Topic: Why does PAMCO Ignition still work without it being grounded? CB750

[andyvclifford]

Hey all,

this might be a stupid question but im going to ask it anyways.  I installed a PAMCO ignition on my 75 CB750 a few weeks ago.  At one point i realized the ground (BLACK) wire which should be grounded to the case somewhere had come undone from where I had it not making any connection.  However, the bike starts up and fires plugs just fine.  Does this indicate that I did something else wrong with the wiring or would this be the case no matter what? 

Thanks
Andy

[Don R]

 It may be getting a good enough ground from the engine case but I wouldn't count on it staying that way.

[andyvclifford]

So the unit itself is actually grounded in the way the old ignition points is?

[Scott S]

 Pete always called that an "incidental ground". It's probably grounding itself out somewhere just by touching the case/frame/engine/whatever. But don't rely on that. Give it a proper ground.

[andyvclifford]

Gotcha!  Thank you - just been having a host of problems with the bike running poorly and wanted to root this out in a seperate thread.