Dyna S ignition problem

I use kind of a backyard/oldschool method I guess.

With the plugs in the wire caps, i just connect jumper cables. Each cable end holds 2 plugs perfect, then ground them to the frame/engine/whatever I can find.

Then, when I'm cranking, i know they have a good ground cause I can see them all sparking away.

This is a good setup for quick diagnostics, turning the ignition off/on.

If your a newbie who might forget the ignition on, or take long time to think/examine things etc. i would deffinately consider just removing the power wires to the coils (as mentioned), and be done with the whole possibility of damage/failure.

Cheers.

TeK9iNe wrote:

I use kind of a backyard/oldschool method I guess.

With the plugs in the wire caps, i just connect jumper cables. Each cable end holds 2 plugs perfect, then ground them to the frame/engine/whatever I can find.

Then, when I'm cranking, i know they have a good ground cause I can see them all sparking away.

This is a good setup for quick diagnostics, turning the ignition off/on.

If your a newbie who might forget the ignition on, or take long time to think/examine things etc. i would deffinately consider just removing the power wires to the coils (as mentioned), and be done with the whole possibility of damage/failure.

Cheers.

Very good tip.
You can just connect the bodies of both plugs together without actually going to ground, and it should work just the same. This is usually how I bench test ignitions. I just tie the plugs together with a rubber band or tape.

I usually unplug the red wire coming from the Dyna S when I do compression checks but I got in a hurry and didn't this time. My bad. Thanks Mark but I just ordered up a new Dyna S. I will keep the other good module in case I do the same stupid mistake later.

MFolks wrote: One weak area on the Dyna "S" is where the power wire is spliced into the bike's wiring.

This type of connection is a real pain to troubleshoot due to moisture getting into the joint and corroding. Even though the connection may look good, it may not be electrically connected.

For a much better connection, I recommend soldering the connection and then covering it with heat shrink tubing.

I felt compelled to join this forum to say thanks to MFolks for this advice - I had issues with cylinders 1 & 4 and was convinced it was the coil as when I touched the HT leads feeding this coil the motor would cut-out. It would also cut-out under load but was ok ticking over. The little blue connector that MFolks mentions had a loose connection and was being moved when I touched the HT leads. I recrimped it tightly and bingo, problem solved. It's only taken a week to sort that annoying problem but I am so relieved it hasn't cost me anything but time!
Thanks again - these forums are a goldmine of information.

Steve