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82 550 Seca, no spark

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Andrew Nichols, Jun 26, 2022.

  1. Andrew Nichols

    Andrew Nichols Active Member

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    Need help from the sages in here.

    Just bought a 550 Seca Seca this week. Previous owner (PO) last had it running 10 years ago and couldn't get it to start after a 600-mile ride. Mechanic said it had good compression but at least one of the coils was bad. I wanted to get the spark sorted before I started digging into everything else.

    I had spark on 1 &4 when I jumped the solenoid. Replaced right side coil with one, then the other from 900 Seca spares. Now, no spark at all. Tried different spark plugs, even used the color tune plug.

    Plenty of juice as I have it hooked thru jumper cables to a car battery. Checked the ohms in the coil primaries, all around 4.4. Went through and cleaned all electrical connections with the contact spray. Cleaned the ground connections.

    Previous owner bypassed the key switch and put an on switch under the seat, I replaced setup with an actual key switch but the starter button doesn't initiate starting. Kill switch fell apart. To keep it always on should I be putting the 2 wires together or keeping them apart?

    He also replaced the fuse box with individual blade fuses, I've left those in place for now. Took off the left cover and cleaned the contacts even though they looked clean.

    So, why don't I have spark? Could the CDI be bad?

    Thanks,
    Andrew IMG_20220626_190230.jpg IMG_20220626_132638.jpg IMG_20220626_125137.jpg
     
  2. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    After you replaced the coils did you check if any of the fuses had failed?
     
  3. Andrew Nichols

    Andrew Nichols Active Member

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    All the fuses are fine but I'll check again. The connection from the handgrip has a black wire that isn't carried through on the other side of the connector (see pictures).
     

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  4. Andrew Nichols

    Andrew Nichols Active Member

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    Anybody have any luck with these cheap eBay TCIs? Screenshot_20220627-054108.jpg
     
  5. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    Don't go there. More needs to be looked at.
    A $43 TCI is...unlikely to be useful unless it's a tested OEM TCI.
     
  6. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Len might have a TCI for your bike.
     
  7. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    I wonder if the black wire is a ground wire?
     
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  8. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    Lots more work to be done before you start to just buy parts and throw it on the bike. You have to isolate the parts that are not working first before you just start to replace stuff.

    Change out the good coil to the bad coil and see if the spark follows the coil over to 2&3 and 1&4 are now not working.

    Make sure your battery is fully charged or the CDI will not provide spark when you are trying to start the bike.

    I would take all the tape off those wires at the fuse area to make sure there is both a good physical and electrical connection there. Are the wires just twisted together or are they soldered?

    The starting ckt should be looked at and fixed back to OEM. But as long as you have spark on 1&4 then the way you have it should be getting spark on 2&3 as well.

    Cleaning the contacts off would really help. Take the time to go through and remove wires clean them and then put them back in place. Don't remove all the connectors at once, do them one at a time and replace them before you move to the next group.

    Keep us posted on the progress.
     
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  9. Andrew Nichols

    Andrew Nichols Active Member

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    Found the ignition fuse was burnt out in an odd place and replaced it with a good one.

    Unwrapped all of the blade fuse connections and checked for continuity on both ends.

    I have it hooked up to a good car battery so plenty of juice.

    Both coils test ok both primary and secondary. Removed and reconnected each boot

    Problem appears to be it's only receiving the spark signal from one set of wires (red/white stripe and gray). Will spark off of both plugs attached to whatever coil that lead from the TCI is attached to. So, I'm guessing that my Type TID14-05, 4U8-10 United is bad. Sound correct?
     
  10. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    TCI might be working. Have you checked the wiring from the pickup on the end of the crankshaft to the TCI for the coil where you are not getting a spark at the plugs? I see you checked the connectors just checking in case there is any damage to the wiring from the pickup. Might be a faulty wire rather than your TCI, or a corroded connector? I think that will be the orange wire from your pick up coil to the TCI. Did you check the resistance on that pick up coil?
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2022
  11. Andrew Nichols

    Andrew Nichols Active Member

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    Thanks. I checked resistance between black and gray and between the orange and black at the connection where it goes from the pickup into the TCI, they had similar readings.
     
  12. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Do you have access to any other TCI uníts? I am wondering if you can plug in a different unit a 900f for example without causing any damage just to see if you get a spark on all four plugs. The advance curve won't be right but it could be a way of testing it. Mabe someone with some in depth knowledge of TCI compatibility will chime in with their opinion.
     
  13. Andrew Nichols

    Andrew Nichols Active Member

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    Tried one from a working 750 Seca, no spark. Still worked when I put it back in the 750.

    Tried one from a working 900 Seca, same deal. I don't think the 900 or 750 Seca TCIs are compatible with the 500 Seca.
     
  14. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Ok could be one of the transistors in the TCI or a failed joint in the circuit board.
     

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