Hi, about 2 months ago i tested the buggy and my engine began to run rough and it stalled allot, the next thing it wouldn't start at all. I noticed that my middle coil wasn't sparking, I tested it by swapping the 2 coil plugs and it works.While I crank the engine the ic ignitor and the middle coil gets a bit warm. Any ideas?
Ok now it has no spark :dash2:
I opened the left side cover and saw that the points? were not touching the rotating thing, should it?
please help, Erik.
Hi mate, no they don't touch the timing rotor,just a small gap, about 1mm or so, think its a set distance and not adjustable
Quote from: Fj1200buggy on June 20, 2013, 03:53:11 PM
I opened the left side cover and saw that the points?
Points...?
Not on an FJ1100/1200.
I have to ask, are you sure you have an FJ1100/1200 engine? It might be worth posting a photo of it.
Randy - RPM
Well the engine looks exactly like the fj motors I googled and it did come out of a crashed fj 1200. At this stage I know so little about motorbikes I can easily make you believe its not an fj :biggrin:
Thanks for the replies.
two points after you swapped coils was it running on two or four cylinders, by the way I assume that you've had it running ok
I am unsure of a couple of things from your description if you swapped the connection plug and plug leads ok but if you swapped only the small connector to the harness then it should not have run. if it did then the original setup was wrong the two outside plug leads are connected to one oil and the two inside to the other
if this the way things are then 1st check the earth connections ( grounds) if these are ok then it sounds as though it has damaged both coils, from your description of what happened I suspect that a fault somewhere has possibly fried the inner coil then when you swapped coil connectors the fault has fried the second coil
I may be wrong but its time to get the multi-meter out to check coil resistance+ voltage etc
two points after you swapped coils was it running on two or four cylinders, by the way I assume that you've had it running ok
Hi, it was running perfectly, on all 4 cylinders, it stalled and I couldn't get it started again. I tested the spark and only the outer coil worked, I swapped the wires of the 2 coils to test if the coil was the problem and with that setup the outer coils didnt fire but the inner did-I did not try to run it like this obviously-I tried it again after putting everything back to normal and the outer worked but not the inner, now nothing works.
Thanks for the reply, I hope everything is clearer now.
If the wires you swapped were the input to the coils and not the HT spark plug leads, then what you've discovered is that either one of the wires to the coil that is not sparking is broken, or that the igniter is bad. With the ignition ON, the R-W wires should each have a nominal 12+V on it.
Hope that helps,
Arnie
Thanks, I will try tomorrow- it was the coil input wires, but why does nothing spark now?
I finally got the dyna system and the thing finally runs. I am not sure if my generator is working properly, is there a way to test it and can it damage my dyna system? Also the engine doesnt want to idle, I didnt change any carb settings and when the stock system worked it idled fine....What advance/retard settings work the best?
Thanks, Erik.
Re: charging: with the engine stopped, check the battery resting voltage...now with the engine running at ~2k rpm check the voltage...should be 14.2-14.7 volts.
Tell us what you find...
Going by memory, there are 5 different settings (ignition advance maps) on the Dyna 2000.
Folks have used setting #3 on their FJs.
Thanks, When I start it and rev it a bit with the alternator plugged in, the main fuse just blows.
It also backfires, is that because I didnt set the pickup coil angles correctly or is that an advance curve setting?
Thanks for the help.
Could be....what setting are you on?
Fix the ground fault (or short) on the alternator first. You can damage your electronics.
As else fails, revert back to the stock TCI and see if the problem persists.
Quote from: Pat Conlon on April 17, 2014, 12:09:27 PM
Could be....what setting are you on?
Fix the ground fault (or short) on the alternator first. You can damage your electronics.
As else fails, revert back to the stock TCI and see if the problem persists.
So is it a ground fault?
I dont know if the alternator caused my stock electronics to break, I basically redid most of the wiring for the new system...
I dont have a working stock TCI, I had the Dyna set on 1 and 3.
...or short.......Something's blowing your main fuse.
Do you have a factory workshop manual yet?
Could it be caused by a bad regulator?
No, I dont have a workshop manual.
I've not heard of a bad regulator ever causing the main fuse to blow.
I tested if the alternator was charging today, it reads 15.7V at high idle. The main fuse gets very hot, starts melting.....
I also did the coil relay mod.
Yep, 15.7 volts is much too high....time for a new voltage regulator.
Check all wires going to the generator....especially the field wire.
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8788.msg86976 (http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8788.msg86976)
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8635.msg80450 (http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8635.msg80450)
Thanks for the quick reply, someone told me I can use a bridge rectifier/diode bridge that drops the volts by 0.6 or 1.2V, could that work?
Do the volts go up when the revs go up?
Quote from: Pat Conlon on April 21, 2014, 11:13:22 AM
Yep, 15.7 volts is much too high....time for a new voltage regulator.
Check all wires going to the generator....especially the field wire.
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8788.msg86976 (http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8788.msg86976)
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8635.msg80450 (http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=8635.msg80450)
+1 :good2:
Max you should see is 15 volts. 15.7 will damage/distroy your battery in time. Plus you are working your generator (more heat). I have just recently ordered an adjustable voltage regulator and thanks to the Unipods there is lots of room to remote mount. :good2: :good2:
For my application I want the adjustability as I am tinkering with the system. If you do not need that then you can just use a fixed voltage regulator.
