84 Big Red 200S Runs then looses spark

[88capewrangler]

Hey all , had my new to me big red going for a couple of weeks now , was running great .. then it warms up and dies , it seems to be loosing spark.. , could this be the stator ? Coil ? any ideas ?

thanks
ellis

[cbx1170]

Yea I worked at a bunch of large multi-line Jap dealers and stators will drop below needed A/C voltage specially when hot and loose spark. Min voltage level is the key word. And heat brings this down. However simply cleaning the stator area really good can increase efficiency of stator/rotor combination and you can "save" some life or bring them back also simply by very carefully cleaning both out under recoil cover. May have remove rotor to really get it clean. make sure drain hole is open. I've posted 2-3 long replies on this on this and another web site. CDI usually fail all the way, not intermitt. Rarely will coil go BUT suppressor caps need to be ~5K ohms Honda , Yam some are 7~10k ohms. Mike

[88capewrangler]

hey mike , checked the stator .. it was fine , no signs of burns ect, fly wheel looked fine too.. any ideas ?

[cbx1170]

Sorry first disarm kill switch black wire with white tracer on it, it goes from coil (best to disconnect at coil wire, careful now it wont shut off (engine) until ya plug it back in or ground it, it runs up to possibly headlight to kill button (these fail a lot and ground ignition whever they want to) on handlebars. " Electrical " Contact Cleaner on kill switch most any other damages kill button in some way. dielectric grease on contacts (e-clip and yes it comes apart watch parts) once it works good, yes it works good in water, moisture you name it - years.

2 ck suppressor cap carefully unscrew from coil wire HOLD the coil wire dont let it spin in coil. remove rubbers. set ohmeter to 1K to 20K ohms 1000 to 20,000 one lead to spark plug side other will just touch the screw down inside coil wire side. gots ta be ~ 4,500 to 5,500 ohms. any other bad or startin ta fail. above 10,000 smash it with yer foot/or hammer immediately.

3 toughest is last cause ya need a special meter (Imrie ,etc) that catches (captures) -peak- A/C voltage out from stator I think it is the black w/red tracer (and other test lead grounded) that sends out at least 100V A/C to run the CDI. if just below 100 they will mess with your mind, above and they seem to run fine. I can't remember the exact number 92,95,100,105 but right in there) easier to swap a KNOWN GOOD stator and try.

4 spark at plugs must be BLUE small lightning bolt tubular in shape I KNOW jus stay with me WHITE round "ball" of spark looks like blown up pic of "pollen" ball with spikes or "pop" is fouled. we called em Popcorn sparklers = BAD = fuel fouled black = oil fouled wet/black.

The detailed explanation.

Mike

[cbx1170]

Sorry yes you can try a CDI but I have seen very few bad CDI's. GOOD runs, BAD will not EVER run. I have seen repairs like installing a new CDI thought to solve problem only to have problem reappear later and THEN have to find real problem. We are working with Peak Voltages just at or above the Minimum Needed to Run level here basically. Marginal stuff. Dirt red rust oxide on flywheel magnets decreases strength also. blow it out with air real good. I usually pop rotor/flywheel off to get into inner flywheel grooves not accesible from outside.
Coil resistance with supp cap off . coil wire to black coil electrical lead pretty low 1 ~ 5 ohms (Not 1000 to 5000 ohms) ck book on your year model.
Also Old Honda dual layer air filter inner white dry element and yellow foam stretch style will fool ya. Inner dry element can be bad but look seem to breath good but BAD. Run with out for 3 minutes. I helped a friend that had fought that for 2 months. pulled it off carb & bike ran fine.

Let me tell ya what i do simplified till its fixed in order.
New spark plug, ck suppresor cap Ω , ck or disconnect kill sw - disarm it, clean-ck interconnecting wires/connects all (look close small CDI connections !!!!!), clean rotor/flywheel/stator area & reassy. Next test for 12v at Black wire into CDI then (since semi easy to do) swap CDI, then coil, then stator and maybe even rotor/flywheel, finally puser by advancer. I have done this for years it works. Remember you trying to find the weak part that is just below its op capabilities. Find the one that at its threshold of doing its job and replace. I have done many stator/rotor cleanings to save trykes. You may have double failure(s) (the tuff ones) or another failure soon as elec parts get weaker. Mike