Running nice then....No spark at all??

Thanks for all the previous advice with timing, carb related and clutch! Now i have a new issue. I did the timing and got the Norton running pretty nice. Went for a few test rides, no problems until today. Today I took it for a short test ride, maybe 2miles up and down hills, (typical Pittsburgh variety) came back to my place and let it idle for a bit while I checked for oil leaks. The bike idled nice for about 3-4 minuets then suddenly died. Turns out it had fouled the plugs (one is wet and black and the other just black). Put new plugs in, and it runs great again. Go for another test ride. Running okay but after about a mile, I could tell it wanted to die....had to keep revving engine to keep it running.....finally just dies....will not start, even on a very long steep downhill (trying to roll start in second gear). Back to shop, removed plugs and one is wet and black, the other just black, just like before. I put brand new plugs in and now, absolutely no spark at all. I'm pretty confused and don't really know how to proceed. I'm guessing there is a standard chain of tests to identify where the problem is, can anyone help me here? A couple things I should mention, the battery and fuse are fine. All the other electrical like lights, horn, turn are working as normal. One thing I did notice but I cant see how it could have affected anything......my battery tender lead (the part that plugs into the lead from the charger) got wedged between the frame and the primary case.... and the pressure of the engine cut through the rubber encasing the end plug part of the lead......it appears, from examination, that it only cut the positive side.....so I don't think there was a short since the frame is positive ground. I did continuity test on the lead to make sure all is in order and it seems to be working as it should.

No spark tells us a lot. I would pull both (new ) plugs , clip ground them to top headfin and kick over with ign. on to observe for spark at tips. Nothing ? Then start tracing electrical. Tight battery connections ? Clean fuse holder and fuse ? Coil connections clean and tight ? Take points cover off and check connections. The kill switch is a known culprit too...got rid of mine by soldering the wires together at the switch. The ign. switch may need cleaning or renewing too. Clean up ground points too. Lots o' fun work. Good luck

If you are using points & coil ignition then pay attention to the colour of the spark when doing the test suggested by Torontonian.
Should be straight blue-purple!
Any yellow-orange is an indicator that your capacitor (some call it condenser) has failed and is letting some AC current through.
In this condition it will spark at atmospheric pressure (on fins) but will not spark under compression.

Torontonian said:

No spark tells us a lot. I would pull both (new ) plugs , clip ground them to top headfin and kick over with ign. on to observe for spark at tips. Nothing ? Then start tracing electrical. Tight battery connections ? Clean fuse holder and fuse ? Coil connections clean and tight ? Take points cover off and check connections. The kill switch is a known culprit too...got rid of mine by soldering the wires together at the switch. The ign. switch may need cleaning or renewing too. Clean up ground points too. Lots o' fun work. Good luck

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Thanks, tried the

robs ss said:

If you are using points & coil ignition then pay attention to the colour of the spark when doing the test suggested by Torontonian.
Should be straight blue-purple!
Any yellow-orange is an indicator that your capacitor (some call it condenser) has failed and is letting some AC current through.
In this condition it will spark at atmospheric pressure (on fins) but will not spark under compression.

Click to expand...

Thanks....Unfortunately there is no spark to check and I forgot to mention I have a Boyer Bransend ingnition.

CraigT said:

Thanks....Unfortunately there is no spark to check and I forgot to mention I have a Boyer Bransend ingnition.

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BTW and for future reference - although I have no experience with Boyer Bransden systems, the same test for yellow-orange should hold true. There must be a capacitor in their system - may be more difficult to replace.

And add to the Boyer trouble shooting testing the earth path back to battery from engine.

Try switching ignition on and off the plugs should spark
If they do you will know that the igniter/coils/HT leads and plugs work
And the problem is with the pickup
If no spark, then do as others have said and check every connection
Boyer ignitions need very good connections/ power supply
Also are prone to pickup wires breaking inside the timing cover

About those broken pickup wires. You won’t be able to see the break, you will need to test them for continuity. Shake them when testing.

Thanks to everyone who replied with advice.....I'm hoping to dig into it tomorrow.

baz said:

Try switching ignition on and off the plugs should spark
If they do you will know that the igniter/coils/HT leads and plugs work
And the problem is with the pickup
If no spark, then do as others have said and check every connection
Boyer ignitions need very good connections/ power supply
Also are prone to pickup wires breaking inside the timing cover

Click to expand...

Switching ign. on/off with the new generation of Boyers may or may not produce spark at plugs ? Older units yes ?

Torontonian said:

Switching ign. on/off with the new generation of Boyers may or may not produce spark at plugs ? Older units yes ?

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Not sure about the new type Boyer but the older type definitely sparked when switching on/off
Cheers