No start!!!!

kdaddy1980

kdaddy1980

New Member
ok i took the bike for ride and stopped for a few minutes, then started back up and it was hard starting. then a minute later the engine just stopped running. ive been racking my brain since on what could be wrong. heres a list of the things that ive tried.

1) checked spark. seems to spark well and consistently
2) checked fuel, seems to be putting out sufficient fuel because its spraying out the exhuast on the exhaust stroke
3) checked compression and it seems to be compressing pretty good
4) replaced the head gasket
5) tried 3 dif spark plugs
6) check all the ignition wires
7)removed exhaust to see if it was clogged (still no start)
8) removed air cleaner to see if it was clogged (still no start)
9)sprayed starting fliud in the intake while cranking (i have a pull start)
it popped once but didnt stay running for any amount of time
took the cylinder off to see if the case might be full of gas but it was empty
10) checked base gasket, checked head gasket seemed decent shape with
no leaks
11) using a 32:1 mix havent done anything different as far as gas mixture goes
12) took the carb apart to check the jet and float, everything seems ok
13) checked the top of the carb and the throttle still ok

i havent put the cylinder back on yet, the case gasket looks wet but i cant tell if its from the inside or leftover from the exhaust dripping out while testing it. it seems like the case gasket it still good though
i read some other threads on here and used some of the suggestions with no luck. anyone have any ideas for me to try? should i make a new case gasket anyways? i really dont want to break this engine all the way back down again but i will if i have to.
any help will be appreciated thanks. :-||
 
pull the head, slide the cylinder up far enough that you can see the piston rings... blown rings may show OK compression but still keep it from firing correctly... i speak from experience on this one... and from the sounds of the rest of what you've tried, seems bout the only thing left to check, also, before doing so, get the piston to the low point and run your finger around the inside of the cylinder and see if there is any scoring...
 
sometimes the CDI will make a good spark, but trigger at wrong time

somewhere on the board here I have a thread about how to check that
 
just thought of this, you could check the woodruff key for the magnet... if it sheared the timing could go out of whack...
 
redneck82 said:
just thought of this, you could check the woodruff key for the magnet... if it sheared the timing could go out of whack...
Click to expand...
i did take the cylinder off and checked the rings because i thought of that too but the rings are good, and i took my pull start attachment off and to get the nut back on i had to hold a screwdriver in between the magnet and the coil to get it tight. im assuming since it held the screwdriver tight as can be that the woodruff key is holding good.
 
crassius said:
it'll be the thread in which I show a pic of homemade timing mark
Click to expand...
thats an awesome cdi tester you made, i think i might have enough parts to make one. i was going round and round in my head trying to figure our a way to verify that the plug was still sparking when installed, this would do the trick.my only problem is i dont have a timing light. can i just make one with a light bulb or something?

upon further investigation of the coil, i found that i had replaced the wire and didnt put any sealer around the wire at the coil when i put it together. i unscrewed the wire and saw some liquid around the end of the wire where it was screwed in. could be gas, water, oil..not sure but just enough to moisten the end of the wire. maybe thats whats causing it.
it WAS raining while i was riding that morning and had cleared up but maybe some rain drops got in there.

im starting to suspect the cdi more and more now. when you tested yours and you found the bad ones, what did you notice most about the bad ones? and what does a good one look like? and where did you hook up the drill, on the magnet bolt?
 
You mentioned you had a pull starter attached to the rotor magnet?
I got 2 kits this year with weak magnets, so weak they just couldn't produce enough voltage to make a good spark.

The rule of thumb is, if the magneto goes on easy your magnet is weak, that magnet should be strong enough to make you fight to get the mag on with both hands.
 
KCvale said:
You mentioned you had a pull starter attached to the rotor magnet?
I got 2 kits this year with weak magnets, so weak they just couldn't produce enough voltage to make a good spark.

The rule of thumb is, if the magneto goes on easy your magnet is weak, that magnet should be strong enough to make you fight to get the mag on with both hands.
Click to expand...
well, it did seem to have adequate magnetic force, and it IS sparking. is there a simple way to test the spark voltage?
 
found a motorcycle shop that said they can match up the coil to something they have ,for about 7 bucks im going to take mine down there and see if i can get a replacement hopefully thats the problem
 
kdaddy1980 said:
thats an awesome cdi tester you made, i think i might have enough parts to make one. i was going round and round in my head trying to figure our a way to verify that the plug was still sparking when installed, this would do the trick.my only problem is i dont have a timing light. can i just make one with a light bulb or something?
Click to expand...
nope, you need a real timing light, but they are fairly cheap

kdaddy1980 said:
upon further investigation of the coil, i found that i had replaced the wire and didnt put any sealer around the wire at the coil when i put it together. i unscrewed the wire and saw some liquid around the end of the wire where it was screwed in. could be gas, water, oil..not sure but just enough to moisten the end of the wire. maybe thats whats causing it.
Click to expand...

if the ohms reading on the coil is right, it is good - but make sure the ground connection is good too

kdaddy1980 said:
im starting to suspect the cdi more and more now. when you tested yours and you found the bad ones, what did you notice most about the bad ones? and what does a good one look like? and where did you hook up the drill, on the magnet bolt?
Click to expand...

I use a drill on the tester which turns easily, for a whole motor, you'd want to turn it with the back wheel - the CDI is sealed & can't be looked at - check it with a timing light & that temporary timing mark plate in the testing thread

if the coil tests bad on the ohms, I doubt a motorcycle shop would have one
 
crassius said:
if the ohms reading on the coil is right, it is good - but make sure the ground connection is good too


if the coil tests bad on the ohms, I doubt a motorcycle shop would have one
Click to expand...
yeah i went to the shop and they said they can order one, but i can do that myself...how many ohms should the cdi coil read? does it make a difference if my magneto coil doesnt have the white wire? it came without one.

crassius said:
make sure the ground connection is good too
Click to expand...
you mean the black wire coming off the coil? that gets grounded through the magneto coil right?
 
Last edited:
ok i searched some posts and this is what i found

CDI

Use Ohm Meter High Scale About 200-K
1) Positive lead on BLUE wire and Negative lead on BLACK wire should read infinite (no activity)
2) Positive lead on BLACK wire and Negative lead on BLUE wire. Should be about 130-150 K-ohms
3) Positive lead on Spark Plug wire and negative lead on BLUE wire. Should read between 135-155 K-ohms

Switch to Low Scale 20K
4) Measure between Spark Plug wire and Black lead. Should be about 2.5 - 2.7 K- ohms

ok i did the steps and heres the results
steps one two and three all showed no activity
but then step 4 gave a reading of 6.56

so im pretty sure its no good. im suprised that it will still spark though. that threw me off.
 
I test magneto coils with a meter & it gives good info - I never test CDIs with a meter because the readings are not all that useful.

If you have a good spark, that's exactly what you want - now you just need to see if it is sparking at the right time.

NOTE: if the plug is fouled, it may spark outside the motor but not under compression inside the motor - a new plug may be needed to test that
 
just had the rare thought - you mentioned something wet in the magneto case - are you sure it isn't fuel that has come out past a blown seal?
 
so ive got my new cdi coming in the mail, should be here in about a week. ill let you guys know if that was the problem, im crossing my fingers that the cdi is the cause of my no start issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top