MkIII No Spark

I must be missing something simple here. This is the situation. My MkIII has a Trispark ignition which was installed about 3 months ago. Everything was working swimmingly, including good starting. The other day I attempted to go for a ride after about a 2 day hiatus. After the usual routine of choking and tickling I engaged the starter (after turning on the ignition) and it spun well as usual. But not response. Then tried kicking awhile for good measure. Plenty of fuel so I popped out the plugs and layed them on the head to see if there was any fire. Nothing with both cranking and kicking. Decided to check the kill switch. After taking things apart I discovered that the kill switch had been cut out by previous owner. No wires to the switch. Next I checked all the connections from trispark to coil to coil to earth. Getting voltage at both connections into and out of trispark. Ground checked and good. All connectors checked and good. Two wires from iginition up aand down to coils good. I then suspected coils so I installed a couple spares that I know are good. Still no fire. The trispark light flashes when cranking.

The bike started and ran magnificently when I rode it last. This time...simply no fire.

Anyone had a similar situation?

Try a new set of plugs; that would be my first step.

Next I checked all the connections from trispark to coil to coil to earth. Getting voltage at both connections into and out of trispark. Ground checked and good. All connectors checked and good. Two wires from iginition up aand down to coils good.

Click to expand...

If all wires are connected, power is there, earth is there and the "continuity" of the wires to and from the coils from the unit has been checked with a meter, and it was running perfectly before you parked it up, then I would be suspecting that the Trispark unit itself has failed. Have you also double checked the disc which sits on the end of the camshaft is spinning and isn't damaged(although I would be suprised if it isn't spinning).

If you installed this yourself? Then you should be able to check it all for integrity. Possibly a call to Mr. Kelly at Trispark to see if he will check it/ exchange the unit?

Let us know the outcome please, as I am also running one of these.

'Fraid I have no helpful suggestions but I too would be interested in what you find out about this, as I'm considering upgrading to a Tri-Spark over the winter wrenchin' season. - BrianK

Since the LED is flashing, that means power is getting to the module and the trigger circuit is working. Other than an open circuit in the output driver, the unit should be OK. The thing to check next is the coil wiring.

If you're running positive earth, disconnect the output wire AT THE MODULE and measure resistance to ground. You should see 4 ohms (two coils).

If you have negative ground, disconnect the wire and touch it to ground with the power on. You'll get sparks at the wire and at the plugs.

The only failure I've had with my TriSpark was my own fault. One of the bullets on the wiring fractured at the solder joint and lost connection. Since it was inside heatshrink tubing, it was difficult to find.

I recommend that TriSpark users put an inline fuse in the power wire. 3 amps is enough. Running battery power through one of those wires at the points cavity is a bit more hazardous than just pickup wires like a Boyer.

Thanks for the suggestion Grandpaul. I tried a new plug but no success with the spark. I must be missing a bad connection. A wire or connector failure is about all that seems to make sense at this point. I am going back through that avenue this afternoon.

Perhaps this is a finding of significance. The wire than comes out of the trispark (black/white) and into the first coil shows 12 volts when ever the ignition switch is turned on. As I push the kick starter (plugs out) through slowly the trispark light comes on and goes out as I would expect...thinking that this is when it sends a pulse up to the coils. With a volt meter at the coil end of the black/white wire I get a steady 12 volts...no interruption. Does this sound correct?

Email Tri Spark. They are very helpful and nobody knows more about their stuff.

Coop said:

Perhaps this is a finding of significance. The wire than comes out of the trispark (black/white) and into the first coil shows 12 volts when ever the ignition switch is turned on. As I push the kick starter (plugs out) through slowly the trispark light comes on and goes out as I would expect...thinking that this is when it sends a pulse up to the coils. With a volt meter at the coil end of the black/white wire I get a steady 12 volts...no interruption. Does this sound correct?

Click to expand...

No. Unless the TriSpark unit has a very long dwell time at low rpm (like the Boyer analog does) I'd say that the unit's output transistor is shorted. But you need to ask Steve Kelly at TriSpark to be sure.

Thanks Dave. I've sent an email to Steve at Trispark.

As a follow up, I should tell you that the folks at Trispark were extremely helpful. I sent an email describing the symptoms and was told to send them my old unit. They sent me a new one that same day! I hope to get it all strapped together in a couple days as time permits and will report.

Would be interested in any detailed post-mortem results on the old unit once they get a chance to analyze it.