Godzilla pooped the bed!

[Bill Seward]

Weeeeeellllll, I went to ride the Vmax the last 100 feet of the year, and it would not start! Fully charged battery, lights nice and bright. Vboost cycles, fuel pump clicks. Cranks over great. I pulled a COP stick, and got no spark at all. One thing I did notice is the tachometer did not move off zero when cranking. I seem to recall that it would rise off zero a bit to reflect cranking speed. I have yet to check wiring.. It ran perfectly the last time it started. Thinking its a black box, but hoping it is something simple. Looking for advice or comments, this bike has been so reliable I've never had to diagnose this stuff.. Bad way to end a good season. The TCI box is original to the bike, by the way..

 

[Dragmaxster]

Bill, i always carry 2 plugs under the seat just in case one goes i can just plug another in. If no spark though i'm thinking pick-up coil.
Di-electric grease on the cdi plug that goes to the ignition switch.

 

[Fire-medic]

I've had two pick-up coils go bad in my 22 years of VMax ownership. Search here for the cheaper alternative than NOS from an aftermarket supplier. http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=29714&highlight=pick-up

 

[Bill Seward]

Its an 85. I think it uses a double pickup coil?

 

[Fire-medic]

Oh-oh, the thread I posted talks about switching over to the newer ignition of the 1990+. Maybe some other Yamaha application will work? Something newer in the catalog?

 

[Dragmaxster]

Wife says turn the bike 180% away from the garage- it aint ready to go inside yet-:bang head:

 

[Dragmaxster]

I remember Dmans being the neutral switch.

 

[Traumahawk]

Its an 85. I think it uses a double pickup coil?

I believe that it does. Sean has that electrical kit that he will loan out.

Sent from my SCH-R890 using Tapatalk

 

[tothemax93]

Well Bill, look on the bright side. Better now, than when your pulling it out in the spring.

 

[jfeagins]

Point it OUT the driveway, as if you are going to go for a ride, rather than point it INTO that storage shed, and I bet he will fire right up! Remember, our Vmaxes have minds of their own. After more than 30 yrs of ownership, I'd have thought you would have known that by now, Bill. :biglaugh:

 

[Bill Seward]

Took a voltmeter to the pickup coil connector up by the battery:

Using the black wire as the common ground, I got 117 to 119 ohms across all the coils.

 

[Dragmaxster]

Bill, i read a while back Dman999 having the same symptoms and in the end he said it was a neutral switch. I have fixed my kickstand and clutch safety switch- i remember him saying everything lit up but had no coils firing. He solved it finding a problem with the neutral safety switch.

 

[Fire-medic]

That reading sounds in the ballpark for what you should have. Factory manual: 110 ohms (+ or- 10%)

The only thng is if it gets hot and goes 'open.' That's what happened to mine (newer design).

Try lubing the neutral safety switch on the clutch lever, if it sticks, that could be the problem. Same thing can happen w/the sidestand switch, I've had that one happen.

 

[Dorney]

You can try unplugging the kickstand relay under the left scoop by the fan & horn wires. If it starts it's either that relay or the kickstand switch.

Dave

 

[Bill Seward]

All the connections to the TCI box looked good. I just put the bike back together and pushed it to the storage area.... I'll worry about it later..

 

[blaxmax]

Sorry to here that Bill.

 

[Bill Seward]

No way I'm waiting till Spring to fix this.. Pushed the bike back up the hill for another go at it in the garage.. Thanks to Steve for the pickup coil, and Sean for a ignition box.. Now, how in Hell does this thing come out? Looks like I'm gonna need a shoehorn..

 

[Bill Seward]

No joy..
The replacement box didn't work

 

[Fire-medic]

Did you replace the ignition pick-up coils? You have an '85, yes? I believe there should be two.

No joy..
The replacement box didn't work

 

[Bill Seward]

Ignition pickup coils test at the proper resistance cold... Unless there is a problem with the flywheel that is keeping the pickups from getting the magnetic pulse to generate the signal...