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I've got gremlins ..

2K views 36 replies 11 participants last post by  DaveO430 
#1 ·
Hello all. Guess I should start with a little background and go from there.
I've been riding one thing after another since I was 15, now 67, have always done my own work on everything I have owned, so I'm pretty familiar with lots of stuff and have been pretty successful keeping my two wheels rolling year after year. This current ride I have had since 2009, barn find and tore it all down and put her all back together. I haven't had any issues until now, which started about 3 weeks ago.

1978 GL1000.. 22668 original miles ( it had 17,332 when I purchased. Hadn't been ridden or on the road since 1982 ) Has 4 yr old Gates belts, Dyna ignition I put in last year; (spot on ) carbs have been gone through and balanced, all electrical works as it should, checked and no signs of wear, animals or shorts. New plugs, caps and though coils are original the plug wires are good. I have been riding since I put it on the road in 2011 with no issues and last year I never put her up over winter as we really didn't have one. I think all told there may have been two weeks when I didn't take her out for a spin. All this time she's been running like the wind..

Now my issue(s) ..
Three weeks ago I'm headed up town and suddenly the bike starts cutting out like I dropped a cylinder or two, so I pull over and she stalls out and is hard to restart but I finally get it going and limp the 3 miles back home. I check for spark and have a good hot fat one on each plug. I loosen float bowl drain screws and gas comes out of each clear as bell. I pull the outlet hose from the fuel pump and crank and fuel flows good through the pump and again gas is clean. To double check I drain some through the petcock, then switch over to reserve.. fuel flows with no restrictions .. stumped.

So I take her out and she runs like a top for about 30 miles then I notice my neutral light is dimly glowing while I am in 5th gear ( wth?).

I pull over and notice when I downshift into 3rd it goes out, so I shift into 4th and keep going and after a few seconds it come on again and the bike starts to run like it did before, like it's running on 2 cylinders.

Now there is no backfiring or smoking or anything to show there is an internal issue going on. I pull into a parking lot, let her sit awhile and fire her up. Idles and sounds good so I hop on and head for the barn and it runs great all the way home, no sign of trouble ?????

I check all wiring for a short .. none to be found. Hadn't gotten any gas, tank is clean, full pump is clean. Checked air cleaner and it's in good shape, Checked gas cap and it's functioning as it should and even changed it out with another I had. Can't for the life of me find the problem.

So out I go again. Keeping an eye on temp gauge and charging gauge as I ride. Temp gauge gets a little above middle range and the problem rears it's ugly head again, though there is no dim neutral light like before .. another issue? Check thermostat, works as it should, fan comes on and runs as it should, No wire issues, connections clean.

This continues to happen on and off every time I ride now. Some days I can ride for a long time and all is well before it starts , other times like just before I posted, 12 miles and it acted up.. I am completely baffled.

Can anyone think of what I missed, what I should check that I haven't?
Appreciate any and all help.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to get you all on the same page and explain in as much detail as possible

:frown2:
 
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#3 ·
Thanks John, I don't know if I have any normal thoughts right now. This thing has me up at night going over every detail I can think of. I have read dozens of posts on a dozen sites and no one has the same issues I'm experiencing.

I forgot to mention that after each time this happens I check my timing with a test light I made to see if anything has changed and it is still spot on.
 
#7 ·
I checked the coils, no signs of cracks or damage. I even ran the bike at night in my dark shed looking for signs arcing but saw nothing. I was thinking of replacing ( yeah, they are old ) with new Dyna coils but until I get this figured out I'll be holding off.
 
#5 ·
Didn't I hear about issues like this with the Dyna ignition at on time before? Captain Midnight or someone might be by soon. When ever I have an issue that seems to be directly related to heat I look first to electronics then electrical. The neutral light is a common issue. The oil in the crankcase creates a carbon bridge that shorts across the switch even when it is open. I doubt it is related.

EDIT: I agree with Mystic four. The first time I read the original post I thought it said you replaced the coils.
 
#8 ·
Didn't I hear about issues like this with the Dyna ignition at on time before? Captain Midnight or someone might be by soon. When ever I have an issue that seems to be directly related to heat I look first to electronics then electrical. The neutral light is a common issue. The oil in the crankcase creates a carbon bridge that shorts across the switch even when it is open. I doubt it is related.

Oil and filter changed every year, just did it in early May before this issue showed it's face. Oil was still fairly clean; but I do have a long gravel drive that gets real dusty in the summer months so I change it regularly

As for the neutral light issue, it is intermittent and never shines brightly like everyone reports .. it comes on now and then, very dimly lit when in 4th or 5th gear. Shift down into 3rd, it goes out.

EDIT: I agree with Mystic four. The first time I read the original post I thought it said you replaced the coils.
" though coils are original the plug wires are good."

Thanks for taking the time to reply
 
#13 ·
A lot of people have said these coils work great, not a lot of cost but I intend to upgrade to these as soon as I can get my bike back on the road. Redwing was saying that some had the dyna ign causing the issues you are talking about, hopefully someone who had the same problems comes along soon. the coil I was talking about is


http://www.ebay.com/itm/141212848401?rmvSB=true
Thanks for the link never heard about putting auto coils on a Wing before.
 
