Mysterious Misserables

There are a number of areas around the world like The Bermuda Triangle that mechanical things just go hay wire w/o known cause, another is the Ozarks Highlands. I have nothing more to do with the all knowing select in INOA online forum almost a decade now d/t a very similar scenario to Wesley's. So I got to share in his miseries as if my own.

1. Got up before dawn to beat cold rain front on way to L.o.P Texas and did just fine for 150 miles then Wes's '71 just died, after we chided our selves for luxury stop of rest room and fast food meal rather than a froced gas stop, in a town out of Twight Zone called ugh, Ozark. An indian name for the combined paired quarks of nuclear mass with desire of Great Spirit to make em stick.

2. Told Wes just need to turn key on and tug connections til a plug spark to know we found the broken Boyer trigger wire, one of my reasons to swear off Boyers a long time now. Wes's analog Boyah was a donor unit I installed for him but it'd only lasted since '05 so why not now.

3. Did not solve the no fire issue so tugged and touched some more, as nothing else much to do on road side in the rain. We finally discovered that it was not the tugging testing, as us hillbillies stupidly thought, it was merely touching the trigger wires that caused plug to fire, but not as a single spark but a machine gun of constant arcs that tapered down fast once we let go of the light touch. Of course neither touching trigger wire and wet muddy ground at once nor touching trigger wire to case gave this buzzing arc, only our rubber boot insulated touch. Re-fixed the now shortened trigger wire but had no electrical tap so use band aids out of Trixies tool pouch, still no spark.

4. We checked battery charge and connections, the power feed and the ground to black box, even made Wes pop the trigger plate, where we saw the back solder blobs had impinged on the case bore, for most a decade fine, but in Ozark cold front we removed that impediemnt of 'lectric logic, just in case but not the solution case. We even used band aid to insulate just in case but not the case.

5. Coils got power and their earths good glowing by test light and being the magical Ozarks we got a handful of Great Spirit helpers but we know how tricking that character is so were picky till the right one showed up really interested in the Commando character and some black electric tape. The banaids worked better than the tape, so had to remake a connections but still no key on/off spark, UNless we accidently turned key to far to turn on light too, then saw key on-off sparks, but only a few then nothing. So as nothing else to do got Wes's bike back together and stomped it to life by shear will power! Our helper then left in great mood thanking us for the high and us him we hit dilema to carry on into night to Texas or tuck tail and go home. Then my own to just go on alone into the rain front to tuck tail and go home too.

6. Rode a good 40 miles back home as sweet as the way out, then mystery hit again but restarted on the fly when Wes turned head light off, in the grey over cast duck weather mist. That worked a few more miles then rolled to silent again, this time depressed with lost of faith in Norton and Boyah, ugh and ourselves. Decided would not make it home and lucked out to find a wide spot on Pig Trail so why risk getting stuck with no where to load bike, gave up and called for rescue. Then world class crudmugeion Wes started one subject after another on creation vs natural geology laid out so plain right under our tires. Then long period silence watching/listening to tires squeal in sharp wets, semi's to Harleys till no way any light left by any method of return.

7. I quipped up about 4 pm, bet it'll start right now fine, and of course in Ozark power center it did. He rev'd and rev'd in dis-belief > till the white bright head light suddenly went out and fire died but light came back on. We attacked the key and battery again and such but got not even slightest hint of hi beam dim or flicker. So even lower faith in our chosen hobby with more waiting on rescue. So jerking on trigger wires didn't spark but just touching either one of them did, toggling head light on off also gave a spark, just kicking over didn't, battery gave white hot light that got hotter to hold cold hands on front up as rev's make charger work harder. Crazy making.

8. Checked on rescue, getting close now, I said didn't want to run home in dark but would stick to help load, but dang that'd leave Wes to unload at home, ugh. Temps in upper 40's and still wetness coming down and around and even upward in mists of clouds, realized we had to stop farting our day off away and get on home. Told Wes it'd start again now, and it did, but pure faith it'd last, so waited for his wife to show then decided to try a run for it while the magic lasted.

9. Wes lit off then me then wife in PU. Wes was not wasting time in the wet so took miles to catch up to see him pulling over in most logical place to load, but instead he just eased off so my mood lifted too and we just stayed on it another 50 miles till our parting place he pulled over still running fine to say hey we had fun, lets do it again...

10. I hit same steple chase path I did Sunday w/o light so was feeling pretty good with hi beam, till hit mud no light can reveal and almost lost it in low side to hi side oscillations to terra firma again, caught breath after screaming stopped then go to repeat it again soon after. Mud is always an instant emergency.

11. Either home driveway for only cluster of deer that scattered across path but they missed me and me them as no gumption to give chase after mud suck down. Got in warmth and called Wes, he'd made it but told me mud was so bad he almost got off to walk it across and I understood completely.

12. So what could be the fault, Wes is seriously considering returning to points, as i've a good collection to pick from or refurbish now. I had to remind myself that I was having the time of my life and thankful spine was fixed enough that deep muscles of hand still worked painlessly even if outer 1/2" numb as an ice tray. 46'F seen outside thermometer as hot shower warmed up to 143'F.
I fixed Trixie electrics with just one loos stator nut, just in case you think life works as text books say. But Boyah got him home again so that's not the fault, just a mysterious symptom. which I'd also found touching or twisting the trigger coils would time to time give the expected single spark with key on/off but mostly just the new found arc lights & buzz of internal black box resonance interfacing with spirits.

