If possible, always have your motorcycle covered and/or stored somewhere inside to keep it out of the elements. Fixing "no spark" on most motorcycles. I'm currently working as a mechanical engineer and have been able to restore over a dozen rides. And you could tell that just by riding your bike for a little time with a damaged ignition coil. First, check to make sure that the battery has a full charge. However, its possible for bad coils to still pass this test. For some riders, they find their motorcycle is accelerating unintentionally. A main fuse If these tests do not check out, you will need a new regulator/rectifier. This is mostly a safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle in gear and instantly jolting forward. It should not read higher than It will also vibrate when you are running idle at a stop sign or intersection. How to fix it: There are ways to clean your fuel injectors including using a solution specifically for cleaning them; theres even a tool made to clean fuel injectors. Sometimes there is ice build up withing the carburetor, making it impossible for fuel and air mixture to get through some of its parts. ). When this happens, your motorcycle gets less mileage. Diesel engines dont have spark plugs because diesel ignites via compression, not a spark. that sends you an indication that you have a bad Harley ignition coil is that If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. all times because they can go at any time. battery will begin to drain. will need to unplug the connector. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Can you repair the stator yourself? As a consequence, your Before you go through the process of technical troubleshooting, you should go back and eliminate the possible Motorcycles are simple enough creatures, but it can still be hard to find what the culprit is thats keeping your machine from firing up. I highly recommend looking at your owners manual to know how to re-assemble your carburetor specific to your motorcycle. This will let you actually get to the windings and remove them. Primary windings are thicker wires. By the end of this article you will understand the purpose of the stator, how it works, and how to diagnose a bad stator. Make sure the new ignition coil is compatible with your engine. Set your multimeter to Ohms to check this. Inside motorcycles, the ignition coil consists of an Iron core. For example, you may notice that your motorcycle runs fine at lower rpms but when you get to the higher rpms, it starts to run really rough. grounds on your motorcycle can be done quickly if you know where they all are. See our Disclosure & Disclaimer. You may experience occasional misfiring as you ride around. You can then test the coils as they are being warmed up. Now, lets learn motorcycle ignition coil failure symptoms in detail. signs you see on your motorcycle. the important details to be able to prevent further damage to your motorbike. Another common way to diagnose the problem is by hooking up a multi-meter and testing the inner and outer coils resistances. Repeat the process for the negative diode. It should run like new again. manual should have all of the locations noted. See my article here for more details about what happens when a battery just sits. Symptoms of a bad 10 Best Electric Scooter for Teenagers: Safe, and Affordable! So, do not belittle this problem. I have been riding a dirt bike since I was 15 years old. Thousands of volts of energy are required for a spark plug to ignite. link to 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. If your fuel economy is not what you expect it to be, several potential causes exist. That is when you feel excessive vibrations and unwanted noises coming from inside of your bike. As I just talked about testing motorcycle ignition coils, lets learn how to do it. But diagnosing which ones the problem can be tricky. You cant afford to see your motorcycle tip over when youre storing or transporting your motorcycle. It will require some attention to detail, but you can do the entire thing yourself. You may even try to spray starter fluid in the carburetor but it still wont make a difference because the fuse is not able to send a spark to the spark plug to ignite. When you start your bikes engine and still havent made a move, its called idling. That is also a sign that your bikes ignition coil has worn out. If this is the case, you may have to You will need a multimeter and the shop manual for your specific motorcycle to troubleshoot the electrical If the cylinder inside the ignition system doesn't fire properly or doesn't fire at all, it is called engine misfiring. Youll need to figure out which wire is poorly grounded. 