Dyna electronic ignition? Good Idea or no?

1) Are the electronic ignitions better then the points/condenser system? 2) are the electronic systems any less reliable? 3) is it a better spark? 4) is it maintenance free? Maintenance, I would like !! What about the Accel coils....worth the money?

There is a video on this subject. It explains the points are the best way to go. He pointed out the Dyna S saying it was a lazy way of dealing with it. I have a Dyna S and had one 20 years ago. It failed because of a battery issue. I've been running my new one for two years but keep my points late and cam on the bike JUST IN CASE. The bike runs great, I no longer have problems with condensation after washing or going through water. I has worked well for me.
Steve

The factory elect. ign. is the best second to the Dyna S.
Points nope not for me
The Dyna S DOES NOT like low voltage as in a bad battery.
If your battery will not start your bike and you have to kick it
that is what kills them.

My cable broke (metal fatigue) and I had to limp home.
Steve

Jrider wrote: 1) Are the electronic ignitions better then the points/condenser system? 2) are the electronic systems any less reliable? 3) is it a better spark? 4) is it maintenance free? Maintenance, I would like !! What about the Accel coils....worth the money?

I guess it depends on the definition of "better."

Electronic ignition should require zero maintenance, and as long as the system works properly performance doesn't deteriorate. Points require periodic maintenance (clean up and adjust about every 5,000 miles and replace every 8-10,000 miles). As the points deteriorate performance gradually decreases, so dressing or replacing them is necessary to maintain top performance. With a little experience, replacing points is an easy 20 minute task.

Points gradually deteriorate over time as the wear/pit, but having them fail hard and leave one stranded is pretty much unheard of. Electronic ignition doesn't normally deteriorate, but they sometimes fail and can stop 2 or all 4 cylinders from firing.

The up front cost of installing electronic ignition on a points bike can be fairly expensive as it normally requires the coils to also be replaced along with the ignitor, pickups, etc. Refreshing points and condenser with new units is much less expensive, but should be done every 8-10,000 miles. Break even point between the two technologies is probably 100,000 miles or more assuming the electronic ignition never fails.

Personally, I still use points in my 1977 KZ650, and am perfectly satisfied with that system on the bike. After owning the bike for 38+years I don't find maintaining points at all difficult. My 3 cars and truck all have electronic ignition, and I am perfectly satisfied with that on those vehicles and very happy that I do not need to fiddle with points on them. :laugh:

Regarding coils - before considering replacing them you should decide on whether or not you are going to replace the points with electronic ignition. After that decision is made, determine which coils are appropriate for your ignition system because that will depend on the rest of the ignition system. Ed

I had my fill of points by the time I hit 10,000 miles on my original 78 KZ650. At that time I put in the Dyna 3 as Dyna S was not even invented yet. I've retired all my old KZs, but this one has 168,000 miles on it, 158,000 with the Dyna 3. I had one failure, which Dyna fixed free under warranty. Still running the original coils. I never looked back or wanted points again.
I have 2 more KZ650s with the Dyna S system, the green one in my avatar has the system with Dyna coils and has worked flawlessly. The other was my work bike that I bought for $150, another 77 KZ650. The points drove me nuts on it as they did on my first 650. I had a free 1981 KZ550 that I put the factory electronic system onto the KZ650. It worked fine, but no provision to alter timing, and the timing wasn't that close, so I slotted the plate and got the timing sorted out, but the system quit working in short order. Time for another Dyna S. I ran it for 45,000 miles with the stock coils. Bike has 70,000 on it. No problems with the Dyna S. I always run a battery until it's dead too, and have run with weak batteries that required kick start. No problems. I recommend ditching points soon as possible.

Yeah, but keep the points and cam just in case.
Steve

Jrider wrote: 1) Are the electronic ignitions better then the points/condenser system? 2) are the electronic systems any less reliable? 3) is it a better spark? 4) is it maintenance free? Maintenance, I would like !! What about the Accel coils....worth the money?

From the posts I have read, the Dynas blow up a lot. The factory Kawi electronic ignitions seem to be reliable.

is it a better spark?

Not better than a properly functioning coil system. The electronics with programmable spark advance are better than mechanical advancers but it is not due to "better spark", it's because a more perfectly tailored spark advance can squeak out a bit more power..

zukdave wrote: The factory elect. ign. is the best second to the Dyna S.
Points nope not for me
The Dyna S DOES NOT like low voltage as in a bad battery.
If your battery will not start your bike and you have to kick it
that is what kills them.

Sounds like a defective design. Not sure why a low system voltage should blow it out.

bountyhunter wrote:

zukdave wrote: The factory elect. ign. is the best second to the Dyna S.
Points nope not for me
The Dyna S DOES NOT like low voltage as in a bad battery.
If your battery will not start your bike and you have to kick it
that is what kills them.

Sounds like a defective design. Not sure why a low system voltage should blow it out.

Yeah I can't figure that one out either.... however my Dyna III went about 34,000 miles and then suddenly started miss firing over a few weeks and eventually two cylinders went out. I stuck the points system back in, set them up correctly, even though one capacitor/(condensor) tests half the uF of the other ... and noticed ZERO difference in performance between the two systems. :huh:
Anyhow I have since bought a newest super whiz bang woof woof.. model/version of the Dyna S and will be installing it sometime soon.
A points plate, with the point's dwell set tight well enough with your cam, installation marked in the housing vs plate position for close enough timing to get home in good shape and it all tossed under the seat, seems like a good idea if you are out on the road a lot.

If the Dyna S does in fact blow up from low voltage... one way to fail, that comes to mind, could be too little gain in the output stage, allowing the driver to go into the active region, thus creating a lot more heat in the driver (transistor).

loudhvx wrote: If the Dyna S does in fact blow up from low voltage... one way to fail, that comes to mind, could be too little gain in the output stage, allowing the driver to go into the active region, thus creating a lot more heat in the driver (transistor).

Is this a BJT or FET or ? and is the tranny located in the advance plate or?