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No spark & at a dead end

5K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  avu3 
#1 ·
I bought my ‘01 Legend as my first bike back in October. It ran fine when I got it and a good while after i got her back home. Since I'm brand new to riding I only took her around the block a few times once we got back from Barber's. After a long weekend of figuring out how to change out the spark plugs (which I made sure were gapped properly) it began to run choppy. Sputtering but holding around 1k on the tach. I'd try practicing with the clutch in my garage, but whenever I'd drop into first the engine would cut off immediately. After the the sputtering worsened to where I had to continuously rev the throttle to keep the bike alive, otherwise it would putter for a few seconds then die. In all to make matters worse it up and decided it was done playing games and won't start at all.

So here's what I've gotten so far in my troubleshooting. All the main wiring has continuity so I know they're getting power. Two ignition coils shot bad and had no continuity. I replaced all three with new Nology coils. The spark plug wires all shot good for continuity. The ohms were out of range on the pickup coil so I replaced it and set the gap to the measurement I saw someone say the Haynes manual they had called for (.6mm or .0236 in). I remove the No.1 plug wire after every changed part and use a known good spark plug to check for spark. Everytime I do there's nothing. I'm at a loss so ANY other ideas y'all may have would be greatly appreciated.

Just a few quick additions - The engine is turning over and there's compression, checked the tailpipes to make sure they weren't blocked (everything was good there), and there doesn't seem to be a vacuum problem. I've also bench synched the carbs just trying to get it back to where it'll start. Figured I'd tune them once I can actually get it to come alive. N lastly to avoid the duh things the kill switch isn't on, battery stays fully charged, and i always make sure I have the petcock valve set to allow fuel in when I try to start it.

Thanks Again
 
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#2 ·
Could be the igniter?

Have you checked for some *AC* volts at the coil negative terminals (wrt ground), indicating the regular pulsing feed to fire the coils?

Or alternatively used a strobe on each plug to confirm ignition?
 
#3 ·
OK, so 2 problems - no spark, and maybe fuel starvation.

Firstly this:

.....whenever I'd drop into first the engine would cut off immediately
Sounds like the inhibit circuit - ie is the sidestand down when you pop it into gear? If so, put it up first and try again. If not, try grounding the inhibit line at the igniter connector block (grey & white wire), and try again.

Secondly the fuel starvation issue. There's several possible causes for this, but my first "duh" idea would be - is the idle set high enough?

You said you had the carbs apart, so maybe it's just that the idle is set too low. Back the idle screw right off, and screw it in until you see the throttle butterfly assembly start to move, then give it one more turn. Alternatively try starting it with the throttle slightly open - although this can also cause immediate flooding. Also set the choke (enricher) to 3/4 on, any more and it will not start.


here's a nice selection of possible causes of fuel starvation:

Vacuum in tank (blocked vent line) - Loosen the fuel cap.
Dirt in tank blocking the in-tank filter - drain tank, remove petcock and clean.
Blocked duckbill filter - remove it and clean it (easier said than done!!).
Blocked idle jets or jammed float valves -remove carbs and thoroughly clean.
Bad fuel - drain tank, do all above cleaning steps, and try with fresh fuel.

If you're sure fuel is getting through, another rough test is to (first close the fuel tap naturally), then drain each float bowl seperately into a see-through container and compare the amount of fuel that comes out of each bowl. It's not mega-accurate but they should be roughly the same.
 
#4 ·
I don't think it's fuel starvation. At least from the tank. I pull the tank every time something I try doesn't work so I can get to the wiring and all easier. Every time I do there's plenty of fuel still in the line that runs to the carbs. I may take them off and clean them, do you by chance have a hyper link to a video or website that could help. I'm kinda learning as I go lol. As for volts AC at the ignition coils I did both the negative coil terminal and the wire leading to each. The terminals were getting 24v solid and the wiring would get up around 7-9 when if hit the starter. Not sure what to make of the latter but I'm assuming it's alright. How could I troubleshoot the starter itself? Also I forgot to mention the guy I bought it from said he'd replaced the cdi box recently and assuming I'm looking at the right thing it looks fairly new.
 
#6 ·
How's your battery? My bike won't start if the battery isn't good. I mean both new enough to have good capacity AND charged. The sputtering and revs is what I get when my battery is nearly dead.

I just went through this on my bike. Couldn't get it to start even though it turned over strong. I kept the battery on a tender, so the voltage was over 12 static, but 11 cranking cause it was worn out.

Bought a new battery and found out I didn't know what strong was. New batt spun 2x as fast.
 
#7 ·
7-9 Volts when cranking is on the low side.
These bikes are very sensitive to low voltage!
A fresh battery always helps the cause.

Also what Arfer said about the idle setting and the fuel troubleshooting items.

You do have it in neutral with the clutch IN while cranking right?
I had to ask...

Good Luck!
 
#8 ·
Hey guys sorry it's been a minute been kinda slammed. Yeah the battery I'd good is brand new and I keep it on a tender. And I do have it in neutral with the clutch in when I try. I'm tdy right now, but before I left I was able to run through the system and got my number two and three coils to fire like clockwork. Checked the number one wiring and the positive wire is reading open. Figure my next plan of action is to splice a new one in about two inches up from the cdi box. I'd it possible to replace the wiring all the way to the cdi box? If so I'd rather go that route to be extra sure the wiring is good there, but I also don't wanna muck anything up. And no worries about the language I'm a maintainer so there's plenty of that usually.
 
#9 ·
Nick, I just spent a whole month going through what sounds like a similar issue. Mine turned out to be the ignitor. It's a long thread, but have a read through and you may find some clues to narrow down your search :

http://www.triumphrat.net/hinckley-...-2003-tbird-number-2-cylinder-not-firing.html

These bikes and their starting issues are infamous, but once you sort through them, they are a joy to ride.

Spoke to a triumph mechanic after my ordeal and taught me a trick. I cant vouch for it, Apparently to rule out fuel as an issue, pour a little fuel into the vacuum cap of the carb (used for carb balancing) and then try starting. If it fires up, then it's fuel starvation. If not its spark.

Did you try touching (dont get burnt) the number 1 cylinder exhaust head to see if it gets hot ?
 
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