1969 Dirt Squirt Electrical Help

[Wrencher26]

Hello to all,

First post on forum here. Really appreciate those helping out and ESPECIALLY to staff for getting account set up!

I have an 1969 Dirt Squirt 100, I believe. The frame VIN on left-side is E0xxxx. The engine VIN on right side is P69xxx.

I have gone through just carb thus far and want to understand this electrical better. Currently I have no spark. In the photo you can see the wire harness off the ignition coil...there is a RED wire that's cut and I have no idea what that's for. Maybe a light? But the bike has NO lights on it. There is also a wire harness coming out the engine and is ziptied off right behind coil...maybe this would have gone to the Engine Stop Switch? But again, no stop switch is installed.

Any insight would be very appreciated. Should I go ahead and look into the magneto assymbly? Or is there some thing else I can troubleshoot before I go that far?

-Wrencher26

p.s. Apologize for view angle. It rotated RIGHT 90 degrees automatically in the forum??? I have slightest idea how to fix, ha.

[BrianZ]

First off, the Dirt Squirt you have was made much later than 1969, likely around 1974 although someone on this board may will have a better idea of the year. The red wire in your photo would have went to the kill switch. The kill switch should be connected across the blue and black wires of the coil. The white connector was not used. If desired, the owner could purchase a lighting kit and it would connect to this connector. As for the lack of spark, the first thing I would look at would be the spark plug, points and condensor. To inspect the points and condensor you need to pull off the flywheel. Once the flywheel is off check the points for pitting and corrosion and make sure the open and close freely. The condensor is a little harder to test unless you have a multimeter that measures capacitance. The best bet is to replace both unless you are certain they are fairly new and in good condition.

Brian

[Dale]

(Ha, Brian beat me with his post. Sounds pretty similar. I am going to post this as well...)
Welcome! Without any lights, all that you will need to worry about is the Blue and Black leads from the magneto to the coil. I am guessing that the Red wire, that is cut off, is tied into the black lead in your picture? If so, then this would have been for a kill switch. Grounding the black lead will kill the spark. I will also guess that the bundle of wires tied back behind the coil are for optional lights. Just a guess...

Back to the kill switch. There are two types. A single wire type that grounds the black lead by supplying ground through contact with the handlebars. The other type is a two wire type that connects between the blue and black wire of the coil. The blue wire is magneto ground. This is a more reliable option to kill the spark.

If the bike has been sitting for a long time, it is usually a good plan to just replace the points and condenser and go from there. New plug also.
Dale

[rlkarren]

ditto.

Brian and Dale are spot on. In the absence of a key switch, (part of the optional light kit), a Kill switch is absolutely necessary. How else are you going to turn it off?

Roger

[Wrencher26]

Roger,

I'll just pull spark plug lead like I used to do when I was a kid, ha!

Really much appreciate the info, tips, ect from all, including Dale and Brian. I'm gonna check this Magneto Assy out today and clean everything up. I'll post photos along way.

As for the VIN, I don't have any identification plates on the rear left shock mount area nor on frame tube up front. How could I decifer the year? According to the site here's its a Model 96 or 92C.

-Justin

[Pep]

Hi Justin - you should find an ID stamped on the left frame gusset (just a bit below and in front of the tank)
-Laurie
P.S. Stalling or choking the bike off is *a bit* safer than grabbing that spark plug lead!!

[Wrencher26]

Hello Laurie,

The ID stamped in the gusset is E07083. Does that sound right? The ID stamped on engine is P69551. Is there any other numbers I should look for?

As for magneto Assy, I'm just not getting into that...more to follow there.

-Justin

[Wrencher26]

Last note on previous post...I meant, "I'm just now getting into that", ha.

[Wrencher26]

Well, here are a few pictures...

...the Ignition Primary Coil & Lighting Coil are a bit rusty/corroded. The Contact Points are not opening up because the black plastic piece on the Contact arm that hits the raised metal on the Camshaft is worn down. I'll be replacing the Contact Breaker Assy I suppose, unless I can get a new piece of plastic.

I'm gonna clean everything up best I can and put back together and see if I can get new spark. I picked up a couple NGK plugs as well...more to follow.

[BrianZ]

You see the blue wire going to the points? It looks to me like it is installed on the wrong side of the little brown insulating washer. Loosen off the screw that holds the wire to the points and remove the blue wire. Now install the wire between the washer located under the head of the screw, and the brown insulator. Now you see the screw that holds the points to the backing plate? Loosen that screw and the points assembly can be rotated slightly. This will allow you to adjust the points gap to compensate for wear of the plastic piece you have mentioned. Now try putting it together and adjust the points gap to .012" - .014". You may get a spark yet.

Brian

[BrianZ]

One more thing. That piece of felt located just above the condenser is to lubricate the points. The felt should rub against the points cam inside the flywheel. When the felt is dampened with oil it keeps the points cam lubricated to minimize points wear. You don't want too much oil on it, just enough to dampen it.

Brian

[Wrencher26]

Much appreciated Brian...I'll see what happens here shortly...AWESOME info! Thank you.

[Wrencher26]

Okay...got it fairly clean and rust free...moved Blue wired as stated. Does it look right from the picture?

[BrianZ]

The blue wire is now in the right place. My only concern is that it doesn't appear that the blue wire is soldered to the forked terminal. It may still work but once you get a little dirt or corrosion the connection will fail, especially with the vibration from the engine.

Brian

[Wrencher26]

Gotcha...gotta soder gun...will doctor it up now, thanks. Good insight!

[Wrencher26]

Well...slow coming, with job and all. I got her soldered up good, but still no spark. The points are gapped according to previous post and they are opening and closing fine.

I'm thinking that maybe my ignition coil may be bad. Is there a way to clean 'em up, or would it be better to just replace?

[BrianZ]

It looks like you've got the wiring to the points straightened out. Is the spark plug new? Assuming you have a new plug and still no spark, the points and condenser could still be bad. You'll need an ohmeter to perform a few checks. Measure the resistance between the black and blue wires coming from te magneto. With the points open the resistance should be a few ohms. Now close the points and the resistance should go to zero. This means that the points are good, however the condenser could still be bad. The best way to deal with a suspect condensor is to replace it since they degrade over time.

To determine if your coil is okay, measure the resistance between the black and blue wires of the coil. The ohmeter should indicate low resistance (less than 10 ohms). Now measure from the spark plug cap to the frame. The ohmeter should measure somewhere in the thousands of ohms (mine measure 10,000 - 20,000 ohms).

Brian

[Wrencher26]

Thanks Brian...just home from work...I'll get after your tips! And no, the spark plug I just cleaned up, but picked up a new one today for good measure...more to follow...