No Spark

[Gary S]

After washing my bike last night I started it and ran it for maybe 30 seconds. Came out this morning to ride to work and the fuel pump pumps and starter cranks fine but no spark. Any suggestions on where to start troubleshooting?

[Gary S]

Oh! by the way the bike is a 99RT with 43K on the clock. I have pulled the coil and checked the resistance at the primary coil pins and found 0.5 ohms. Which is what is called for in the hall effect diagnosis by Dana Hager. But the secondary coil is reading 7.33k instead of 13k. Could this be the problem?

[Bprimm]

Hall sensor behind the crank pulley. Remove the cover and use a fan to dry it out. You might get lucky.

[Bprimm]

Hall sensor behind the crank pulley. Remove the cover and use a fan to dry it out. You might get lucky.

 

You can also go here and read what "Joe Frickin'/Mitch has to say

 

I was too frickin' slow to edit.

[Jim Moore]

7.33K is good-to-go. The 13K spec was a misprint.

[Stan Walker]

After washing my bike last night I started it and ran it for maybe 30 seconds

 

A little late to tell you this, but after washing the bike it's a good idea to take it for a ride long enough to bring the motor up to full temp. It helps dry things out when you park it hot. I have a 20 mile loop that I use just for this purpose.

 

Stan

[Alan D]

Is there a time (3 or more years for example) or mileage (30K and up?) or particular year (1999 models) for the poorly wired Hall sensors?

Or

Just how concerned should I be with my 2000 RT with 46K?

I'm leaving tomorrow for a 1500 mile trip and it looks like rain!

Thanks

[Gary S]

Bruce, I followed the link to Joe Friday's post and attempted to do what he suggested. What I found was with the connector connected and the key on pin 5 read 0 vdc and pin 2 read 2.7 vdc. This with the engine on tdc. With the connector disconnected and the key on pin 5 11.62 vdc, pin 4 .002vdc, pin 3 .004 vdc, pin 2 11.62vdc and pin 1 .004 vdc. When I started to rotate the engine with everything connected and power on I started to hear what I thought was a short but did not waste anytime disconnecting it. With what I've found so far would you say it points to the Hall effect sensors or not? Oh and I rotated the engine one complete turn with the key off and then tested the connector connected and I had about the same readings as before at pins 5&2. Gary

[Bprimm]

Gary

First..be careful when using the bikes electricity to check functions. Having said that..

 

The steps Mitch provided are to see if timing sensors are functioning. An alligator clip on the neg. probe allows fastening to ground of battery. Back-probe connector for pins 2 and 5 with key on. ( connector is still connected to bike) As sensor functions during engine rotation (turn with rear tire with tran. in 5th or turn at crank pulley with 17 mm wrench)

you should get a reading somewhere close to 11 volts.

 

Be careful not to "arc" anything while working. The Motronic can be damaged from "jumping" electricity.

[Gary S]

Hey Bruce thanks for the advise. What I have found is that with the probe from the multimeter pushed into the electrical connector in pin #5 and the power turned on I hear some kind of crackling noise (that may not be the best word to describe it) but no noise without the probe. So I don't know what the hell is going on. I don't understand what the multimeter and the noise have in common. I'm confident that the probe was not touching anything it wasn't suppose to, so I didn't cause a short or anything like that. As of right now I have the Hall effect sensor plate removed. And I'm going to replace the sensors if I can get them this weekend.

[No_Twilight]

A little late to tell you this, but after washing the bike it's a good idea to take it for a ride long enough to bring the motor up to full temp. It helps dry things out when you park it hot. I have a 20 mile loop that I use just for this purpose.

 

Stan

 

Or just don't wash it...I know it's been at least 2 months since I washed mine...never waste riding time polishing...or if you do prefer polishing, I've got some silverware....

[bmwmick]

7.33K is good-to-go. The 13K spec was a misprint.

 

Jim,

The early model bikes DID in fact have 13K Ohm secondaries. I happen to have one. : ))

 

Mick

[bmwmick]

Hey Bruce thanks for the advise. What I have found is that with the probe from the multimeter pushed into the electrical connector in pin #5 and the power turned on I hear some kind of crackling noise (that may not be the best word to describe it) but no noise without the probe. So I don't know what the hell is going on. I don't understand what the multimeter and the noise have in common. I'm confident that the probe was not touching anything it wasn't suppose to, so I didn't cause a short or anything like that. As of right now I have the Hall effect sensor plate removed. And I'm going to replace the sensors if I can get them this weekend.

 

Gary,

It will do no good to simply replace the sensors in your case. What has happened is that the insulation they used in the cable harness from the sensor leads to the connector is audio quality wire. In the high heat environment they live in, they turn to powder.

You need to rewire the harness at the same time you replace the sensors.

 

Mick

Tucson

[Jim Moore]

I'm really curious. Have you measured it? My '97 RT measured at 7.5. The mechanics at Brattin said it was bad. The new one they sold me also measured 7.5 I used the new one and it worked like a champ (turned out the problem was something else). I'd be very interested to hear of an oilhead coil that read 13K volts across the secondaries. If there's a difference, when did they change it and why?

[bmwmick]

Jim,

I have a 09/95 '96 R1100RT. Secondary measures about 13.3K OHMS. I don't have a way of measuring K Volts.

My K1100LT also measures about 13K ohms on the secondary. I sort of wonder if they didn't change it about the time they went from MA 2.1 to MA 2.2 on the Motronic units.

 

Mick

[Jim Moore]

Ohms, volts, whatever it takes. Very interesting. Thanks.

[Gary S]

Well after tearing into it I found that the HE Sensors were bad. I also found upon removal of the sensors that they had quite a buildup of ferrous metal on the magnets. The rotor was also filthy. I followed the instrucions by Dana Hager. They were very helpful. What I would like to ad to the list as possible indicators of impending Hall sensor failure is engine pinging. About a couple of months ago I picked up a slight ping under hard acceleration. As far as all the other indications suggested I experienced none of these. With the sensor magnets contaminated with metal fillings and the rotor being filthy the signal the Motronic was recieving may have been slightly degraded. I also found the wiring harness was in bad shape at the sensor end. I rebuilt the harness with teflon coated wires. After the repair the engine no longer pings at all. What I would like to ad as periodic maintenance is say at every 20K or so removing the engine pulley and cleaning the rotor and removing the metal filings from the magnets with a blast of compressed air. What do you think? Gary

[Ken H.]

Personally I've never seen metal filings on one. Something must have been rubbing somewhere.

 

If he HAL had physically moved enough to disrupt the timing, I can certainly believe this would contribute to pining.

[bmwmick]

Gary,

I agree with Ken, don't waste your time with a scheduled cleaning. The sensors are riveted on the plate and there should be no interference with the timing pulley, ever. I have also never seen metal filings on the sensor magnets, even on some high mileage bikes.

 

Mick

[Gary S]

Hey Mick & Ken,

I wonder if the operating enviorment in which the bike is ridden in could be a contributor of contamination? Up here in Minnesota we have an awful lot of truck traffic. Which is hauling mostly sand for contruction, but alot of others are hauling God knows what. Also Minnesota has an area referred to as the iron range and is heavily mined. And I would add that the trucks are not required to cover their loads for hauling.

I saw no evidence of anything rubbing in this area. But the cover has vent holes on both sides near the lower pulley and this could be the entry provided for the comtamination.

So sometime in the future when I put the motorcycle away for the winter I'll remove the pulley and have a look see. Thanks for your responses. Gary