1. Has this bike ever run since you've had it?

2. Do you know who made the electronic ignition module that is on the bike? I ask because I have seen some 1978 HDs that came stock with points, though supposedly all were equipped with electronic ignitions.

3. The original tach was mechanically driven and only had one wire for a lamp. If it is now electronic, it's even more important to know what ignition module you have.

4. Coil and coil connections - Without knowing which electronic ignition module you have, there is no way to explain the correct way to connect it. And while most electronic ignitions require a different coil than the older points style ignitions, some do not. Which takes us back to the question of which ignition module is on the bike.

It definitely sounds as if someone cobbed this wiring together. I have a wiring diagram for a 1979 XLH, and for a 1980 XLH. If the ignition module can be ID'd, it's an easy job to get your bike wired correctly.


For anyone else - I have a print of the 1979 version of the stock electronic ignition connections. Anyone know if it is the same as the 1978 version? Please note there are no tach wires from this ignition system.

 

Some Late -78 models has electronic ingition, coils are mechanically identical in electronic and points iginiton. As Greg wrote in electronic ignition coil is about 3 ohms and in points ignition it's 5-6 Ohms.
And as Pococj wrote there isn't any tach output, it came with evo's.
Other wire should come from route ingition -> engine run/stop switch -> ignition module ( W )
Other should be routed from ignition module to ignition coil... (BE and PK ?)
Make sure that you have OEM ignition, wire colors from different MF can be what ever.

 

I know I have to figure my bike out before I start having problems The only problem is finding mfg on my coil. and I already know that there is only one wire on each side of the coil.just need to measure out the coil first If I take off a coil wire does it matter which one to take off to measure the coil and do I have to flash the gen Thanks

 

98glider, you don't need to know the manufacturer of the coil. As long as there is no power to the coil, you can pull either wire to measure the resistance of the primary winding. You shouldn't have to flash the field of the generator, but that would depend on how the bike is wired. Just check the coil, then fire the bike up, and check to see if the battery voltage is higher with the engine running than with it shut off. That's a good enough rough check for most instances.

 

Hey welcome back pocopj I just checked my bike and there is no voltage on the coil when she is parked there and key is off. So I checked the coil with the wires still connected with an analog meter and I got 4.5 ohms on the x1 scale. No what does this tell me for in case I do get a bad coil in the future Now I did not check to see if I have points instead of the electronic ign The manual calls for electronic ign for a 84 early year with a gen. but I cannot fint the module and the bike is bare to the bones. I started to trace the wires from the timing cover and I think they go to the coil if that makes sence.May be under the gas tank? Now I did not go to the manual to see the wiring diagram of a different year. Any help Thanks

 

98glider,
The coil for the 1978 & 1979 ignition (Prestolite) should be 4.7 - 5.7 ohms. The 1980 ignition is made by Magnavox and its coil should be 3.0 - 3.5 ohms. Do you know what ignition your 1984 has?

If you have points there will be only 1 wire coming out of the points cover area, and going to the coil. The other side of the coil will go somewhere to get +12 VDC when the ignition is on.

If you have a later model electronic ignition that uses electronic advance there might be ?? number of wires coming out of the timing cover area, and often they are in a multi-conductor cable, and they'll usually go to a "black box" module. The stock location for the module on a Sporty was under the battery box/oil tank.

Something like a Dyna S electronic ignition will have 2 wires coming out of the timing cover and going to the coil, which should be 4 - 5 ohms. If their are only 2 wires it is probably a mechanical advance like the Prestolite HD factory electronic or the older stock points ignition. There won't be a "black box" anywhere.

 

Ok ,what I have is a breakerless point that gives me the 2 wires from the ignition and It has a electric tach so it has 2 extra wires added aftermarket. Thanks for all the help from everyone ,I got to checking and it seems this could have been a factory setup for this bike ,it seems 78 had several wiring changes from the factory ,Points ,BreakerlessPoints,and Electronic Ign all from the same year so agian thanks for the help ....... Charles

 

pococj I am going to trace out these wires better and see how many wires come out of the timing cover and where they go. I just did a quick look. But I am sure that there is not no module. This bike is bare to the bones The oil tank is a softail and the batary box is behind the rear tire and that is clear to look at. May be in the head lite? Now is there a module with the prestolite hd factory electronic and how does this work with out a module. Now I am going to open the timing cover to see if there are points and if not then there is a dyna s electronic ign.opening up this cover is there going to be any surprieses to be aware of Thanks for your help I just want to know what I have and log it into my manual for the future.

 

yes according to shop manual you do have to flash the generator and it sounds like you have a points coil

 

Why don't you just buy a Dyna S ignition. It uses the stock advance weights and works like a magneto. I've been running one on my 1993 FLSTF since 93. It works with your old points system but is electronic. Costs a little over $100 bucks.