Diagnostic manual for DynaTech

Have owned this '76 900LTD-B for about 2 years, and 2000-ish miles. Started it today to go for a ride, and let it warm while I donned jacket, helmet & gloves. Climed aboard, and as soon as the kickstand came up, it died as if the ignition had been shut off.

Was unable to get it to refire. So, first things first. Check for fuel, then spark... Double checked the petcock to ensure I had fuel turned on (good to go there), so pulled it back in the shop, and checked fuel bowls. All were filled with fuel. Pulled a spark plug and check for spark... BINGO, it's not getting spark, should be an easy fix to clean/reset points... Or so I thought.

When I pulled the cover, to my surprise, there were no points ! ! ! Instead I found a hall effects devise with the name DynaTech - Glendora, CA. stenciled in white on the magnets. Oops... I have no diagnostic manual for it, and their website indicates that information is no longer available for download.

Sent them an email, and am hoping for a response, but if anyone has that diagnostic guide and is willing to share, it would be MUCH appreciated...

Thanks, Steve

Is this what your looking for? If not please post photos.

EXACTLY what I needed... Thanks much. With this info, I hope to get it sorted tomorrow...

Just to add some more here is their testing info

Thanks again for your help...

Thanx to Mikaw & gd4now assisting with providing diagnostic information, this was a "relatively" easy fix.

Turns out the cheap-ass "push-lock /scotch-lock" lost contact... This is IMHO & experience, a "significantly less than robust" design for a product which relies upon such a P-poor method of obtaining the needed 12v for thier ignition system to work.

I am VERY disappointed in the method chosen, for a 12V ignition-on signal, by the manuf. for such a critical function. AND am happy as hell that it did not leave me stranded 100 (or more) miles from home, like it would have, if it hadn't failed in my driveway before I got on my way...

That said, this design flaw WILL NOT be the cause for any further ignition failures, as it's now "hard-wired" (soldered) in place...

The proper solution for the manufacturer, would have been to make a "plug-and-play" harness to pick up an ignition-on 12V signal... Rant over.

Good to hear. I eliminated that scotch lock connection on mine also.

Hate scotch-locks with a passion.

There are those few times however, that one must splice into a conductor where there's no practical way to crimp or solder.

slmjim was introduced to Posi-Taps in the copier/printer tech field, where logic-signaling voltages and currents are sometimes vanishingly tiny, necessitating bulletproof splicing to maintain circuit integrity. Field modifications released by manufacturers the likes of HP, Kyocera, et al often included Posi-Loc splices in the mod kit. Never had a problem with a Posi-Loc splice. Can't say the same of scotch-lock wirecutte..., er, splices.
www.posi-products.com/index.html


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Thanks for the link to those splicer/tap hardware. Will order a few, for those time, when time, or being away from proper equipment limits doing it with hard-soldered connections...

For my repair, I actually converted the Dynatech wiring to a "plug & play" style, by simply soldering up a "T" in thier wiring, which then simply plugged into one of the two ignitions sources for the coils... Should anyone ever wish to convert it back to OEM points, or upgrade to later model hall-effects ignition, it would be a simple matter of unplugging it, and installing the desired system. The bonus is that I KNOW the "wire cutter" devise will NEVER cause me to loose spark again...

Is that still the suggested method that Dynatech uses for attaching those wires? I would be surprised if it is. Scotch-Loks were a boon to mechanics when they were introduced back in the early 1970's. There was nothing else on the market to compare with them and we used them a lot because it was an easy method of splicing wires compared to cutting and soldering. Heat shrink tubing was unheard of. The problem with Scotch-Loks started when guys used the wrong sizes or failed to seal them from water or moisture damage or worse yet used them in the wrong application. Time marches on and much better ways of wire splicing devices came out along with ways of protecting the splice. Think of it this way, drum brakes worked okay, but they were left behind when disc brakes were introduced.
Rick H.

Rick H. wrote: Is that still the suggested method that Dynatech uses for attaching those wires? I would be surprised if it is. Scotch-Loks were a boon to mechanics when they were introduced back in the early 1970's. There was nothing else on the market to compare with them and we used them a lot because it was an easy method of splicing wires compared to cutting and soldering. Heat shrink tubing was unheard of. The problem with Scotch-Loks started when guys used the wrong sizes or failed to seal them from water or moisture damage or worse yet used them in the wrong application. Time marches on and much better ways of wire splicing devices came out along with ways of protecting the splice. Think of it this way, drum brakes worked okay, but they were left behind when disc brakes were introduced.
Rick H.

Sadly the instructions I recieved when I contacted Dynatech tech-support about needing install & diagnostic instructions on a unit discovered in a motorcycle I had purchased used, do indeed still show that the push-lock is provided with the system, thus remains one of the recommended methods. They do go on to indicate words to the effect that "other 12V-ignition source attach methods are acceptable". When I read that they supplied a push-lock / scotch-lok in the kit, I was 99.99% sure that when I found where it was installed, that it would prove to be the culprit, and sure enough, that is what I discovered...

When I emailed the tech, who procided me the requested information, of my findings, his response was that he personally had installed several of thier ignition systems, but NEVER would use the "push-lock" provided in the kits, as he did not trust them. :pinch:

Well isn't that quite interesting????

Rick H.