Debugging no spark on '14 XC300

[CombatYoga]

In October of 2015 I was coming back to camp at the Zink Ranch NEPG and my '14 GG XC300 quit on me. Was able to determine that it was not sparking and got towed back.

A month or so prior to this, I was having intermittent spark issues. It turned out to be where the wiring harness plugged into the CDI. Someone else on the forum had the same problem and recommended bending the tabs to make a firm connection. That worked, and then I had the failure at Zink Ranch.

Because of the proximity of these events, I have made the assumption that the problem was again this interface. I have monkeyed with it to no avail.
I recently ordered a wiring harness off of ebay and spliced it in. Still no spark.
I purchased an in-line spark indicator with a light that blinks so that I can see if I'm getting a signal to the plug.

Any suggestions on how to proceed on debugging this?

Is there a fuse I should look for to see if it is blown? Is there a way to test the CDI? Could the stator be the problem? How does one test that?

Not very good with a voltmeter, but willing to learn.

 

[john r b]

Slade, did you remove the starter?? Pretty sure you did, this may have some affect.

 

[CombatYoga]

Hi John,

Good memory! That is correct - I removed all of the e-start stuff from my bike.
But I did that a good while back and the bike ran fine and kicked started fine for a number
of months.

Also, I disabled the kill switch while I am attempting to debug this latest problem to rule it out (cut one of the wires).

 

[john r b]

Slade, i bet the cdi is the culprit, my understanding is their are two types
1 for kick only bikes
2 for e-start bikes.
I still have a complete kick only wire harness

 

[dANbOT]

I'm the guy who had the ecu pin issues you mentioned. After replacing the one bad pin socket (12v batt supply to ecu) I haven't had any problems.
I would spend the time checking the wiring for continuity, as I have broken a couple wires over time and abuse. The harness is certainly is not of the highest quality lol

Is your battery fully charged and in good health? That ecu wont do anything without a 12v batt supply

 

[CombatYoga]

One thing I am doing which is going to showcase my ignorance about electric systems on a bike is I am using the terms CDI and ECU interchangeably. If that is wrong, someone give me a slap. Hopefully I haven't confused the situation.

The part that failed on danBot and then on my bike which we had to fix was the red box mounted in a bracket that says JD Racing Ignition on it.

That is the part that I again suspect to be problematic, though I'm not sure how to test it.

If the CDI is indeed a different part, can someone confirm
1) if there really is a difference between the e-start and kickstart versions
and then
2) where it is located and what it looks like

I will follow danBots advice and start checking wiring and connections.

 

[CombatYoga]

Battery?

I'm the guy who had the ecu pin issues you mentioned. After replacing the one bad pin socket (12v batt supply to ecu) I haven't had any problems.
I would spend the time checking the wiring for continuity, as I have broken a couple wires over time and abuse. The harness is certainly is not of the highest quality lol

Is your battery fully charged and in good health? That ecu wont do anything without a 12v batt supply

danBot - I removed the battery from my bike when I took off all of the e-start parts. My bike has kick started and run fine until it quit at Zink Ranch.
I am confuzzled!

 

[Neil E.]

Download a copy of the 2014 owner's manual. It has the wiring diadgrams for both kick and estart. Compare them and you will see that the kick model has an AC powered CDI (single winding on the stator connects to the CDI).

The estart model has a DC powered CDI (single winding on the stator is not used). It is interesting to note is that both models use the same voltage regulator/rectifier.

The kick model gets a capacitor instead of a battery. This is probably to assist the reg/rect to function correctly. When removing the estart system you should keep the battery (or install a smaller battery if you are after weight savings). Perhaps your reg/rect is no longer working.

 

[john r b]

Neil, Please explain the differences between the CDI, ECU, and were they are located on the bike. the rectifier is typically close to the head labeled ''leonelli" or something.. Thank you.
so the CDI is under the tank ''red JD racing ignition module" ECU ?

 

[Neil E.]

I haven't seen a 2014 GG so I can't advise on the part locations. There are different housing colours so I can't identify your CDI (some people call it an ECU). The reg/rect is easy to spot and should look the same as the 2011 unit.

 

[CombatYoga]

OK I know where that rectifier is. It has a similar location on my 2014 but it looks like a small amplifier with heat sink fins all over it.

I sent an email to JD Racing Ignition in Italy asking how to test the ECU. They pointed me at 2 US distributors. Will keep the forum posted on how this goes.

 

[Neil E.]

One thing I would try is to connect a good battery in it's normal location and see if that makes any difference. The battery should be able to power the CDI even with the reg/rect disconnected. That way you could verify if the problem is power related.

 

[CombatYoga]

Neil - I went back and looked at my posting history. I removed my e-start in January of 2016 and the bike kickstarted and ran fine until October.

You even posted on my thread where I talked about removing the e-start assembly and you posted the two electrical schematics which as you say, clearly show different CDI power configs between e-start and kickstart.

I can't explain it!

But it does lead me to believe that I've got a corroded wire or a faulty JD Racing Ignition component.