Hello everyone I picked up a complete RT barn find with 700 miles the other day that I plan to restore. I restore 1-2 bikes a year just as a hobby but this is my first Hodaka. Well technically my second I did have a orange 250 when I was a kid.
The bike seems pretty solid with the exception of the suspension that is rotten. The engine has 150 psi of compression the leak down test passed. I wanted to see if she would fire but have no spark. The kill switch is broken off and I noticed if I move it back and forth while I kick it over I will get 1-2 kicks of spark. I disconnected the ignition switch no change. I also unplugged the kill switch and get zero spark. I popped the top off the kill switch and I will only get spark if I ground all 3 terminals but only 1-2 kicks worth. Electrical has never been my strong point. I checked the windings and there is no resistance.
Sorry I forgot to add I cleaned and set points looked for burnt wires removed the winding and checked resistance. It very well maybe that simple I just thought it was funny that it would only spark fiddling with the switch then unplugging it had zero spark. I guess I'll let it not bother me and go a head and strip it down and deal with it latter as I may find it along the way.
If you have isolated the blue and black wires from the kill switch and also the blue and black from the ignition switch, then you should have spark all of the time. All that the kill switch and ignition switch do is ground the ignition circuit. Grounding the terminals at the kill switch would kill your spark...
So, with the kill switch and ignition switch unplugged, you are left with, in no certain order, 1) grounded wire, 2) points & condenser, 3) ignition coil, 4) spark plug wire & cap, 5) spark plug or 6) poor connection. You know that you have compression, so that is not a concern. I am not sure which windings you checked, but there should be a very low resistance measured on each winding. Are you using a digital meter?
And, noting that you DO have spark (sometimes) means that what you have CAN work when you find the problem. Dale's advice gives you a good road map for isolating the problem.
Ed
ddvorak wrote:If you have isolated the blue and black wires from the kill switch and also the blue and black from the ignition switch, then you should have spark all of the time. All that the kill switch and ignition switch do is ground the ignition circuit. Grounding the terminals at the kill switch would kill your spark...
So, with the kill switch and ignition switch unplugged, you are left with, in no certain order, 1) grounded wire, 2) points & condenser, 3) ignition coil, 4) spark plug wire & cap, 5) spark plug or 6) poor connection. You know that you have compression, so that is not a concern. I am not sure which windings you checked, but there should be a very low resistance measured on each winding. Are you using a digital meter?
Thanks for the reply. Double checking the exciting coil I think I was doing it wrong. I have no resistance from the pole to the wire and .4 ohms on the winding
Frustrated I pulled the whole assembly off gave it a good cleaning fixed what looked to be a questionable connection at the condenser and cleaned the frame where the coil mounts, put it all back together and it lives!
Still not sure what step fixed it or why I would only get spark when I would ground the kill switch. But at least I can sleep tonight cuz it was really bugging the crap out of me.
I am guessing that you were missing a good ground on the blue circuit until such time that you provided a ground connection at the kill switch. It seems that you have cured that issue and can move on to more fun with this bike.
Dale
Wow! Your Model 99 looks to be in pretty good shape! I'm restoring one myself for my 13 yr old grandson!
You seem to have a good general knowledge of 2 strokes. One thing to watch out for on the Toads is they have an exhaust bridge which needs to be ground down a bit after a ee ore if you do one. The exhaust bridge expands with higher temps and can cause your rings to hang and seize. It's also a good idea to chamfer the horizontal edges of the ports for smooth ring transition. Good luck with her and have fun!
