Ignition questions

[Yamahammer1200]

The right coil seems to be failing.  This occurs when the engine is hot, traffic or afternoons, never in the morning when it is cool and foggy.
The tach needle drops out, and so do two cylinders. 
Sometimes the coil wakes back up, but that isn't happening much anymore.
When the bike dies, I can wait 10 minutes and fire it up again.  Then it fails a few miles down the road.
I have checked the ground and connectors, all good.
To confuse matters, I do have a Dyna 2000 ignition.  I'm not sure if this could be a factor.
Please advise.

[fj1289]

Try swapping the coils.  If it follows the coil ID saythe coil is going bad.  If it stays with the same cylinders I'd suspect the Dyna2000

[red]

The right coil seems to be failing.  This occurs when the engine is hot, traffic or afternoons, never in the morning when it is cool and foggy.

Yamahammer,

If you have a digital Voltmeter, you can use the Ohms function for some quick-&-dirty testing.  Disconnect the wiring to the coils, everywhere.  Measure the Ohms from the input to ground, on each coil.  Measure the Ohms from the output (spark plug lead socket) to ground, on each coil.  The two input ohms readings should be fairly close in value (within maybe 5%).  The two output Ohms readings will be very different from the input values, but these two output readings should also be fairly close to each other (within maybe 5%).  Most likely, the bad coil will have an input reading or an output reading that is less than the good coil.  All you can do with a bad coil is to replace it, and it's best (for performance and reliability) to replace both coils if one is bad.  You can keep the leftover good coil as a spare, if you like.  New coil-to-sparkplug wires and boots would be advisable too, in case a bad wire has taken out one coil.

Of course, the best testing would be done with a coil tester, or with an inductance meter, but equipment like that may be scarce.

Cheers,
Red

[FJ_Hooligan]

It's the Dyna ignition.

I had 2 do the EXACT same thing.  Sent them back to Dyna and they confirmed it was a bad solder joint that would fail when hot.

They charged me $123 for a new unit.  Supposedly that's their cost.  

I bought 2 Dynas at the same time because I had 2 FJ and was going to do them both.  Almost immediately, one coil went bad.  They sent a replacement for free.  That ignition unit was installed for about 5 years and had maybe 5000 miles on it.  I swapped to my other unit (never installed it on the second FJ due to the problems I was having on the first) as a backup while the first unit was being tested at Dyna.  It lasted about a week then started doing the same thing.

The new units have been failure free for several years now.

Get hold of Larry Nelson at Dynatek 1-800-928-3962

[fj1289]

It's the Dyna ignition.

I had 2 do the EXACT same thing.  Sent them back to Dyna and they confirmed it was a bad solder joint that would fail when hot.

They charged me $123 for a new unit.  Supposedly that's their cost.  

I bought 2 Dynas at the same time because I had 2 FJ and was going to do them both.  Almost immediately, one coil went bad.  They sent a replacement for free.  That ignition unit was installed for about 5 years and had maybe 5000 miles on it.  I swapped to my other unit (never installed it on the second FJ due to the problems I was having on the first) as a backup while the first unit was being tested at Dyna.  It lasted about a week then started doing the same thing.

The new units have been failure free for several years now.

Get hold of Larry Nelson at Dynatek 1-800-928-3962

I have heard of a bad " batch" of it ituo s Dyna had forashoet while -- sounds like you were doubly unlucky!  Other than that bad batch, I haven't heard of many issues first hand.  I've been lucky myself with the two units I have run in the past.

[Pat Conlon]

Chris, Hooli is not the only one, several other folks have reported the same problem (coil dropout)
Randy has a few race car customers who have had the same issue.

I do hope Dyna has corrected the problem. The Dyna 2000 is the only game in town for aftermarket ignitions on our FJ's

[racerrad8]

Randy has a few race car customers who have had the same issue.

Still a ongoing issue. You send them back to Dyna, they give you the "cost price" to repair/replace and they send it back to you.

I do not know what the issue is, but one of my locals guys had his crap out at the first race last weekend...it ran fine all last season.

Randy - RPM

[FJ1100mjk]

The Dyna 2000 is the only game in town for aftermarket ignitions on our FJ's

Maybe not.

MSD MC-4

Big $ though, and that's just for the module.

[fj1289]

The Dyna 2000 is the only game in town for aftermarket ignitions on our FJ's

Maybe not.

MSD MC-4

Big $ though, and that's just for the module.

Wow!  For that kind of $$$ I'd want to control a lot more than just the ignition!

[theLeopard]

engine is overheating and shutting down?
sounds like an electronic issue, likely sensor calibration.

if that isn't the issue, i've heard a few people talk about "hot starts". apparently you can upgrade/update the starter hardware to keep the bike running even while hot.

myself i'd suggest a larger oil pan and incorporating an aircooling vent (similar to the engine vents on the side ferrings) to push air over your oil pan. that presumes you ride it enough, hard enough, to need that sort of aftermarket upgrade.

i'd also suggest cleaning the block and fiddling with the aircooling for the engine block (ferring work, mostly) or possibly making a conversion to a liquid-cooled system but
1) i dont know jack &
2) you're paying for it

might consider optimizing your chain length to reduce the RPM requirements at speed. for the most part a longer chain will allow you to drive faster with less engine stress, but you'll lose a bit of torque. you can calibrate your sprockets as well, and you'll want to optimize your wheel bearings and probably upgrade your rims to something lighter than OEM.

good luck~

[simi_ed]

FTFY!

Ed

engine is overheating and shutting down?
sounds like an electronic issue, likely sensor calibration.

if that isn't the issue, i've heard a few people talk about "hot starts". apparently you can upgrade/update the starter hardware to keep the bike running even while hot.

myself i'd suggest a larger oil pan and incorporating an aircooling vent (similar to the engine vents on the side ferrings) to push air over your oil pan. that presumes you ride it enough, hard enough, to need that sort of aftermarket upgrade.

i'd also suggest cleaning the block and fiddling with the aircooling for the engine block (ferring work, mostly) or possibly making a conversion to a liquid-cooled system but
1) i dont know jack &
2) you're paying for it

might consider optimizing your chain length to reduce the RPM requirements at speed. for the most part a longer chain will allow you to drive faster with less engine stress, but you'll lose a bit of torque. you can calibrate your sprockets as well, and you'll want to optimize your wheel bearings and probably upgrade your rims to something lighter than OEM.

good luck~

[rktmanfj]

FTFY!

Ed

   

[Arnie]

Ed,

You nailed it. 

[Yamahammer1200]

I picked up a coil on eBay, and will replace the original.  If the problem persists, I will look to the Dyna 2000.
Can the Dyna ruin a coil if it goes bad?
I also made up a coil relay harness that I plan on installing with the replacement coil

[flips]

Hi Yamahammer1200

It's the Dyna ignition.

+1

I had the same thing happen to my dyna2000 ignition. It would drop a coil when hot.
Re fitted the oem ignition and the problem went away.

I must admit though , it seemed to really run sweet when the dyna was working!.

I have been contemplating one of these ...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/For-YAMAHA-FJ-XJ-400-550-750-900-1100-1200-IGNITION-/201548597510?hash=item2eed3b8906:g:JfYAAOSw9mFWJxkg

Any one tried this ignition before? 

Cheers, 

Jeff P