Old type electronic tester

1017 Views 12 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Bagmaster, Oct 10, 2009

The New Owner

Discussion Starter · Oct 10, 2009

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Hi there, I bought an old analog tester, it has three options (voltage, RPM and dwell angle). It is second-hand so no manual avaliable and the ex owner had no idea how to use it (actually he had got it from some mechanic). There are two wires, red and black one. There is a switch to set 6 or 4 cylinders. Now I have no idea ofhow to connect it on the bike for measuring engine RPM or dwell angle? On the car I think it should go between the coil's output and the "+" on the battery but I'm not sure about the polarity as it does affect the reading. But as the bike has two coils and breakers I definitely have no idea how to use it. Any one had used such thing onaWing? Thanks!

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CaptainMidnight85

· #2 · Oct 10, 2009

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Only two wires?
There's typically three or moresingle wires on the older analog types: red/green/black
Red goes to the Bat +
Green to the Neg - side of coil
Black to ground - preferably at battery
Some used plug-in wire pairs for ease of use.
Many also came with small shunts for generator/alternator testing.
Can you post a picture of it. The scale will give youan indication of what may have come with it when new.

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The New Owner

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 10, 2009

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I don't have a digital camera but I'll try to borrow it somewhere to post the picture. No any plug-ins or anything else to be added. Only two wires that go directly from the case. So maybe Red to the"+"andBlack to the negative endof the coil? But what about readin? I guess it can't be the same as on 4 cyl. car as there are two coils on the bike while the car has only one coil?

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CaptainMidnight85

· #4 · Oct 10, 2009

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Since the ignition system is split in two, you will probably get a reading of 45 where in reality, timing is 22 1/2 degrees. This is what you would want to shoot for IME.

Ignition dwell is a correlation of point gap, so make sure the needle is zeroed-out to the scale while at rest. 22 1/2 may be hard to read accurately on the smaller meters.

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The New Owner

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 10, 2009

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Thanks for the info!

So I should read 45 degrees when connect it to any coil. But what would happen if I attached the red wire to both the coils at the same time (parallel), would the reading be 22 1/2 degrees then if both the points are adjusted well? Also would that be a way to go when testing RPM?

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redbaron

· #6 · Oct 10, 2009

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What's this about old meters????:cheeky1::cheeky1:...I resemble that remark.....Yes I have an old engine dignostic tester, and it has several sets of leads, I'm not where I can run out and look at it, But I'm not really sure that it will workon a Wing, but it might....I have something else in the side box on one of my tool boxes that is dang near an antique, and I doubt many here have ever seen one of these tools.....It is a generator/starter armature growler....:shock:....Used to test the armature for dead spots, now that is old technology, made by Snap-on tools....However it does still work and if you needed to check an armatureout it, it might still do the job????

Claude....

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CaptainMidnight85

· #7 · Oct 10, 2009

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I'm not certain...

With the meter set to 4 cylinders,that old meter is looking for 4 sparks on a complete engine cycle (2 crankshaft revolutions, automotive single coil and point set) whereas your GL motor is going to give it 8 sparks on a complete cycle due to it being a "wasted spark" system. Thus the need to read a half-measurement.
While #'s 1 &2 are at TDC getting fire, so are #'s 3 & 4 at BDC, hence the wasted spark and need for a half-reading using old (or automotive) dwell meters.

Jumping the coils may create a short...

Randakk has a split timing page that is great for tune-ups. I'm guessing this is your goal.
http://www.randakks.com/TechTip7.htm

Start with the mechanical setting of the ignition and progress to dwell measurement.

Is something faulty or is the bike not running right? Maybe a misfire or something?

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Bagmaster

· #8 · Oct 10, 2009

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I've got one of those old hand held units, quality metal body instead of plastic like the ones they make now. It has just the 2 leads coming off it and just reads tach and dwell. The red positive lead attaches straight to the point set lead and the black to ground. It can be switched to 4 cyl or 6 cyl readings. On my old 1000 I had years ago i set it to the 4 cyl reading and divided by half to get my dwell and rpm readings. Haven't used it in a very long time.

I also have a Radio Shack analyzer that has extra leads and it runs off the vehicle battery for power, separate small lead to read the rpm's and dwell with 2, 4, and 8 cyl settings. It also has leads for reading voltages and amps when hooked in series with a power lead.

Both of them still work even though their both over 20 years old.

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The New Owner

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 10, 2009

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Yep, Randakk's split timing sounds logical, definitely worth to try. I have no actualproblem with the ignition, but I'm repairing the carbs at the moment so when have them back on the bike I would like to re-adjusteverything perfectly (idle, gap, timing, vlves,etc.). I've bought this tester time ago and used it on the car once but now I just became curious if I can use iton mybike as well.

So then just to dimidiate the readings of RPMor Dwelland that's it? Well certainly this tool is not necessairly but it can be usefull....

Thank you all for the help!!!:waving:

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Bagmaster

· #10 · Oct 10, 2009

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Set the point gap by feeler gauge first to get her running then dial her in using the dwell settings. Dwell is more accurate than setting the final settings using gauges.