Hi. Just did my cam chain tensioners. Its back together, and no spark. Timing question. Thought I had it right. if I got my timing off, would that somehow stop my spark. I did r& r on rockers, tubes, rods. so when I set tdc, i lined the gear with the line, set the other gear dot to align....but I didn't verify that #1 was up. I think big mistake. can i please get some guidance? No shame here. just a costly oversight maybe. after cranking, it appeared also that my fuel wasn't flowing. the plugs were dry after alot of cranking. 04 Electra Glide. thanks

 

When cranking the ecm is looking for a specific rpm. If not within spec it will not energize the coil. Ill bet your timing is off.

 

I do believe if you have the valve timing off this shouldn't stop the ignition from firing the plugs. It would just fire them at the wrong time. If valve timing were off too much you may have a clearance issue with the piston hitting the valves. I would check the easy stuff first. Battery charged, all fused good. etc.... Be sure anything that go unplugged got plugged back in.

 

yes, I have reviewed all of the disconnects. spark plugs and gas tank is all that had to be disconnected. the coil stayed on the bike. The ECM i don't understand too well. If I simply aligned the timing marks, i might not have had my #1 up. might have been my #2. could this cause the valves to hit the pistons? it turns quietly. just no spark and appears to be no fuel. plugs are dry. while cranking i did notice that my ground wire on the battery got very hot. that was after a bit of starter operation though. might not be relevant. i really do have to verify my timing. will be back after that.

 

If you aligned the timing marks the cams are in time. The lower sprocket is on the crankshaft and the upper sprocket is on the rear camshaft. That part should be good. You need to verify power is being supplied to the coil and fuel pump. The pump should run for several seconds after the ignition is turned on. I suspect you'll find that it's a simple fix. The hot connection indicates to me a bad or loose connection. I would double check all connections involved with this service to be clean and tight. I would also check to be sure the crank sensor is connected with clean and tight connection. Take a look at the fuses and test them to be sure they are good.

 

Do you by chance unplug the Crank Position Sensor by accident. That's the trigger point to the ECM for ignition spark.

 

I had a crank sensor go bad at the same time I did the cam tensioners. Drove me nuts. Took the cam chest apart 2 or 3 times checking the timing marks, the fault code was ambiguous. I couldn't tell if a sensor was bad or the timing was actually off.

There's a test in the manual for the sensor, it should read a certain ohms on an ohmeter and put out a small AC voltage when the motor is turning.

 

Is your bike fuel injected or carbed? If fuel injected then as suggested by Boomer1143 you should hear the fuel pump prime at ignition/kill switch on for a few seconds. Do you hear it whirring and prime at that point?
if not, then check the connector under the tank console is secure and make sure none of the terminals are bent.
If you hear it prime, then check your fuel line quick connect is connected to the tank.

Just to check, you do know that you have to have plugs in the head and either use a spark tester or spare plug to check for spark.
If you've a compression tester to hand, it can't hurt to do a compression test as it takes only a few minutes to do.

 

I didn't know that the plugs had to be in the head. Not like a lawn mover, eh? 2004 Fuel injected.
When I switch-on, my fuel pump activates. I checked my key fob just in case it was something stupid like that. The only disconnect that occurred during the entire tensioner replacement was the fuel tank. Nothing else had to be disconnected.
I have looked at everything in the fuse box. Other than the one relay, it's all verified. But with key on, everything works as it should, except i have no ignition.
I was quadruple checking all marks when I reloaded the cams. But now, I'm second guessing everything I've done.
I hear talk on the crank position indicator. My bike ran right up until I tore it down for this. It just seems too freaky that this indicator would all of a sudden go bad...right now.
My gut is starting to tell me to rip it back down and check my work...for the 44th time. But what a waste of effort if I'm overlooking something on the outside.
But after extended seconds of cranking, why is there no fuel on my plugs? They're dry as a bone. I hate to shoot ether in the hole, but that would for sure tell me if I have fire.
This is my first time into this engine. But I have been rebuilding car engines for decades. So I'm not completely green.

 

Mine is a 2004 FI. The spark needs to see the resistance in the compression on the plugs to protect the system. Least what has been discussed and in the service manual. It may if just one plug is removed. This resistance is critical. This is also the knock sensor setup on the 2004 and why it is best to actually use a Harley plug. A equivalent NGK is actually a different resistance. It works for spark but one needs to take it easy with the throttle.

Check fire by placing a new plug on the wire and ground the plug threads to the head. Both other plugs in the head and one hooked up.

Are you getting the two-second fuel pump on when you key on? This is from the timer in the System relay. The start relay has an unused timer and is a back up for switching if OEM and same part number.

When you key on and off, with the air filter off, are you seeing the IAC pentol jump out to open the passageway for idle air and then back in when you key off to kill idle air. This design keep 1000 rpm necessary from running on and is also a check for good system fuses.

The crank position sensor reads counts and requires so many before the fuel pump runs continuously when running.
The Bank angle sensor in the signal light box (TSM) or alarm sensor/signal (TSSM) kills the fuel pump if the bike goes over too far running.

What is your battery voltage at terminals and the actual battery lead terminals? What is it cranking?