but they're the only thing I can imagine the problem being short of some wiring short which I've tried working through short of un-taping the harness. Anymore thoughts are appreciated.
Recap: Definitely getting fuel/air and starter is turning engine; problem is almost certainly electrical (no spark on all 4); not the CDI unless my old and new one are both bad; not the pulse generator; Checked fuses, seem good; Coils have spec resistance, but I still kind of suspect them (even though it'd mean they were both bad).
The problem came about after my bike died mid ride (on the tx9 battery), I charged it with a man's car charger and overcharged. I tried using the jumpstart setting of the charger and bike cranked, but didn't start which is what it has been doing since I replaced the battery. I assume it died because a bad stator or r/r, but I was going to wait to check that after getting it going.
Thank! I plugged in a car battery today with both the new and old CDIs and no dice, so I'm probably going to sell the new one. but I think I will definitely be getting a better battery soon and troubleshooting the coils a bit more, but they're the only thing I can imagine the problem being short of some wiring short which I've tried working through short of un-taping the harness. Anymore thoughts are appreciated.
Recap: Definitely getting fuel/air and starter is turning engine; problem is almost certainly electrical (no spark on all 4); not the CDI unless my old and new one are both bad; not the pulse generator; Checked fuses, seem good; Coils have spec resistance, but I still kind of suspect them (even though it'd mean they were both bad).
The problem came about after my bike died mid ride (on the tx9 battery), I charged it with a man's car charger and overcharged. I tried using the jumpstart setting of the charger and bike cranked, but didn't start which is what it has been doing since I replaced the battery. I assume it died because a bad stator or r/r, but I was going to wait to check that after getting it going.
Pull the battery and using a VOM check the battery voltage for a reading of 12+ volts. Take it to a different shop for a stress test. Your battery could have shorted out (fused) cell plates from improper charger or jumping so you're not getting the amps and volts to power the running lights and starter at the same time.
The black/white is your power feed to the coils. Should be hot when the ignition switch is on.
The yellow/red appears to be the start solenoid trigger wire. See if it has battery power when you push the start button.
Eagle, I don't think that's the case. I replaced the battery I overcharged, but today tried using a car battery and no dice.
Swifty, the coil is making sense to me now. ICM/CDI controls the ground and k/s controls power? I'll check more tomorrow to make sure it's hot when k/s is on.
Swifty, the coil is making sense to me now. ICM/CDI controls the ground and k/s controls power? I'll check more tomorrow to make sure it's hot when k/s is on.
Thus why I mentioned the starter button assembly trouble shoot. From my only starting issue ever on bikes this would be the 1st. place I would check. To many folk here have had issues with this particular area of the electrical/starting circuit.
Well, it wasn't the starter. I'm glad I took apart the throttle though because one of the cables had snapped which probably means the other is not far behind. I took out the wire harness to check each connection individually and will do that tomorrow. If I don't find anything (not too hopeful at this point) I'm throwing in the towel and taking it to the mechanic.
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