Electrical Woes

[SmokeAddicted]

I'm aware this may be a lost cause over the internet, but I'm trying anyway. These are all new symptoms. I have a Dyna S ignition with Economy Cycle coils. After 6 days, I'm not sure where to look anymore. I know very little about what has been done with this bike by previous owners. The electrical system is as it was when purchased.

Current symptoms is the bike has spark from both coils when turning the key to the OFF position and #2 (final) position. Kill switch is set to RUN. Note, the bike only runs in the #1 (middle) position.  Also, both coils are hot to touch in this position. Coils reading 4 ohms when tested/battery disconnected.

I've cleaned the hell out of the grounds. All wires related to the coils are in decent shape and well wrapped. Beyond re-wiring the whole bike, and buying a more modern ignition, I'm at a total loss. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

[m in sc]

the coils and dyna need to be powered by a lighter brown wire in the harness. common error to tie it to the darker brown one .

just start tracing the circuit back

[SmokeAddicted]

I'll double check, but the harness hasn't been touched since my ownership. Bike ran perfectly fine prior to this. It's also draining the battery when the coils are energized. Not falling and staying steady, but draining.

Since posting, I pulled the lower/case boot off yet again, and noticed the black wire between the stator and regulator practically fell out of its connector with no force. I'm assuming it's some type of ground wire.

[m in sc]

yes the black wire is the brush ground.

its possible there's a mechanical failure in the key switch as well

[SmokeAddicted]

Correcting the black wire seemed to cure the heat and key induced spark. Problem may be solved so long as it charges (which it was not).

[m in sc]

thats weird. id def run an extra ground to the motor if that had that effect

[SmokeAddicted]

I think it's solved. The respective coil does get warm, but I discovered that it's directly related to the position of the crank. That cost a fair bit of time. Voltage is not dropping at the battery.

What still puzzles me is the spark plug on the active coil side, has a small discharge when turning the key to the off position. I can control which spark plug dose this, by rotating the crank.

All this to ask, is that somewhat normal? It's a small pop. Nothing like when it's kicked over. Just seems unusual to me.

[m in sc]

yes that's actually normal. when the voltage source is cut the field collapses and it will discharge. with points its thru the capacitor. w out,  it can spark

[SmokeAddicted]

I've sure wasted a lot of time searching for nothing    Thanks for confirming

[m in sc]

its a fun phrnomenon when it backfires. my kz w a dyna does it on rare occasion when I turn it off

[SmokeAddicted]

Back to the drawing board. I tightened up the power wire from the stator to the coils. Before starting the bike, I could turn the key ON with the switch the the RUN position.  Voltage would dip .20-.25v and remain steady. Battery held a charge overnight for 3 days.

Now that I have run the bike for maybe 1-2 miles, I'm back to square one. Started with 12.8v, 2 miles later, I'm at 12.3v. This includes continuous revving.

With the key and run switch in the ON position, I'm getting heavy voltage drop. Bike is not running. If I start the bike, rev it out, it seems relatively stable, but voltage definitely is not climbing.

Assuming I don't have an unproved short to ground, Could this be a sign of failing coils, ignition, or regulator/rectifier? Note, there are no lights at all on the bike. The only thing that SHOULD be drawing power is the coils.

[Striker1423]

What does the bike do when its running? Is it charging?

[SmokeAddicted]

It is not charging. The insane part is since last play, I recharged the battery, turned to the ON position, and now for some completely unexplainable reason, the voltage is stable.

It's as though when the bike gets warm, it starts dumping voltage.

[m in sc]

stator or rotor probably is done.  even if it tests well cold, it can fail when warm. has probably been slow failing and reconnecting the ground just finished it off. thats my guess

[SmokeAddicted]

You're probably right. I checked every power wire and ground last night. All stable and in working order. I know the rectifier is original to the bike. Ended up buying a new reg/rec unit Economy Cycle with some proper electrical connectors. Holy shit. What a painfully long lesson.