14. I'd only stayed up to 4 am on tire and new chain and hub bearing clip falling out and drive cushions evaporated again, after return from legal meeting till 10.30 pm. Almost put off with Wes calling at 5.30 as wake up call for new Commando adventure. Safer Jouney's on yours.






8. About an hour later I got wild hair the bike's mood had shifted with the low clouds full of suspended wind and water an impossible fault

Damn the bad luck hobot, Thanks for the story. I would welcone some of that rain about now as I'm already getting tired of choking on this Afghanistan dust. Only been here a month though. How about talking Wes into going with the new power-arc instead of going back to points. Look at the thread that homeslice posted about the upgrade--sounds good to me, Cj

Keyswitch.

cj, we've just broken a 4-5 month heat wave that killed the hay crops and ruined cattle herds here. I didn't have to mow grass but once in March. hobot has picked Powerarc designer brains for Ms Peel since 5 yr ago and got the $500 kit with 4 curves and switches to program at home but is about $400 more than Wes will/can spend on sparklers. I've a Pazion unit Wes was with me when it too had mysterious intermittent failure mode with perfect list of test protocol results and new brain box sent - but neither of us trusts to put in now so sits new in box with me remembering the one Pazion report here of bad Norton or Pazion parts fouling or failing to trigger d/t the fit behind the trigger plate. Boyer worked fine, when the electric gremlin was off duty for hours at a time.

Paul we checked everything there is to check electrically on side of road for hours, with test light, short of dismantling bike to remove hidden parts of loom. Key tumblers and terminals behind it, fuse and holder and connections, trigger wires to innards of head light to tail lamp, coil feeds to hand made brake light switch and plugs. If water related should of quit years ago on long trips and couple hours yesterday in the early am rain or couple hours in even colder rain as sun set till full darkness but Wes made in with good light and spark to almost crash like me in surprise mud slicks. Wes's '71 is wired even simpler than Trixie, no complexity of turn signals or horn or low beam or foot lever brake switch, just ignition, charger and on/off lights.

Only clue to go by is the one instant of head light blink off to kill engine but light was full bright the next instant as engine wound down to stillness.

I guess AAA is cheaper than a Trispark ignition.? Ha

A while back I had issues sounding a little similar in nature. Myt wife and I went down into town to have a burger and beer one afternoon. This was about 10 miles of city riding and when we were done it was dark. I went to start the bike and the headlight wouldnt turn on. I couldnt get it started either. I ended up taking the headlamp shell out and found a bad lucas butt connector. The one that has 4 holes in it. Each hole is supposed to have metal conductor all the way around to push a bullet connector into. One of the holes I guess got corroded and the metal cracjked and somehow came out of the connector. Once I replaced it I had lights ignotion etc. All has been working well since. I think that stuff in the headlamp shell rattles around enough to give old electrical parts a chance to disintegrate. I guess I should have upgraded to better connectors but I have fun putting it back together with the same bullet connectors and those butt connectors. nostalgia...

Cheaper especially with the pile of discarded parts i've on hand to mix and match or have machinist restore as covered in AAU thread prior. We don't think its ignition related now but power supply or grounding some how. We do think there's wearing out Boyer trigger plate issue to face as trigger wires next weak link about to fail is where they enter the little coils or the coils construction-support going soft. We did find 2 TWO, failed spots in Boyer trigger wires on side of road, one about and inch from the coil and another where Boyer had zip tied a sharp and seemingly stable bend very close to the yellow/black coil. Tricky to reconnect short studs of trigger wire that's made with too stiff-thick wires to take life time of Commando vibration.

hobot said:

Cheaper especially with the pile of discarded parts i've on hand to mix and match or have machinist restore as covered in AAU thread prior. We don't think its ignition related now but power supply or grounding some how. We do think there's wearing out Boyer trigger plate issue to face as trigger wires next weak link about to fail is where they enter the little coils or the coils construction-support going soft. We did find 2 TWO, failed spots in Boyer trigger wires on side of road, one about and inch from the coil and another where Boyer had zip tied a sharp and seemingly stable bend very close to the yellow/black coil. Tricky to reconnect short studs of trigger wire that's made with too stiff-thick wires to take life time of Commando vibration.

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I had a bear of a time getting my power arc working at first and I noticed the ground wire was not grounding for some reason. I got spark from that. Grounding issues are mysterious!

Steve, as I am sure you know, another source to check is the boyer wires inside of the timing side, they can rattle around in there and fatigue, I used to pack the entry and exit holes with silicon around the wires, just a thought

I"m burnt out permantly on Boyer trigger area issues and was first few dozen places we looked at inside and out and found two failed wires to fix but no change in mysterious cuts outs.

Iup/3down, appreciate your feeling for us but we checked every ground connection and wire a number of times both mechanically and electrically for no fault detectable or ineducable but still seems most likely reason we didn't finish the trip to Texas. I made Wes open head lamp thinking it was like all the other Commando out there but shocked at how simple few wires robustly connected so neatly with so much room to spare. Brightest hi beam I've ever seen on Vintage bike still using a hot wire as light source. I litterally warms hands and groin while standing in front during various testings, and only one instant of light out to clue us in to lurking mystery to find.

Side line mystery is why human skin contact on trigger wire metal made analog Boyer give weak but visual and audible constant arcing at plug gap. Shorting straight to wet soil did not nor shorting trigger wires to crankcase did either.
Weird weird weird. Makes us think maybe two faults in a row, trigger coils issue and/or Earth continuity plus Ozarks Indian curse on us mostly manifested when leaving pavement to encounter piles of broken arrow heads.