Trouble Getting Going

[Speeddog]

Try swapping the ignitor boxes to see if the no-spark follows the box.

I had a bit of drama with my carbie 750, turned out to be broken wires from the triggers.
Check to see that there's continuity on each pair.

Make sure that both coils have both power and ground/trigger wires *securely* connected on the bottom.
Old harnesses with stiff wires and tired connectors can suffer intermittent connections after a bit of tugging wires during disassembly/assembly.

[ChrisK]

Speeddog, above you'll see that I swapped boxes and the no spark moved to the other cylinder.

Like I said, the connections look good but in your head you're probably thinking "that means shit."

So how do I check for continuity? I have a multi-meter.....


... And I'm not afraid to use it!!! : )

[ChrisK]

I should clarify that when I say I switched the igniter boxes, I mean that I just swapped the "input" wires on them. So there's four wires coming from the ignition pickups, two to each igniter box. I swapped those pairs and found that one pair is good and the other is bad.

So to me, that says I don't need to look at other connections.

If that logic is correct, how can I proceed to tell whether or not the ignition pickup for the faulty pair is sending a signal down the wire?

[koko64]

You found it .
Running with one plug wire off can take 'em out. Voltage spike, age, etc can do it.
Double/triple check before buying another ignitor. Ignitech from ducatiz or a module from CCW.

Deal with that and any dodgey wiring, then deal with jetting.

[ChrisK]

It's not the igniter box, I switched the wires coming IN to the igniter box and got each one to produce spark.

The problem is from the ignition pick up to the end of its wires, which are yellow and black.

[ChrisK]

I'm assuming that each pair of wires coming from the ignition pick ups are positive and negative.

So I stuck the probes of my multimeter into the end of each connection and switched the meter to volts.

When connected to the good pair of wires, the volts read zero, then when I turn the key and hit the starter the volts spike. When connected to the bad pair of wires the volts never zero out and just jump around randomly no matter if off or when I punch the starter.

Does that imply the ignition pickup for those wires is bad or out of position?

[Speeddog]

OK,, so it's either the wires, the trigger, or when you installed the trigger assembly you got that one too far away from the flywheel and it's not 'seeing' the lump.

Gap between the top of the lump and the trigger face is min/max .023"/.031".

Check resistance across each pair, red/white and yellow/black.

[ChrisK]

Ok thank you, and how do I check resistance again? : )

Ohms?

[ChrisK]

I think that's right. I switched my multimeter to ohms and measured across the wires. Yellow and
Black says 0.L and stays that way, red and white read between 105.6 and 105.7.

[Speeddog]

So it looks very much like you've got either a yellow/black wire problem, or that trigger is toast.

[ChrisK]

Okay, I'll keep trying to inspect the wires, I haven't been able to find any breaks yet.

If I do have to replace the trigger, where's the best place to buy from?

[koko64]

It's not the igniter box, I switched the wires coming IN to the igniter box and got each one to produce spark.

The problem is from the ignition pick up to the end of its wires, which are yellow and black.

I misunderstood, bugger. The pickups are a PITA  to change, but not hard.
Hope the checks find a bad wire only.

[Howie]

Ducati sells the pick ups as a $et, Electrex sells individual pick ups, as does Rick's  http://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com  Might be a wire. 

The pick up gap is .7mm. + .1, you will need a non magnetic (brass or plastic) feeler gauge to set them. 

After you fix the pick up situation install a set of fresh NGK DCPR8E #4339 (the correct plugs for your bike) before going further.  Because your bike used to run on the wrong heat range is not good enough, and attempting to jet your FCRs with wrong plugs is a waste of time.

The ignition modules, though pretty rugged in normal service are failure prone when not grounded or with a plug wire off. 

[ducpainter]

Okay, I'll keep trying to inspect the wires, I haven't been able to find any breaks yet.

If I do have to replace the trigger, where's the best place to buy from?

Check where the wires go through the fitting at the cases.

[ChrisK]

Check where the wires go through the fitting at the cases.

DP I read in a random thread on ducati.ms to check there, as that can be a point of pre-mature wear.

Howie, thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Hopefully I don't have to pickup new triggers. Either way, I will definitely pick up those plugs. I would like to think that the FCR's come pre-jetted to be able to run good for my bike. Sounds like the consensus is that jetting needs to be done on a case-by-case basis, even when purchased from Cycleworks...