#12 ·
If it was me with these issues I would go ahead and change coil and wires, won't be extremely costly and makes sure you are good on those for quite a while.
If prob still persists then I would think it has to be in ignition somewhere, getting fuel, then it has to be electrical
 
#20 ·
My theory is that youngsters never appreciate the finer things in life and are so much of a hurry to burn then up and move on that they never really get to enjoy what they have. This old girl and I do just fine together, have an understanding that I don't ride her hard and put her away wet and she'll carry my butt home to the barn each and every time I take her out for a ride. It takes a few years but you younger guys will finally get it...
 
#16 ·
I got the link for these coils here from forums, a lot of members here swear that they work great and I tend to trust my fellow members opinions. They have a sticky at top that talk about using 1500 coils and people tell of using these there as well.
They say bike starts and runs much better, hotter spark and resister not needed if I remember correctly
 
#19 ·
Buddy bought a new 78 back in the day and had a Dyna 111 installed prior to us leaving for Wing Ding 79 in AZ. On the way home, it started running poorly like yours out of the blue and once back home, he took it to the best proclaimed wing mechanic of the time whom found that the female harness point plugins needed to be recrimped "tight" as the dyna males ends were not making full contact all the time and arching.

1. I'd recrimp yours and run without the point cover on for reduced heat and test.
2. Install the points/cam back in and test prior to shipping the Dyna unit back and get back to us.
 
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#22 ·
Buddy bought a new 78 back in the day and had a Dyna 111 installed prior to us leaving for Wing Ding 79 in AZ. On the way home, it started running poorly like yours out of the blue and once back home, he took it to the best proclaimed wing mechanic of the time whom found that the female harness point plugins needed to be recrimped "tight" as the dyna males ends were not making full contact all the time and arching.

1. I'd recrimp yours and run without the point cover on for reduced heat.
2. Install the points/cam back in and test prior to shipping the Dyna unit back and get back to us.
I've double checked all my wiring but I'll give these a once over again and crimp them tight. I'll also try the point cover suggestion and see if it makes a difference. I still have my points and plate so if all else fails I'll reinstall and if I still have an issue I'll change out coils and wires. I'm trying to approach this systematically and narrow it down to one thing or the other. What really baffles me is that damn slight glow of the neutral light now and then in 4th or 5th and the sudden loss of power when it comes on... makes no sense to me.

( note to admins ) .. we need a scratching your head emoticon or a pulling your hair out one
 
#24 ·
( note to admins ) .. we need a scratching your head emoticon or a pulling your hair out one


You just need to click on the [More] link at the bottom of the small selection of emoticons.

the ones in that little box seem to be the most popular over time.
they have changed a bit here and there, as requests have come in, and use shows us they are popular. :nerd:

like that little guy, he is a recent addition,
and this one, is a special request from your truly, I found it out in the netherlands somewhere, and asked it be put here. :cam:

that is because, we have a favorite saying, if there aren't any :cam: pictures, it just didn't happen :wink2:
 
#30 ·
I wanted to answer everyone that took the time and replied and provide help before I told you all what I found and checked out to be sure of what it was before I posted again and asked for ideas..

First the answer to my problem:
it wasn't gremlins, it was a blown fuse that I couldn't see was blown as it came apart on the end and still looked good even close up and shaking it to see if the filament moved..
The second one down in the fuse holder just below the headlight fuse, the 5 amp marked tail and meter lamps.
When I saw it was blown I replaced it and fired the bike up and low and behold, ran like a top and I took it out and drove for 3 hours, well past the time it had been starting to mess up previously. Next day I went out for the day.. ran like a top all day, no issues put over 400 miles on her.
Next day went out again.. 237 miles into my ride and suddenly she starts acting up gain. First thing I did after I pulled over was check the fuse .. yup blown.. replaced it and drove home.

As I have preciously said, I checked and cleaned all wiring and grounds, checked coil output/resistance, plugs, spark,timing,air filter and fuel filter, fuel pump and for air or fuel leaks., everything that could possibly be related to a sudden loss of power with no physical issues.. baffled.

Turns out it happens when this fuse blows .. now as it is only for the tail and instruments lights I am equally baffled now as all connections are good and tight and clean

.. any suggestions?
 
#32 ·
Me neither, Power Guy, really can't wrap my head around this fuse causing my issue. The only thing I can think of is that the previous owner for one reason or another had either had some electrical issue or at one time added an electrical accessory that he removed later; though there are no signs of either, no splices in the harness I could see and when installing or plugging the harness back together he either crossed something up or somewhere inside the ignition switch or it's harness there is a short. I found that even with this fuse blown and the taillight and running lights up front and the instrument lights out, I could turn the key and the taillight lit up in park. I'm no electrical wiz, but if the taillight fuse is blown I don't see how it would light up when placed in the park position on the ignition switch unless Honda for some reason only known to them put the park on a different circuit? I guess I have another day of working on this ahead of me while I search for an answer; but at least now I have it kinda narrowed down and know it's not coils or carbs, plug wires or the dyna; but electrical issues can be gremlins of their own.. so perhaps they haven't left after all.:frown2:
 
#36 ·
Thank you Bellboy40, I was searching for any references I could find regarding my issue and the taillight should work even with a blown fuse and could find nothing.. Even my owner's manual was no help So it evidently has another power source off the ignition switch .. more to backtrack
 
#37 ·
Check the voltage on the black wire that feeds the ignition, before the resistor, with the engine running, both with and without the tail light fuse. Could be the ignition switch got weak and someone tied in the tail light circuit to the ignition to make it run right.
 
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