Topic: Electrical problem or fuel?

[Duke McDukiedook]

Yeah, 25 psi improvement probably doesn't bode well for your rings on #1.

[Spanner 1]

I wouldn't even start that bike again until I have all my kit on, a full tank and enough time to start and go on a non-stop 50 mile ride, before making any further decision about it's 'foibles'...my bet is it will be a fab. runner by the time you get home !!

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

I was thinking along those same lines, I hope #1 is just a stuck ring that'll come loose after some riding. I pulled the (new) plugs again -

#1 still oily, big suprise 
#2 light brown
#3 very sooty
#4 light brown

I leaned #3 out but havne't ran it yet. Hopefully that'll help.

I'm running Lucas top end cleaner through a few tanks of Shell premium to see if that'll help #1.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

Put about 40 miles on her today. Seems to be running a little worse, #1 is still dead and it developed a sputter at pretty much all speeds. Sputter might just be more gunk in the carbs, but I think #1 has to have a re-ring. I pulled the plug after the ride and it was oily, with white smoke coming out of the plug hole!

So here's the question. I'm tight on money, but what is a must do when going to the trouble to re-ring? I was thinking -

Hone & rings
Cylinder gasket
O-Rings
Valve stem seals

+ disassemble carbs & clean

Anythings else that's doable on a shoe string?

[oldbiker]

I will be surprised if you don't find a broken ring in No. 1 when you do a strip?

[Hush]

Boxnife that's one lovely old bike you have there, and you have improved her running considerably since your first video.
Do you know how old the air filter is on her? It makes a huge difference to the running as part of the equation is spark-compression-air-fuel, any one of these can let you down
If the air cleaner hasn't been changed since the dawn of time or you have no idea of it's age I'd definately replace it.
Not much you can do to improve the bike after that, as the other guys suggested ride it and maybe clear that possibly jammed ring, if it's a busted ring then you face a top end teardown which isn't a major considering your level of competence with mechanics.
You asked before if the top end can be done leaving the engine in the frame, for most of these SOHC 4'S the answer is yes so can't see the 550 being different.
Good luck and welcome to the site.......Hush.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

Thanks guys, all the support has been real helpful.

I pulled out the filter and thought it looked ok, but I should replace it just to rule that out. It died on me on the interstate yesterday, losing power and bogging down at 5th then sputtering out as I went down through the gears, dying completely as I got into 2nd. I let it sit a while, then made it home. For some reason the bike has been hard to get started after it's warmed up and rode a while. Honestly I'm suprised, I really thought it was going to get me through the summer, as I was planning a top end overhaul this winter.

If I were to tear down the carbs I think the sputtering out problem could be fixed. But #1 is obviously toast. If I take a couple weeks in April to do the top end I'll have all of May to ride in nice weather. Sounds better than an extra month and a whole summer of riding a bike that's limping around.

[TwoTired]

It is possible that the "sputtering" is due to carbon fouled plugs.  And, an a clean air filter can help that.  I think I would invest is a new spark plug set along with the clean air filter.

If you are lucky, the #1 cylinder may have a stuck ring into the grooves of that piston instead of a broken ring.  This may free up with riding, and/or some experimentation with high detergent oils, such as synthetics.  If it works, it is cheaper than the cost of a tear down, and won't hurt anything other than your wallet thickness.

Cheers,

[WFO]

You can't afford this?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90899

Thats funny, I called a friend who has an electronics background and he said 'whatever you do, don't get one from harbor freight'. Like a cheapskate, I was hoping to hold out until I saw him this weekend and could borrow one.

I was in the electronics industry for 30 years.  Technician to Sr. engineer designing high speed communication circuits.  I ran and bought equipment in the design lab for more than a few years.  Yes, there are better and more expensive DMMs available to buy.  For design lab work, I'd want a better instrument than that Harbor freight unit, yes.
 About 15 years ago I bought an entire tool kit (suitcase style) from them and the little dinky multimeter was included.  I think they were $10 back then if bought individually.  I still have that unit and, in fact, I used it today. It's fine for general purpose work, and certainly more than adequate for getting all the information you need about 30 year old charging and electrical systems.

