My '92 Sportster has no spark. It simply stopped on the motorway.

I've tested all of the components according to the troubleshooting section in the factory service manual and all looks OK.

I bypassed the sensor by disconnecting the wires and shorting together the black and green as per the factory service manual. Got sparks. So I figured the sensor was shot and replaced it. Still no spark with the new sensor.

If I've got a spark when I touch the wires leading to the sensor is there anything else that could be busted? I'm wondering if there's something wrong with the new sensor but everything I read suggests that it's difficult to test the sensor itself.

From what I understand bypassing the sensor by shorting the wires at the plug (as per the service manual) suggests that everything else is working OK.

What have I missed?

 

Ok. I've narrowed down the problem. Took the sensor plate off and spun the engine over. The rotor isn't spinning. So I now I'm a sensor to the good and a fair bit of wasted time. I should have checked that earlier. Lesson learnt.

Now I need to work out what's wrong with it.

 

It would be helpful to let us know what sensor you are bypassing/replacing so we could help you narrow down your issue. Also, some more info would be helpful. Did the speedo & all electical/lights go dead at the point when you say it shut down? Etc.

 

It's the crank sensor plate. The rotor on the camshaft isn't spinning. I can still get a spark at the plug when shorting the wires, hence the reason I looked for something mechanical rather than electrical. Everything electrical checked out OK.

I need to pull the rotor off to see why it's not spinning.

 

Finally got around to having a look. Need to pull the cam case off. That means popping the heads off and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Suspect it's a broken t key but can't be sure. Seem to still have compression etc in the cylinders so presuming the cams are still spinning or the valves are shut.

Not sure if I've got the time. Might be time to call my local Indy.

 

Give my local indy a call and they've pulled the cam case off.

As suspected, T key is broken and the end of the crankshaft is a bit mangled. Suspect that the bolt came loose and the pinion gear spun. Anyway, crank can be fixed up and parts are now on order. Just need to wait for them to arrive.