Topic: cylinder 1 and 4 no spark, cb550, Dyna s ignition

[Strangexj86]

78 cb550
plugs are good
rebuilt engine,
ran fine before, never messed with ignition timing
cylinders 2 and 3 are gettting plenty hot at the exhaust pipes
cylinders 1 and 4 are not.

Not really familiar with the Dyna ignition since it came with the bike, how should i check the ignition timing with this guy?

Bike has no power but still runs. Cam timing is spot on. Just checked it and made sure.

I've searched a bunch but everyone is refering to the stock points and not a Dyna S ignition system. So i decided to make a post.
Where should i go from here? thanks.

[scottly]

What do the 1 and 4 spark plugs look like?

[Strangexj86]

they were a bit dark and black. replaced them with new ones and it didnt change anything.


Could it be a carb issue?

[scottly]

No spark with new plugs = bad Dyna, IMHO. There's been quite a few over the last few years. How old was yours?

[Strangexj86]

brand new basically. Previous owner had just installed them a month or so before i bought the bike.

I rode the bike for a good two months with no issues then did a full engine rebuild on it. Didnt mess with the ignition timing or anything, so i dont know how the dyna would have gone bad.

[scottly]

You might want to reverse the connections from the dyna to the coils. If the problem moves to the 2-3 spark plugs, that points to a failed Dyna 1-4 trigger. If the problem doesn't move, the ignition coil or it's wiring are suspect.

[Strangexj86]

k. I'll go check that now and get back

[Strangexj86]

not a good idea. Just a HUGE single backfire.

Since i rebuilt the engine and adjusted the cam timing, should I need to go in and adjust the points for cylinders 1 and 4 even though i never messed with them in the first place?

[scottly]

not a good idea. Just a HUGE single backfire.

I meant with the spark-plugs removed and grounded on the cylinder head.
I think that means your 1-4 coil is working. Once again, bad Dyna.....

[Scott S]

 How do you do a complete engine rebuild and not mess with the timing?

[Strangexj86]

I did mess with the came timing, I guess i should have been more specific about the rebuild. I never opened the main engine case. So I guess it was just a top end rebuild.

I'm going take off the dyna ignition plate and see if anything looks awry behind it.

Would I be able to run a stock points ignition with dyna 5.0 ohm coils?

[Duanob]

You should have no problem with the 5ohm coils and stock points. Cam timing shouldn't have anything to do with whether 2/3 are sparking and 1/4 are not. Make sure your connections at the coil are good and not grounding on something. You say you bought the bike with the dyna installed? You can find the Dyna S installation instructions online. Go through it all again like you just bought the kit yourself and redo the complete installation. At least you will familiarize yourself with it.

[iron_worker]

You should be able to take the bullet connector coming from the coils that would plug into the points and manually switch it from grounded to open. Use a jumper and ground it to your battery (-) then remove it. Each time you ground it out you should be able to see a spark at the plugs. If this works then that means your coil is fine and it's whatever is switching your coil that is not working properly ... IE the Dyna system.

IW

[Strangexj86]

So i did the grounding thing. ANd i had a spark at cylinder number one. It was a faint spark, but a spark none the less.

I did find a problem though. I pulled the wires that come from the dyna ignition out from inside the frame (i hid them in the frame during my build), and man do I feel stupid with what i found. ALl three wires that come from the ignition were wrapped together with no protection between each other. So all three were touching each other.

I am assuming that this has caused the dyna ignition to go bad. Is this a fair assumption?

[Strangexj86]

DYna ignition was bad. Replaced it with a new one. I am now firing on cylinders 2,3,4, but not 1. What should i check now? It has to be a valve or a carb problem right? I lapped the valves during the rebuild, and fresh spark plugs. Or a spark plug wire i guess.

Any suggestions?

[boogiedude]

Are you getting spark on cyl 1, with no fire? If it's not sparking it's a plug lead issue. Loose cap or something. If you're getting spark but not firing then you've got a fuel issue

[Strangexj86]

K, I'll go check that and report back.

[Xnavylfr]

Here's some info for reference later.
http://www.dynaonline.com/skins/products/sportbikes/dyna_s/

You can also T/S as before , swap power leads from the DYNA (BLUE/YELLOW) and if your plug wires are long enough also swap those, plug wires from 1/4 coil put them on #2/#3 plugs--- plug wires from 2/3 coil put them on #1/#4 plugs.. If you still have the same issue with #1 cylinder= Fuel issue.
Are these NEW wires and plug caps? Make sure the plug caps are screwed on the wires good!  Maybe even -remove the plug caps and cut 1/4 inch off the plug wire  then reinstall the caps!!

Xnavylfr(CHUCK)

[Strangexj86]

so i had spark in number onw. Opened up carb one and there was a TON of buildup of some kind of white substance. Started cleaning it out and managed to lose the little clip that holds the float bowl needle to the float bowl.

Anyone know where to find one of these parts? Its called the valve set float.