New member with a question

I am having a problem with my 1982 XJ 650 Maxim. I have no spark with a good battery, starter turns engine, fuses are good. I have power on one lead on both my coils and none to the other.
Primary resistance is a little high in both coils ~3.6. Secondary and plug cap resistance is in Spec. I mailed my coils and TCI to a friend who tested the TCI on the bike and he said it ran and that the coils provide spark but not as strong as his coils. I have read that it is very uncommon for the pickups to fail. The bike did run a couple of months ago.

My questions are on this particular bike do the safety switches cause the starter not to spin or can they allow the starter to spin and cause no spark. ( I tested the bike in neutral, with side stand up an clutch in. Neutral light comes on) and how do I test them? What else do I need to check?
Thanks,Kevin

 

The safety stuff will keep it from turning over, period.

You said the fuses are good. Is it the original fuse box? Because what happens with those is the clips crystallize and become less than wonderfully conductive and can break all on their own.

Check the resistor cores inside the plug caps and ensure they aren't loose. They screw in.

FIT NEW PLUGS. If those got flooded they may have become saturated and not work any more.

Be aware that a relatively common issue is for the battery to spin the motor fine but be just weak enough (or have too much drain from the starter) to be able to still power the ignition. The battery doesn't have to be down by very much at all for this to occur, it's happened to me more than once and it usually means new battery time. Fully charge the battery and take it somewhere to have it load tested rather than chase your tail if that's all it is.

Also keep in mind that the bike runs entirely off the battery until about 2200rpm.

 

The battery is good, the plug caps are tight and I have no spark from the bare wire without the plug or cap. I do have 12 volts to one of the wires to each coil. The primary resistance in both coils is a little high ~3.6.
The TCI box is known to be good tested on another bike.
I was told the safety switch can shut the bike off if you put kickstand down
Is that true? If so could this cause no spark?

 

Won't cause a "no spark" unless something is drastically wrong.

The sidestand switch will shut the whole shebang down if the bike is in gear and you put the stand down, yes.

But the purpose of the safety circuit when it comes to starting is to keep it from even turning over if it's in gear with the sidestand down. Yes, it grounds the TCI as well, but if the bike will turn over with the starter button, the safety circuit isn't likely the cause of "no spark."