| Author | Message | ||
     John12345 |
my 98 has a odd starting problem. It will crank and crank, no start. I come back a day later and it will start. problem is inconsistent. I tried putting it in gear and squeezing in the clutch, motor will crank so I figure the neutral switch is fine. tonight I try to start, no luck, I get a small hammer tap the coil and it starts. I would love to just say its the coil, but electrical problems can act odd. Does anyone have any leads on the direction that I should go before I spend some money to try a coil? Also would you recommend the stock coil or an upgrade. Thanks for the help, looks like a nice site!! | ||
| Jim2 |
You have two relays; one ignition, one starter. They are together in a box next to the diodes. Clean the contacts. Swap them and see what happens. Or just buy two new ones. I had the same thing happen to me but I never touched the coil. For me it was the relays (at least one of them). I replaced both and have not had a problem since. | ||
| Harleyelf |
Change the relays, look for nicks in the coil-to-module wire, swap in a known good coil, short out the ignition switch at its quick-connect, and run a hot wire to the coil. Then look to the module if none of that works. | ||
| Harleyelf |
If the coil is getting inadequate signal from the module due to a slowly failing cam position sensor, it would give those symptoms, especially responding to the tap. Your cam position sensor is the cheaper one used on many XL Harleys with dual fire coils. First check the coil signal wire about six inches from the coil where they get pinched by the gas tank. Feel with your fingers for breaks under the insulation. Then borrow a good coil for a swap test. Then go to the sensor and sniff for burnt insulation. | ||
| John12345 |
tried to tap coil tonight, no luck, will look at relays tomorrow. Are they located under the seat? | ||
| Numb_nutz |
Do you have spark when your cranking the engine and it doesn't start? If not you can use a 12 volt test light to check to see if the coil is being triggered. You have two wires on the coil one has battery voltage with the key on the other is the triggered side from the module. hook a test light to positive on the battery and probe the trigger side of the coil. If the light blinks when your cranking the engine over the cam sensor and module are ok so coil is bad. Hope this helps. Also make sure you have power to the coil is not going away when cranking it over. | ||
| Harleyelf |
The relays are under the seat by the module. You can remove the relay block without taking the bodywork off; it lifts off its mounting tab and has wires long enough to reach outside the bodywork. Sand all the contacts on the relays and diodes. The gray wire to your coil is power. Try running a hot wire to it to see if your issue is coil power. the wires with a history of pinching are right near the coil under the fuel tank. My cam position sensor failed in a way that gave too many sparks. Check for this by removing the plugs, letting them hang from their wires, and rolling the bike in gear to see how many sparks per revolution you get. | ||
| Firemanjim |
Another item to check is the timing cup,had 3 failures on 2 different S-2's. Cup cracks and outer portion does not turn and trigger anymore.Cheap buggers so carried a spare. | ||
| Harleyelf |
Good point, Jim. It'll be removed on the way to checking the cam position sensor, so no extra time is involved in checking it. If the engine cranks but does not start, the issue is most certainly electrical. Power to coil, signal to module, signal from module, coil itself, and safety kill circuits are the likely suspects. You do have good plugs and wires or it wouldn't ever run. | ||
| John12345 |
Ok, I found that the wire going to the front terminal on the coil was loose. I squeezed the black boot, reinstalled and it fired up (I started it many times today just to be sure) I think I will press and solder some spade connections on so this doesn't happen again. Thanks for the help | ||
| Harleyelf |
The dreaded vibration monster strikes again! Happy to hear it was something simple. That's why we advise checking the simple stuff first. It's so much more likely a connection failure is the root issue than a component like a cam position sensor or ECM. Ride safe! Y'all come back and see us again right soon now, and post a photo of your beauty on your profile page. |
