68 xlch spark issues.
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68 xlch spark issues.
Alright I am still kinda new to these older bikes, so I am still learning. I have a couple of questions, At the end of last season I started having problems with the bike not starting, But with ocasional back fires and sputters. So I pretty much parked it for the winter and didnt have time to get back to it since I work 18-20 hour days, 7 days a week and always on call. I got the bike out over the past weekend and started checking it over, and found that I have no spark on either cylinder. So I did a little more checking and saw that the previous owner had used rtv silicon where the wire plug into the coil. after a little more checking I realised that they had jammed a nail into the clip on the wire and stuck that down into the coil essentially making it 2 1/2 inches longer. My first question is what are the wire ends suppossed to look like on this bike, or is it missing something and he just rigged it? Also I do not have a manual for this bike yet, if anyone has the part number to one, or a link that would be great. Also what would be your next steps in this? I have worked on a lot of bike and cars and trucks, but figuring out ways to test stuff and kick it by yourself and look at something is kind of a pain sometimes.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: Houston Texas
RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
phreakboy...
If your bike is a 1968 XLCH then you will have a magneto on it. Both spark plug wires stick into the bakelite top (the coil being enclosed under the bakelite cover).... and no, there should not be a nail holding things together!
It sounds like someone was trying to 'make do' with that fix and it may be the cause of no spark.
Put some new wires on it and see what you get for fire after that.
The number for the factory manual is unknown to me, but you are looking for a service manual titled Service Manual 1959 to 1969 Sportster. This is a Harley publication and has a blue and white cover.
I have attached a pic of the magneto parts for you out of my manual. You can see what the end of the wire into the magneto looks like. It uses a metal clip, similar to what you may find on a lawn mower engine........pg
[IMG]local://upfiles/8331/5ED8F77B0FE24C75A7032C7E076994B3.jpg[/IMG]
If your bike is a 1968 XLCH then you will have a magneto on it. Both spark plug wires stick into the bakelite top (the coil being enclosed under the bakelite cover).... and no, there should not be a nail holding things together!
It sounds like someone was trying to 'make do' with that fix and it may be the cause of no spark.
Put some new wires on it and see what you get for fire after that.
The number for the factory manual is unknown to me, but you are looking for a service manual titled Service Manual 1959 to 1969 Sportster. This is a Harley publication and has a blue and white cover.
I have attached a pic of the magneto parts for you out of my manual. You can see what the end of the wire into the magneto looks like. It uses a metal clip, similar to what you may find on a lawn mower engine........pg
[IMG]local://upfiles/8331/5ED8F77B0FE24C75A7032C7E076994B3.jpg[/IMG]
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RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
Well I certainly know that the nails are not right, and you answered my question about how long the leads should be. So my kinda sorta next question is why in the hell did he stick the nails in there? Any recommendations on wires?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,035
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From: Houston Texas
RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
My wild guess was he put the nails in there because (1)...he had lost the clips? or (2)....he needed longer wires? Who knows?
You might just look at J&P and see if they carry wires for your year model. That could be the easy solution for the problem. If you don't want to do that, here's what I would do this for wires:
Measure to see how long you want them to be.
Remove the bakelite cover and take it to the auto parts house, along with a printout of that exploded view I gave you.
Get wires that are the correct diameter to fit into that bakelite cap. Be sure to purchase wires that HAVE WIRE in them, not wire that has a carbon track. That will not work on a Sportster.
If the parts house does not have the clips for the ends (these are what holds the wires in place, so they are important to have) go to a lawn mower repair shop and they should have something. Show them the picture of the exploded view to explain what you want........pg
You might just look at J&P and see if they carry wires for your year model. That could be the easy solution for the problem. If you don't want to do that, here's what I would do this for wires:
Measure to see how long you want them to be.
Remove the bakelite cover and take it to the auto parts house, along with a printout of that exploded view I gave you.
Get wires that are the correct diameter to fit into that bakelite cap. Be sure to purchase wires that HAVE WIRE in them, not wire that has a carbon track. That will not work on a Sportster.
If the parts house does not have the clips for the ends (these are what holds the wires in place, so they are important to have) go to a lawn mower repair shop and they should have something. Show them the picture of the exploded view to explain what you want........pg
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RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
Well I finally got some time to do some checking on this, replaced wires with no change. Replaced the points as they were so so with no change. So at this point I still had no spark, so I pulled the cover yet again,cleaned the brass terminals on the cover and still nothing. So I have pretty much narrowed it now to the coil, I think. The only two things that I can see be the problem is either the coil, or the armature/rotor that turns the cam for the points. My question is are there any common problems with the rotor, or is it most likely the coil?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: Houston Texas
RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
It could be the coil, but that is a bit rare. Are you certain the kill button (or wire connected to it) has not shorted to ground somewhere? This would prevent spark from the wires from occurring.
There is an air gap required of 3/8 inch under the bakelite cover. Hard to measure this however because it takes a second dummy cap with a hole cut into it to set in place as a gage.
If you have no other choice then try a new coil. Do not expect it to solve the problem though. I have not heard of a rotor failing, providing the rotor still has it's magnetic quality in tack.........pg
There is an air gap required of 3/8 inch under the bakelite cover. Hard to measure this however because it takes a second dummy cap with a hole cut into it to set in place as a gage.
If you have no other choice then try a new coil. Do not expect it to solve the problem though. I have not heard of a rotor failing, providing the rotor still has it's magnetic quality in tack.........pg
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RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
Well I tried checking out the kill switch to make sure, and everything seems fine. I even tried disconecting to make sure that it wasnt grounding out and it still wouldnt get spark. So I am pretty much figuring it has to be one or the other.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,035
Likes: 17
From: Houston Texas
RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
About all you can do then is to pull the magneto out and take it apart. Make sure the rotor is magnetic, and then try a coil replacement.
Let us know how this turns out. I wish I had more to offer on the subject, but I have run out of ideas. Maybe it is the coil afterall, so let us know.......pg
Let us know how this turns out. I wish I had more to offer on the subject, but I have run out of ideas. Maybe it is the coil afterall, so let us know.......pg
Cruiser
Joined: May 2006
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RE: 68 xlch spark issues.
just a little something to add here. i know when we were talking about the killswitch on my bike blake, you had said that the kill switch grounded something out on your bike to prevent it from running.. so you said it was wierd on my bike that there was a kill switch being that it was an xlh and something to the affect of it draining the battery by shorting something out. any of this jog any memory?? probably not lol. in any event, what i found with my killswitch was that it didnt ground anything out, but rather, it was a on off switch. when it was on, it provided electric to the coil. when it was off, the coil got no juice. so perhapshe may need to do the opposite and connect the wires at the killswitch to bypass the switch?this is assuming that the difference with my bike and yoursisdue to the year, not the model.
then again, i could be way off??
then again, i could be way off??