IMO

Cheers,

 I can vouch for the harbor freight meters they work just fine.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

It is possible that the "sputtering" is due to carbon fouled plugs.  And, an a clean air filter can help that.  I think I would invest is a new spark plug set along with the clean air filter.

If you are lucky, the #1 cylinder may have a stuck ring into the grooves of that piston instead of a broken ring.  This may free up with riding, and/or some experimentation with high detergent oils, such as synthetics.  If it works, it is cheaper than the cost of a tear down, and won't hurt anything other than your wallet thickness.

Cheers,

Dang it, these are new plugs! It's ass cold & windy today so I'll wait to pull them, but that makes sense. It ran well most of the day then crapped out after about 40 miles. I guess the smart thing to do is refresh the carbs first, then see what happends.

And yeah, the tester was plenty fine for the job. It actually seems like a decent piece, I feel guilty shopping at HF. I like american tools.

Anyways, I'm gonna get a carb gasket kit first, then we'll see what happens. I wonder about the ignition timing too, the bike backfires a lot. Anyone know where I can get instructions for setting timing on the Dyna III?

[Hush]

If it's not crap getting into the carbs, could it possibly be the coils are on the way out?
Just a thought but seems you can get it going then when she heats up she dies, that's like blatant coil death but I'm not sure of the correct way to test your coils.
That would make the goo on plug #1 unburned fuel because the plug aint firing at speed....just thinking out loud.
There is a way of testing using the coils as they are on the bike, it's to do with switching the leads thereby possibly moving the fault if it is a duff coil.
TT will know.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

If it's not crap getting into the carbs, could it possibly be the coils are on the way out?
Just a thought but seems you can get it going then when she heats up she dies, that's like blatant coil death but I'm not sure of the correct way to test your coils.
That would make the goo on plug #1 unburned fuel because the plug aint firing at speed....just thinking out loud.
There is a way of testing using the coils as they are on the bike, it's to do with switching the leads thereby possibly moving the fault if it is a duff coil.
TT will know.

That's a good thought, I think swapping 1 & 4 would be an easy way to test that. Should kill 4 if that's the case. Of course, there's still the compression issue with #1. I'd like to hear the proper coil test procedure for these coils if anyone knows. If it ends up being that I'm doing 750 coils. The permanently attatched plug wires weirded me out when I first got the bike, hadn't seen that before.

* took one look at the bike and realized I'm a moron, just because they're a pair doesn't mean they fire at the same time. Can't just swap them 

Anyways, I'll look around the forum and if anyone knows how to test the coils let me know.

[TwoTired]

Anyways, I'll look around the forum and if anyone knows how to test the coils let me know.

 

Have you checked the FAQ?

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

Actually I did, the "check the veracity of your ignition" link is dead. I've found a few dead links in there, should have probably told someone 

I read some more and saw 15 ohms at the plug wire with the boot unscrewed. Is this the reading that I'm looking for?

[Spanner 1]

1 + 4 do spark at the same time, as do 2+3...!! So swapping 1 and 4 plug-wire will tell you if #1 wire is bad...did you swap the plug caps ?  when 1 is on it's firing stroke and points open both 1and4 fire, but 4 is on its exhaust stroke so spark is ' wasted'...that's what its called ,a 'wasted spark system '.......
Don't know about the 15 ohms...but try the above, if you haven't already, you will need to ride the bike for proper test, I think.

[TwoTired]

Actually I did, the "check the veracity of your ignition" link is dead. I've found a few dead links in there, should have probably told someone 

I read some more and saw 15 ohms at the plug wire with the boot unscrewed. Is this the reading that I'm looking for?

The output leads should be around 15,000 ohms.  The coil inputs between 4.5 and 5 ohms.