1982 650 Seca, no spark, need some ideas where to look

Well, 1200 miles after the rebuild it finally happened, I have a problem with the 650R.

Those of you that have been on here a bit have seen my build thread, so you know I did just about everything to this bike so far. Going to work the other day, day two of the three day rainstorm here in Michigan, it developed a stutter. I made it to a friend's house and got a ride to work. Upon returning, the bike wouldn't fire.

Battery - checks out good, full charge
Engine cut-off swith, working properly
Starter solenoid - Click: Yes, sparks when jumping terminals: No (I've had to push start for about a month, just haven't bothered replacing solenoid or starter brushes yet)
I haven't had a chance to go back with my multi-meter, where should I start?
I've never had a problem in the rain before, have over 4500 miles in the last two years with no problems because of rain.
Fuel, 2-2.5 gallons, petcock rebuilt, fuel deliver is not a problem.

Acts like it's getting no spark at all...

So, where do I start with the meter?
Safety relay, coils, TCI, etc? Pointless because I haven't replaced brushes? (didn't think that would prevent spark)

Need some ideas guys, thanks in advance.

 

Unplug black/white wire's bullet connector from the TCI module, eliminate the interlock as a cause...

Seen coils that worked fine dry, but when examined the cases were totally blown open, and every time they got the least bit wet, no spark whatsoever....

 

Verify you have no spark to all four plugs. Then unplug the safety relay and see if it fires.

 

i agree then test the red/white wire on tci to see it is getting juice with ignition on,

 

Okay, so here's the deal. I took a good long look at the side-stand switch and figured out the plunger was broke. I pulled the plunger out of the front of the switch and tapped on the switch to see if there was any creep from the back half of the plunger. There was no movement.

I then unplugged the safety relay and checked voltage and ohms. Result - all good.

I then pushed it about 30 feet in second gear, popped the clutch, and she fired right up.

Got the bike home with no issues (about 5 miles).

After getting home I plugged the safety relay back in while it was running, and it stayed running. I did a couple of second gear power-cutpower-pop clutch cycles, and she lit up every time.

So my conclusion: Sidestand safety switch is bad. Sound right?

It'll be about a week before I can order the parts I need, and this is my main mode of transportation to work, so my question is: Will it hurt anything to unplug the side stand switch and drive it like that for a week?

And again, thanks for the tips guys.

 

I believe you'll need to jumper the leads, not just disconnect them.

You can certainly do that, just be careful and don't ride off with the stand down. It's not easy to see it under your foot.

 

thats correct, you need to connect them because the switch breaks a connection versus making one and heck no it wont hurt anything, in my opinion its redundant safety junk, first thing i would do away with, but im not a purist so thats your call

 

Okay, I'll disconnect and try a jumper wire.

And there won't be any riding off with the side stand down, I never use the side stand. I've used it once in 17 months, and that was just to pull the clutch cover off.

Thanks Fitz and DC

 

I've seen those stick and cause problems...but a liberal soak with WD-40 seems to make it go away. They sometimes just get so much oil and grime on the plunger, they won't return to rest when the stand is up...