Questionhello bill,i just finished rebuilding a 1970 qa50 engine,i started it last night and let it run for awhile,i started it 7 or 8 times this morning with no problem! it started on the 1st kick every time with no choke.so its been run 9 or 10 between last night and this morning,well...i went back to start it a few hours ago and got nothing? i checked for spark and im not getting any now? i just replaced the ignition coil with a brand new one i had on the shelf,still no spark? i have a new primary coil in there but figured i,d check it for continuity,it seems to be good,i tried starting it with the kill switch dis-connected and still no spark or start? im pretty baffled as this bike was running great up until a few hours ago? could it be something with the points? should i re-set the gap and try again? any suggestions would be much appreciated,thanks,rick
AnswerRick, it could be any number of things...
Hopefully, you tried a fresh new spark plug first. If the bike was starting on no choke, it might have been running too rich and fuel fouled a spark plug. Test with a fresh one first.
If you changed the points and condenser, you might want to recheck your point gap/ignition timing first. New points have high spots on their rubbing blocks that can wear down quickly, especially if you haven't used proper point cam grease for lubricant.
You might have a dead condenser, although that usually results more in an intermittent spark than none at all.
Something in the primary coil wiring might have shifted or loosened. I would pull the flywheel and have a look at everything inside there especially anything that you replaced during the rebuild.
Use a test light or meter to check for any voltage output from the flywheel wiring harness that goes to the coil. Unplug the ignition coil and test the primary wire going to it to see if you have voltage generated there or not. If so, then the problem is further on. If not, back track until you determine which part has failed or is getting shorted out for some reason.
Bill Silver
