No spark, 1977 FLH Shovelhead
#11
If you have the old style points ignition inside the round cover with two screws on the cam cover (right side of the enigne) you are ok with the 5 ohm coil. If you aren't sure, remove the two screws and have a look. The ignition (spark plugs) should fire when the points open. But are the points set to the correct gap when on top of the ignition cam lobe?
Remove the round cover with two screws on the cam cover and take a picture of what you have and post it here.
Paul
Remove the round cover with two screws on the cam cover and take a picture of what you have and post it here.
Paul
Ignition Coil
Under the Cam Cover
Last edited by EntirelySoulless; 09-01-2024 at 03:31 PM.
#12
The coil looks like an older Accel Power Pulse coil wiht 4.5 ohms. As long as it good, it should work with your setup. I'm assuming it is getting gas to the carb and the acceperator pump is squirting gas in the intake.
The points don't look good, crusty and some corrosion. But it's difficult to find good points as they aren't widely used and most are cheaply made which tend to fail or just not work.
I can't tell if the points are on the ramp, but it looks like they are partly open in the picture. If they are open, use your ohm meter to check for continuity to ground on the part that has the spring and wires connected to it. If it is open (no connection to ground), turn on the ignition switch and check for power on the side with the spring and wires connect to it. If there is power then turn off the key switch and lightly run some fine sand paper across the points contact. Then be sure the points are on the cam lobe and set the opening to .015-.018 and see it will start.
Paul
The points don't look good, crusty and some corrosion. But it's difficult to find good points as they aren't widely used and most are cheaply made which tend to fail or just not work.
I can't tell if the points are on the ramp, but it looks like they are partly open in the picture. If they are open, use your ohm meter to check for continuity to ground on the part that has the spring and wires connected to it. If it is open (no connection to ground), turn on the ignition switch and check for power on the side with the spring and wires connect to it. If there is power then turn off the key switch and lightly run some fine sand paper across the points contact. Then be sure the points are on the cam lobe and set the opening to .015-.018 and see it will start.
Paul
#13
The coil looks like an older Accel Power Pulse coil wiht 4.5 ohms. As long as it good, it should work with your setup. I'm assuming it is getting gas to the carb and the acceperator pump is squirting gas in the intake.
The points don't look good, crusty and some corrosion. But it's difficult to find good points as they aren't widely used and most are cheaply made which tend to fail or just not work.
I can't tell if the points are on the ramp, but it looks like they are partly open in the picture. If they are open, use your ohm meter to check for continuity to ground on the part that has the spring and wires connected to it. If it is open (no connection to ground), turn on the ignition switch and check for power on the side with the spring and wires connect to it. If there is power then turn off the key switch and lightly run some fine sand paper across the points contact. Then be sure the points are on the cam lobe and set the opening to .015-.018 and see it will start.
Paul
The points don't look good, crusty and some corrosion. But it's difficult to find good points as they aren't widely used and most are cheaply made which tend to fail or just not work.
I can't tell if the points are on the ramp, but it looks like they are partly open in the picture. If they are open, use your ohm meter to check for continuity to ground on the part that has the spring and wires connected to it. If it is open (no connection to ground), turn on the ignition switch and check for power on the side with the spring and wires connect to it. If there is power then turn off the key switch and lightly run some fine sand paper across the points contact. Then be sure the points are on the cam lobe and set the opening to .015-.018 and see it will start.
Paul
#14
I will check all this in a second, but for the capacitor, I was trying to check the resistance for that and it kept coming back as nothing. I saw online that this could mean that my capacitor has gone bad, which could happen from sitting around for awhile. Do you think this could be the issue if true?
The following users liked this post:
EntirelySoulless (09-01-2024)
#15
I can't tell if the points are on the ramp, but it looks like they are partly open in the picture. If they are open, use your ohm meter to check for continuity to ground on the part that has the spring and wires connected to it. If it is open (no connection to ground), turn on the ignition switch and check for power on the side with the spring and wires connect to it. If there is power then turn off the key switch and lightly run some fine sand paper across the points contact. Then be sure the points are on the cam lobe and set the opening to .015-.018 and see it will start.
Paul
Paul
Ignition Coil | Power | Continuity P | Cap. Res.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Disconnected | Off | False | N/A
Connected | Off | True | 4.7 Ω
Connected | On | False | N/A
Last edited by EntirelySoulless; 09-01-2024 at 04:45 PM.
#16
Did you try to start it after this?
Sounds like the points are shorted. I'd see if a local auto parts place has some. But that is not a commonly used part these days so you may have to fine something online.Look for points and condensor (capacitor) that are made in the USA if possible. Too many times the ones overseas are defective out of the box.
Paul
Sounds like the points are shorted. I'd see if a local auto parts place has some. But that is not a commonly used part these days so you may have to fine something online.Look for points and condensor (capacitor) that are made in the USA if possible. Too many times the ones overseas are defective out of the box.
Paul
#18
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Coromandel Peninsula New Zealand
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If I was gonna take a guess from looking at the pic, I would say your capacitor wire is grounding the points to the backplate...at least it looks that way.
generally speaking, capacitors are usually fubar, they used to be a constant source of breakdowns back in the day.
Get a new one and new points, take the back plate out, clean it and also behind it, where it touches the nose cone. Put points and condenser in, make sure the connectors to the points aren't touching the backplate and time it statically, check for a spark and get back to us.
generally speaking, capacitors are usually fubar, they used to be a constant source of breakdowns back in the day.
Get a new one and new points, take the back plate out, clean it and also behind it, where it touches the nose cone. Put points and condenser in, make sure the connectors to the points aren't touching the backplate and time it statically, check for a spark and get back to us.
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EntirelySoulless (09-01-2024)
#19
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Location: Coromandel Peninsula New Zealand
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The correct connectors for both the points wire and the condenser wire is a fork that sits at 90 degrees from the wires (see pic) this ensures that the wire is kept to the outside of the points area (away from the backplate and the sides) and prevents grounding or sparking.
Doing it any other way can cause a heap of problems...I know...I've seen them all Lol!
Even if it doesn't cure the problem, it will prevent problems in future and is one other thing that you can consider fixed in your search for the spark.
Doing it any other way can cause a heap of problems...I know...I've seen them all Lol!
Even if it doesn't cure the problem, it will prevent problems in future and is one other thing that you can consider fixed in your search for the spark.
The following 2 users liked this post by Spanners39:
EntirelySoulless (09-01-2024),
pgreer (09-02-2024)
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