Ignition problem question 71 commando

Hey guys, I am yet again confused with this thing. I can usually weave my around the difficult issues here and there and then I get stumped. I have spent the better part of the afternoon sifting through ignition threads and still havent found my solution. I fear I may be sitting on the soluiton but I do not see the forest for the trees. I dont know about anyone else but I tend to land myself into weird situations where the solution only needs a different (sometimes obvious) viewpoint and then I get back on track.


I have a standard points 6v coils ignition.

I have 6 volts going to the points lead when the ignition is turned on. When I connect the lead to the points breaker terminal, the voltage goes to nothing. I believe the points are shorting but why? Do I have these things assembled wrong or something?

I don't have spark to either plug when grounding the plug to engine and cranking.

Please if anyone has a picture or something if you could share I would appreciate it. I did check the schematic thoughouly and I believe my wiring is in order. I just suspect the assembly of the points or something in there may be shorting somehow. I did re solder the terminals as they were looking a little sorry.

I'm pretty sure you should have 12 volts to the points, the voltage only dopping after the points and before the coils.
Sounds like a fault in the supply side to the points?
Martin

Well I at first thought the fault was the coils of something but when I disconnect the lead wire off the breaker and add a volt meter to it I have juice.... When I connect the lead back to the points assembly the juice is gone..

Could you have refitted the terminals incorrectly?

The ring terminal of each points set must be fitted under the insulator, so that it rests againast the spring, and not on top of the insulator where it will be grounded by the stud and nut.

L.A.B. said:

Could you have refitted the terminals incorrectly?

The ring terminal of each points set must be fitted under the insulator, so that it rests againast the spring, and not on top of the insulator where it will be grounded by the stud and nut.

Click to expand...

That looks just about what might get me out of the forest.

Thanks.

that was indeed it. I just didnt see it at first. I now got spark but of course my timing is all wrong. poppin and snortin.

More power to ya iceteanolemon, I stopped troubleshooting and threw some money at it and got a power-arc set up. Cj

Nothing wrong with points ,just higher maintenance what with greasing the Auto-Advance unit regularly n' greasing cam lobe n' filing/gapping/re-setting contacts. Kinda fun.

Don't give up on the points if they are not worn out. They work great. Just make sure you lube them up good with some distributer cam lube. Cover the whole assembly with the lube. Make sure the springs are not loose at retard and service them about every 5K.

Dave
69S

DogT said:

Don't give up on the points if they are not worn out. They work great. Just make sure you lube them up good with some distributer cam lube. Cover the whole assembly with the lube. Make sure the springs are not loose at retard and service them about every 5K.

Dave
69S

Click to expand...

yeah I am certainly not giving up on the points. I know its a "two steps forward one step back" approach whenever tearing into this thing. I enjoy the process but lagtely I have to take a break after every step forward. I am bouncing back and forth from garage to the rest of my life heh...

I am refreshing my readings on the process of setting the timing and it is indeed funnyt to read you guys threads. Some of the language is so colorful I cannot even understand it. Just like a bunch of engineers!!!

My bike started last year first time in 30 years with the points. There was no way to set the gap, the thing was so worn, I couldn't get a consistent reading, but it started 3rd kick, after I put a battery on it and disconnected the MC2. It ran fine, but the advance wandered around about 8° +- with the strobe. Ran lots better after I put the Sure fire on it. If I did it again, I'd go for the OB Power Arc. By the time you spend money on coils, etc, you're ahead.

Dave
69S

Glad to hear you got it solved; a simple mistake that I made once on my old Cortina.
Also glad that no-one pointed out my glaring mistake: the power passes through the coils, resistor etc before going to earth via the points, so your 6 volt reading was correct.
My 70 model used 12 volt coils and no resistor before I changed to a Boyer Mk3.
I never had any dramas with the points, except that setting the gaps and timing seemed to be like a dog chasing its tail.
Cheers
Martin

yeah I kept looking at it saying to myself "The damn thing is losing voltage when I connect the terminal" and "There must be a short somewhere" Hahah it's funny to think about it now as it was right in front of my face.

I like the fact that I wouldn't see it until it was blown up in my face on the message board!


Now the timing. Tomorrow I am going to mess with it so expect some more stupid questions!!!

I do have the PWK 32m flatslides mounted and ready though so I'll be posting details on that as well!!!

Cheers,

Ben