Riddle me this!
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Indiana
VOES should ground at idle, when you crack the the throttle open say low rpms half throttle it will open and unground which retards the timing. A failed switch will unground leaving it retarded and open so you won't damage the engine.
The best test is an ohm meter and you can use a vacuum pump or just suck on the vacuum line to the voes with a clear hose. It should read zero on the ohm meter. Mine would fluctuate but never zero. If I tapped on it the reading would fluctuate. I tested the new one before installing and it would zero out every time. It cleaned up a lot of my running and idling issues as it was never advancing and grounding correctly.
It's worth hooking the meter and testing it while the bike is off. It shouldn't take you long at all. There's color coded dots on them when you replace it so you get the right one. I bought an oem but they aren't easy to find.
The best test is an ohm meter and you can use a vacuum pump or just suck on the vacuum line to the voes with a clear hose. It should read zero on the ohm meter. Mine would fluctuate but never zero. If I tapped on it the reading would fluctuate. I tested the new one before installing and it would zero out every time. It cleaned up a lot of my running and idling issues as it was never advancing and grounding correctly.
It's worth hooking the meter and testing it while the bike is off. It shouldn't take you long at all. There's color coded dots on them when you replace it so you get the right one. I bought an oem but they aren't easy to find.
That should make the green light on my ignition go out.
BTW, I suspected the VOES before I installed the new ignition and took it to the dealer.
They said it tested OK, but, who flippin knows what they did to check it.
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Get a meter on it. On your ignition harness it's the purple and white wire. Should be pin 6 but you can verify in your manual. Stick it in the back you don't even have to unplug it. Put the other one to pin 8 or the ground or to chassis ground. You should be able to see it as and open circuit and closed circuit reading down to zero when you open the trottle. If it doesn't ground out to zero just replace it. I put a small led on mine just to watch or while riding to make sure it was working
Thread Starter
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Indiana
Get a meter on it. On your ignition harness it's the purple and white wire. Should be pin 6 but you can verify in your manual. Stick it in the back you don't even have to unplug it. Put the other one to pin 8 or the ground or to chassis ground. You should be able to see it as and open circuit and closed circuit reading down to zero when you open the trottle. If it doesn't ground out to zero just replace it. I put a small led on mine just to watch or while riding to make sure it was working
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Describe your miss, what gear and speed. Is it a miss or shake?
Last edited by br549A1; Jul 28, 2014 at 11:44 AM.
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Seasoned HDF Member
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From: Indiana
Wrong. Disconnecting voes will give you nothing. You'd have to run a wire from pin to pin to ground it and lock the advance in but I think you might have an intermittent problem like I had. If you unplug it your in the retarded map until a certain rpm. If you ground it or run a wire from pin 6 to ground or just jump it to 8 you'll be driving as though voes was switched on all the time. You could do that I guess but go easy on it as it won't retard at all under throttle and load.
Describe your miss, what gear and speed. Is it a miss or shake?
Describe your miss, what gear and speed. Is it a miss or shake?
As soon as I pass a certain RPM, it's gone.....at highway speeds, it's running smooth as silk......
Somebody suggested my float may be too low. I did change the bowl recently, but, it was doing this before that.
If I unplug the Vacuum line to the VOES, won't that make it run differently?
Last edited by traildog; Jul 28, 2014 at 01:29 PM.
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Outstanding HDF Member
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VOES runs off vacuum. When you have vacuum say at idle or cruising steady it holds vacuum, closes it's internal switch and grounds out advancing the ignition. When there's low vacuum it retarda the ignition by leaving the circuit open
If you unplug the vacuum or unplug the harness you are just forcing it to retard and if it's failed it's already doing that.
If you're ground it your forcing it to operate as it was fully closed meaning vacuum closing voes causing the circuit to ground out.
By running a jumper from pin 6 to 8 on the harness if your 6 is a violet/white wire (check your wiring diagram) you can quickly see if it run different. Is still use an ohm meter so you can see what the voes is sending out if it's grounding at all or if it's weak.
Might not be your problem but it's simple to rule out. Some days mine worked others it didn't. They all don't fail 100%.
If you unplug the vacuum or unplug the harness you are just forcing it to retard and if it's failed it's already doing that.
If you're ground it your forcing it to operate as it was fully closed meaning vacuum closing voes causing the circuit to ground out.
By running a jumper from pin 6 to 8 on the harness if your 6 is a violet/white wire (check your wiring diagram) you can quickly see if it run different. Is still use an ohm meter so you can see what the voes is sending out if it's grounding at all or if it's weak.
Might not be your problem but it's simple to rule out. Some days mine worked others it didn't. They all don't fail 100%.
Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Haslet Texas
Those numbers you posted are for a pre 2004 carb.
Don't take my word for it give them a call.