No Spark - 63' Monza

[LeadHead]

Hi guys,

Grrrrrrrrr......

I've been battling electrical demons on my 63' project and I'm beginning to get extremely aggravated. The bike was running fine a few months ago, the suddenly it stalled and it hasn't sparked since. Hopefully you guys can lend a hand.

Here's a breakdown of what I've checked so far:

- brand new charged battery
- voltage regulator is wired correctly (perhaps the regulator is shot?)
- new ignition switch (wired correctly according to the schematic online)
- grounds are good

Observations:

- no power to the coil positive
- no power to the regulator (at the main power wire, even though the battery is fully charged)
- no power to the ignition positive wire (hot leading into the ignition)

And by the way, yes, my tester light does work.

So far, all things lead back to the regulator. I'm not getting any juice anywhere on the bike, so I'm wondering if the ignition switch is wired incorrectly. Does anyone have a schematic showing what wires go to the high/low contact points on the switch?

Do you guys have any tips or tricks to help me track down the issue? Keep in mind that this bike was running a few months ago and then just stopped.

[Daniil]

Assuming your coil is fine, test magneto output...hook up a testor to the wires coming out the magneto directly, measure the output...The arrow should shake/ jump, but it will still show some juice if there is any output. If there is nothing, you narrowed it down to Magneto, condensor, points, or secondary coils. Clean your points and measure the gap, test with ohmmeter for resistance when points are closed. Should be near 0. See my point? Take it one at a time. Then don't discount your wiring either. Look for grounded hot, proper ground connections spots etc. You will be able to isolate the problem. Dan

Originally Posted by LeadHead

Hi guys,

Grrrrrrrrr......

I've been battling electrical demons on my 63' project and I'm beginning to get extremely aggravated. The bike was running fine a few months ago, the suddenly it stalled and it hasn't sparked since. Hopefully you guys can lend a hand.

Here's a breakdown of what I've checked so far:

- brand new charged battery
- voltage regulator is wired correctly (perhaps the regulator is shot?)
- new ignition switch (wired correctly according to the schematic online)
- grounds are good

Observations:

- no power to the coil positive
- no power to the regulator (at the main power wire, even though the battery is fully charged)
- no power to the ignition positive wire (hot leading into the ignition)

And by the way, yes, my tester light does work.

So far, all things lead back to the regulator. I'm not getting any juice anywhere on the bike, so I'm wondering if the ignition switch is wired incorrectly. Does anyone have a schematic showing what wires go to the high/low contact points on the switch?

Do you guys have any tips or tricks to help me track down the issue? Keep in mind that this bike was running a few months ago and then just stopped.

[Monty777]

Originally Posted by LeadHead

Hi guys,

Grrrrrrrrr......

I've been battling electrical demons on my 63' project and I'm beginning to get extremely aggravated. The bike was running fine a few months ago, the suddenly it stalled and it hasn't sparked since. Hopefully you guys can lend a hand.

Here's a breakdown of what I've checked so far:

- brand new charged battery
- voltage regulator is wired correctly (perhaps the regulator is shot?)
- new ignition switch (wired correctly according to the schematic online)
- grounds are good

Observations:

- no power to the coil positive
- no power to the regulator (at the main power wire, even though the battery is fully charged)
- no power to the ignition positive wire (hot leading into the ignition)

And by the way, yes, my tester light does work.

So far, all things lead back to the regulator. I'm not getting any juice anywhere on the bike, so I'm wondering if the ignition switch is wired incorrectly. Does anyone have a schematic showing what wires go to the high/low contact points on the switch?

Do you guys have any tips or tricks to help me track down the issue? Keep in mind that this bike was running a few months ago and then just stopped.

I would suspect the switch-you don't need the regulator to work for your ignition circuit to work-it is used for charging the battery. If you have checked and have no 'hot' power to the coil then that is a starting point. You could always run a wire direct from the battery to the 'hot' side of the coil-that should give you sparks. I did that on my 250 GT which hadn't been run for over 20 years and after about 10 kicks it started. Before anyone winces about the potential for no oil to be there I had kicked it over without the plug in and the cam cover off to ensure oil was coming out of the camshaft before I did this..............

Good luck-Italian electrics are always fun-but I'm sure you will be able to sort it.

John

[ajleone]

Yes, I would agree with the last post. Start by connecting the battery to the hot side of the coil and get all switches, regulator and stator outpof the equation. If you do not have spark, then you have a bad coil, or points or condesensor and you can work the problem forward from the coil. Once you establish spark from that setup (also know as a total loss setup), then you can bring the regulator into the circuit and then the stator. The problem with measuring output from a stator is that the pulse is so short that home multimeters cannot actually measure the power of the output, you would need some more sophisicated equipment. Bottom line is to run total loss and limit your driving at night time, IMHO. If you want to ride at night, get a gel cell and run the lights off of their own battery - not too hard to do.
Tony

[wdietz186]

Somewhere in the dark recesses of memory I seem to recall an obscure trait of some Italian singles.If you are using the original wiring harness check the taillight bulb,some bikes ran the ign. circuit through the brakelight bulb as kind of a safety feature. To reduce rear end collisions no doubt! Some bikes had a toggle switch to bypass it mounted near the taillight. If you are not using the orig. harness,nevermind.

[LeadHead]

Originally Posted by ajleone

Yes, I would agree with the last post. Start by connecting the battery to the hot side of the coil and get all switches, regulator and stator outpof the equation. If you do not have spark, then you have a bad coil, or points or condesensor and you can work the problem forward from the coil. Once you establish spark from that setup (also know as a total loss setup), then you can bring the regulator into the circuit and then the stator. The problem with measuring output from a stator is that the pulse is so short that home multimeters cannot actually measure the power of the output, you would need some more sophisicated equipment. Bottom line is to run total loss and limit your driving at night time, IMHO. If you want to ride at night, get a gel cell and run the lights off of their own battery - not too hard to do.
Tony

Thanks fellas,

I like the standalone method for the coil. Before I try that I have a few questions:

Using a tester light, should I see constant power to the coil upon attaching it to the battery, or will it only show once kicked?

Am I still to keep the battery grounded while doing this?

Thanks,
Vincent

[chimera]

If it still has the original Ducati elettrotecnica regulator/rectifier, there's a fuse under a plastic cover on one end of the reg/rec (the wire terminal is on the other end).

[LeadHead]

Alright guys, I'm at my wits end with this bike. I have tried everything that I can think of to get this thing started and nothing seems to work.

Here's what I've tried:

• Made a direct connection between the coil and the battery. I have power at the coil and at the plug. When kicked, I'm making 15+ volts at the plug head
• I haven't touched the carburator since it was running, but I know I'm getting fuel as the bowl is full and I can smell/see the gas going into the runner.
• Points are working properly and I've got .015 space between connectors
• The coil is working properly and is a 6V CC version

Guys I can't think of anything else. I've got Air, Fuel, and Spark. In my experience this usually will at least start an engine, but apparently these bevels are a little finicky than what I'm used to.

Can you guys recommend anything? It almost seems like I'm not getting any spark even though I'm detecting plenty of voltage at the plug.

My electrical setup is:

Battery + going directly to the coil (I believe it's the "1" port)
Battery - grounded to frame
Points is connected to the "15" port on the coil
Brand new plug, gapped correctly
Carburator is working properly and is set to the same setting when it was working

I'm real close to giving up and selling this thing, so if someone can help me out I'd REALLY REALLY appreciate it.

Vince

[Duccout]

Surely, if you have voltage at the plug, but no spark, then the points must be faulty?