George
Quote from: Fj1200buggy on April 21, 2014, 11:37:20 AM
Thanks for the quick reply, someone told me I can use a bridge rectifier/diode bridge that drops the volts by 0.6 or 1.2V, could that work?
Do the volts go up when the revs go up?
Yes you can drop the voltage, BUT that isn't fixing the root of the problem. As I see it your generator will still see almost 16 volts kicking out and your generator or and voltage regulator will fail.
sorry , didn't mean to interrupt the flow of things. Advise, make sure you have a good battery, electrical connects and replace the voltage regulator. Putting dike in front of a leaky dam is going to fix the problem.
George
Yep, I agree with George. Don't half ass it. Do it right. Get a new VR.
I like the remote mounted Transpo regulators. It gets the unit away from the engine vibrations and heat....and it's output voltage is adjustable. (14.2 volts keeps my AGM's happy)
See the File Section....follow the instructions.
As we said before....Check your wiring and esp. the field wire.
I'm entering this a bit late - but would like to add a couple things.
First, from he dates on the posts, I'm guessing this buggy hasn't been run in several months. As a result, the carbs have to be cleaned well because they will have gummed up and the idle circuits are the first to go. The files section has some very good write ups on carb cleaning and jetting.
Here's a link to a legends car wiring diagram. http://loosenuts.com/Legends-Car-Wiring-Diagram.html (http://loosenuts.com/Legends-Car-Wiring-Diagram.html)
Do you have a diagram for how your buggy is wired? My gut feeling is most of your issues (other than the idling issue) are related to the wiring. I've had to work a lot of bugs out of the harness I built for the drag bike. Poor connections will have you chasing your tail and scratching your head - been there done that! Also, make sure the alternator is wired properly. I know someone (I think derbybrit) solved an overvoltage problem by running an additional wire? or heavier wire? to the voltage regulator to fix a problem where it doesn't read the full voltage the alternator is putting out. But like has already been said - definitely fix the overvoltage issue -- it is a common failure point on these engines.
Keep at it and good luck! Any pics of the buggy?
Thanks, I just checked the wiring again, the alternator wires have a bad soldered spot on them....ill fix that tomorrow.
I did clean the carbs after this happened :shok: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB9NB6OEczc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB9NB6OEczc)
I have another question, about the tach. With the stock ignition ect. the engine would die as soon as I connected the tach to the coil, will it be safe to try it again or could it damage my new system?
Ill post some pictures of the buggy over the weekend after everything is sorted and in place (hopefully).
Here are a few pictures of it when it had the 1968 Mini 1275 engine in.
Took it for a testdrive sunday, then this happened.....
now I need to replace the shocks and fix a bent driveshaft too :cray:
Ouch....how did that happen?
You do know that air cooled engines, especially big engines like the FJ...need (as in require) air flow...
Something you do not have in the current configuration.
I suggest at least a couple of cooling fans....or a Hank Scott water cooled cylinder.
Quote from: Pat Conlon on April 28, 2014, 02:48:29 PM
Ouch....how did that happen?
You do know that air cooled engines, especially big engines like the FJ...need (as in require) air flow...
Something you do not have in the current configuration.
I suggest at least a couple of cooling fans....or a Hank Scott water cooled cylinder.
Or some kind of ducting at the very least! :bomb:
There is a huge fan right infront of the engine, my oil temp never got to 90, but I didnt really push it that hard.
You can see it if you zoom in, I also want to know, can I lift the oil cooler to the roof?
Ok, good on the fan....
I don't know about lifting the oil cooler to the roof....that's a question for Randy who deals with remote oil coolers on the Legends/Thunder cars....I don't know if the 2 stage oil pump can lift that high...
I would leave the oil cooler in front of the fan...it's protected and will have good airflow at low speeds.
On the roof with a roll over (far from camp) = more worries for you.
I need to get that voltage regulator now, can someone please tell me or send me a link to which one I should get?
I've been looking at these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electrosport-Industries-ESR025-Regulator-Internal-Unit-/331094794697?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AFJ1200&hash=item4d16c9a1c9&vxp=mtr (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electrosport-Industries-ESR025-Regulator-Internal-Unit-/331094794697?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AFJ1200&hash=item4d16c9a1c9&vxp=mtr)
They are just so expensive!
And any ideas to what can cause my main fuse blowing, as far as Im concerned my wiring is in perfect condition, Thanks in advance.
The remote mount Transpo is not that expensive....easy to install...follow the directions in the Files.
@15.7 volts, you need a new regulator for sure...why not start there and see if that cures your main fuse problem.
However it's doubtful in my opinion, but you never know...stranger things have happened.
I still think you have a short or ground fault somewhere....it takes a lot of current to melt that main fuse.
Quote from: Pat Conlon on April 30, 2014, 07:56:24 PM
I still think you have a short or ground fault somewhere....it takes a lot of current to melt that main fuse.
+1 :good:
Does anyone have any experience with one of these regulator/rectifiers?
Anyway, I fitted one like it today and it works well, Im just worried because the 3 wires coming from the alternator get quite hot, and the regulator itself also gets warm.
My diagram isnt 100% correct, the red wire from the alternator (black from regulator) is connected to where the brown wire was originally conected.