QuestionHi Bill : I have a 1975 Honda XL 350 with only 6000 miles on it. I consistenly have starting problems. Right now I have not spark to the plug. It has new points, charged battery and adjusted valves.I have heard the ignition system on these bikes are garbage. Do you have any thoughts ? The only thing I havent checked is the coil and condenser. Is there a way to check the coil ? I have never had a bike lose a coil before !
AnswerDonn, Make sure your new points have nice clean contact faces. Sometimes there is a film of protective coating to keep them from rusting that will effectively prevent them from closing to complete the circuit. It is easy to put the points wire in the wrong place and accidentally ground them permanently, so they no longer are able to switch the coil on and off.
If you look at the old points, evidence of a lot of major pitting would indicate that the condenser has failed. You can check the coil by measuring the primary side windings (small terminals) with an ohm meter. Should be around 4 ohms.
With nice clean ungrounded points, the gap should be about .014" with them opening at the F mark alignment. It is hard to measure when they open/close with an ohm meter because of the influence of the coil windings and the condenser.
You are right, Honda's coils seldom fail, especially at low miles/hours, but anything is possible. I would never call Honda's ignition products "garbage." Current generations of riders don't often understand the function of points-type ignitions and become frustrated when it doesn't function properly.
http://oldmanhonda.com/MC/WiringDiagrams/MCwiring.php for wiring diagram if you don't have one. Check all electrical connections for clean, tight fits. Make sure the KILL switch isn't causing an issue due to corrosion on the switch contacts or loose wire connections.
Bill Silver