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. Everything wears out over time. 2. the voltage of the battery up to about 14.2 to 14.8 volts. How to fix it: there is no way around it, youll simply need to get a new starter. You will need to buy new AWG wire. Further, it occurs when there is gasoline in your combustion engine cylinders and is referred to as backfiring. If the two front pistons are up (1 & 2) the two back pistons (3 & 4) are down. It will, Sometimes someone tries to wire up aftermarket lights or a horn and put the wrong wire somewhere. The problem with that is most Honda dealers don't even know what a ST1300 is. But theyre not the only potential culprits for a lack of sparks. First measure the resistance between Symptoms of blown fuses: The motorcycle will sound completely normal when you try to start it, but it will spin forever yielding no results. Try to disconnect the cable that leads to the bad coil. The Engine Misfiring or Stalling. Another noise itll make is a whirring sound (almost like a high-pitched unpleasant buzz) where you can tell the gears arent catching on anything. the resistance of the tabs by checking A to B, B to C and then A to C. The multimeter should read under 1 Ohm Without such a high voltage, the current wouldnt be able to jump across the spark plugs electrode gap. Finally, never underestimate the implication of that popular saying: procrastination is the thief of time. Delay is dangerous. Engine Misfires. Fortunately, they are not that difficult to test. Another significant symptom of a bad ignition coil is the lessening of fuel economy. Your motorcycles stator is very similar to an automotive alternator except that the stator is only one part of an alternator. You also may experience other issues that will appear in different circumstances. When this happens, you have no choice but to either repair or replace the unit. numbers are more than a few apart, the stator is faulty. The winding can be very tricky as you must wind three separate phases. "whoops, forgot about those" issues. Your motorcycle may turn over but not start, it may make a grinding sound, or it may not make any sound at all depending on the make and model of motorcycle you have. For established riders, this is a no-brainer. Intermittent stalling. Your motorcycle may turn over but will not stay on and will stall out. 04. Strange noises, backed up by a poor response from your engine resulting in vibration or jerking when idling, can be warning signs that your vehicle's ignition coil is on its way out. Note- If your motorcycle starts and runs fine, but then dies once it warms up, there could be a wire This is a result of the high-speed coil in the stator going bad. Lets assume that your stator has just burned itself up. What you are looking for is that all three of the numbers are similar. the primary wire that comes from the CDI box and the ground or ground wire. should be the last thing that you check. A bad ignition coil can reduce your motorcycles work efficiency and put you in a difficult situation. If you have a doubt about your bikes ignition coil, it is suggested to take a visual inspection and seek professional help for further assistance. Its worth pointing out, though, that bad spark plugs and plug wires can damage the coils and not just vice versa. Symptom #2: Backfiring I have created a video series about restoring motorcycles and within this series includes a 25 minute detailed video on how to clean/rebuild carbs. Some bikes will not start with the side stand down, if the bike is in gear or if the clutch lever is not 2. function. Symptoms of a clogged injector: Your motorcycle will attempt to turn over normally when you try to start it but there wont be any combustion. If you are having a no-spark problem, a good place to start after ruling out shorts, grounds, switches and Fixing faulty grounds is inexpensive and just requires a bit of patience. Ignition coils should be replaced only when it requires a replacement. You can find more detailed information about this in my guide to long term storage. Check your ignition coil as it may have a fault. All you need to do is a visual inspection. Generally, you can get a reading of 0.2 ohms all the way up to 5 ohms. The regulator ensures that the How fuel injectors get clogged: This is not very common among fuel injection systems. How to fix it: put your motorcycle into neutral and try starting it again. Attach the other wire of the test condenser to a ground. If your plug wires and caps check out, you can now test your ignition coil. If your battery is completely dead, you motorcycle will not make any noise at all when you try to start it. (You must log in or sign up to reply here. Reduced engine power. When a cracked spark plug is installed, the spark will find the least path of resistance through the crack and ground out to your engine block instead of going all the way down to the end of the spark plug and jumping across the gap like its supposed to. Unfortunately, testing cannot be done on a CDI box with just a multimeter. As time goes by, your motorbike starts to show issues. To maintain their status as an authorized dealer they will be required to purchase certain tools. If you continue to see issues with your battery losing voltage, try using a battery tender which can charge your battery while youre not using it. When this happens, your Your stator has to keep up with all of these accessories but also continue providing power to your spark plugs. We will also teach how you can repair your own stator and what to expect to pay if you buy a new one. mechanics. Now you are ready to get the stator re-wound. You can tell if your motorcycle ignition coil is bad just by riding it. Automobile engines run maintaining sequences. system. There are other contributions, too, such as poor wire connections and the starter becoming overheated. It's a good idea to keep a spare main fuse on hand at Be sure to take pictures before you disassemble so you remember how to put it back together. Stators can fail for multiple reasons. However, motorcycles and cars share the same basic systems. 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