Need help diagnosing no-spark condition

anachronism

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Mar 20, 2008
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Ok, so I recently put together a "happy-time" kit and have about 50 miles on it.

I have been commuting to school on the bike, which is about a 2 mile trip each way.

Anyhow, I got caught out in a rain/sleet storm last week- very wet. The bike ended up dying about 100 yards from my house.

It appears to be a spark issue. I've checked the carb, done a compression test, and everything looks good from that side.

I've also checked the wiring with a multimeter, and haven't seen any problems. Everything that should be grounded is, the kill switch works, etc.

What should I look at next?
 
You said you've "checked the wiring with a multimeter" so that means you've removed the magneto cover and let any moisture THOROUGHLY evaporate?
 
Doh! I opened it up and there was a ton of water in there. I'm not sure how it got in there as it looked pretty well sealed.

I was suspecting the spark box, not the magneto.

Can I expect it to work once it dries out in there?
 
Simon has the same problem. Rode in the rain and it quit on him. But he has spark. So I really don't know, but apparently the crappytimes and water do not go well together.
 
It should work once it's THOROUGHLY dried-out...speed up the process by blowing pretty warm air from a hair-dryer or something like that in there....any heat your skin can stand a mag can stand.
MAKE SURE this doesn't happen again by blocking any possible water entry points(eg,where the 3 wires leave the engine casing)
Dodge the raindrops. ;)
 
i got some interesting shocks when riding in the rain once, but i redid the wiring and sealed it up with some duct tape at the crisis points and it has since not been an issue.
I don't think my magneto case was leaking as much as yours was though. Should work fine once dry.
 
if your mag got wet, it's probably toast
the cover needs to be sealed as well as the exit point for the wires
they ride em in the rain up in wash st. all the time, so it is doable
 
Ok, I left it open and dried it out, but still no go. How do I test the magneto?
 
Simon has the same problem. Rode in the rain and it quit on him. But he has spark. So I really don't know, but apparently the crappytimes and water do not go well together.

I swapped coils with my spare one from my last engine. It fired right up. It was sputtering when I went wide open throttle. The plug is probably fouled. I will swap that one with my spare when the engine cools down, then try it again! :cool:
 
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