I'm trying to help a friend fix his 01 883 with 9,000 miles. He replaced the battery, coil, plugs and wires but he's still getting a very weak spark. The ignition module inside the nose is blinking when the bike turns over but it doesn't have much spark. I'm assuming the module is bad but I want to be sure. How can I test it? The battery is at 12.5 and 12.3 with the key on. He's also getting 12.3 at the coil.

 

I doubt it's the module. That just provides the ground for the coil. A new battery should have more than 12.5V. 12.3V is low. Plugs gapped correctly? Quality coil and wires? Does the bike turn over slowly or normally? What is the voltage when turning over? Ground the coil manually and see what kind of spark you get.

 

sooo I put the bike on the tender over night and it read 12.5. The coil is new so are the wires and plugs. I'm not sure about the gap. It's not my bike and I don't have a service manual. Most electronic ignitions have the same gap, right? I also ran a ground from the coil to the bolt on the motor. I'm still getting a weak spark. With that being said, I tried to start the bike up and it fired up and idled great. It's also charging at 14.5v at around 1200 rpms. Over the past 24 hours I was able to start up the bike over 20 times. No hesitation and each time it idled great. I took the bike off the lift and tried to take it for a ride. I didn't even get it out of the driveway. When i tried to give it gas it just kind of stopped running. I got it to start once again and when I turned the throttle really slow the motor was able to catch up but eventually stalled. Now, I can't get it started at all.

 

12.5V is low for coming off a tender. 14.5V is good if not a tad high for 1200 rpm. How do the plugs look now? Gap is .038 -.043. Are they all fouled up from starting and stopping and using the enrichener? Has the bike been sitting a long time, because it sounds more like a carb/fuel problem? Petcock is on? Sorry, I had to ask.