$19 Junkyard electronic ignition

[billybadass]

Thats what I figured. It seemed right. Obviously it has to be from a carbed motor because if it's EFI, it uses a computer to set the advance curve, not a mechanical/vacuum advance unit...right?

[mrriggs]

Aug 21, 2008 9:00:10 GMT -5 billybadass said:

Thats what I figured. It seemed right. Obviously it has to be from a carbed motor because if it's EFI, it uses a computer to set the advance curve, not a mechanical/vacuum advance unit...right?

Nope, it doesn't have to be from a carbed engine. The XS motor already has a mechanical advance so the only distributor parts you are using is the pickup and reluctor. Fuelie distributors often have multiple pickups in them which is good because the pickups are small and you will have spare parts. I've seen Mazda distributors that have three small pickups, perfect for a swap like this.

The reluctor doesn't have to come from the same distributor as the pickup. Any hunk of steel on the end of the advance shaft, with two teeth 180° apart, should work. The faster it passes the pickup, the stronger the signal will be so try to make it as big around as possible. The pointier the teeth are, the more accurate it will be but less mass will mean a weaker signal. The face of the teeth is usually tall and skinny so it will make a strong signal and still be accurate. Basically, just match the size and shape of the teeth to the center pole of the pickup. Also get it as close to the pickup as possible. The closer it is, the stronger the signal will be.

[billybadass]

Gosh! How dumb am I? Well now, that certainly makes things easier.

[kakedog]

mrriggs, a couple things, 1 you have some great information, long before I found this site I saw gofastforless.com and used some of your tricks on my bike and it worked great. 2 forgive me if you've already addressed this issue but why are there 2 reluctor teeth left? It seems to me that 1 would do the job very well, considering that it's a 360 crank, you need 2 points because there are 2 coils 1 for each cylinder, but with this set up both plugs would be firing at the top and the bottom of the stroke. It just seems needless and i was wondering if there was something I was missing. 3) I went out and got a coil from the auto zone but didn't get the igniter unit, there are two slots on the back for spade connectors, how do I tell which is which? Once again thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge freely, you have my vote for canonization

[mrriggs]

Aug 28, 2008 16:49:31 GMT -5 kakedog said:

...forgive me if you've already addressed this issue but why are there 2 reluctor teeth left? It seems to me that 1 would do the job very well, considering that it's a 360 crank, you need 2 points because there are 2 coils 1 for each cylinder, but with this set up both plugs would be firing at the top and the bottom of the stroke. It just seems needless and i was wondering if there was something I was missing.

The reluctor is mounted to the camshaft, which turns half as many times as the crank, so each tooth represents TDC on the crank.

3) I went out and got a coil from the auto zone but didn't get the igniter unit, there are two slots on the back for spade connectors, how do I tell which is which?

On a dual output coil there is no positive or negative so you can hook the wire to whichever pin you want. The connectors are deep inside those little slots so you won't be able to use standard crimp-on terminals to plug into them. I suggest you get some copper sheet as thick as the slot. Then cut strips as wide as the slot and as long as they need to be to go all the way into the coil, bend over and stick out past the mounting surface. Then you could plug onto them with a female quick disconnect. Just be sure to put a piece of plastic down before bolting down the coil to prevent the leads from shorting out.

[billybadass]

To time it I put the crank on the full advance mark then held the advance weights out, turned the reluctor until one of the teeth lined up perfectly with the pickup, then tightend the nut.

Mrriggs, why did you time it using this method instead of simply using the "F" mark?

[kakedog]

derr, I guess I was thinking about my old cb 750, the points were directly off the crank and there were 2 of them for 4 cylinders. Makes sense, nice tip on the copper two, I have a bit lying about at the bakery.

and billybadass, I'm not sure what you're saying here but the "F" mark is the Full advance last time I checked and the weights have to be out to time it to that mark

[billybadass]

You sure about that? I thought "F" meant "Fire"...But I digress. I found this on a sister site.





The mark at number 4 above is the TDC (top dead center) timing mark that is in the center of a small square recess in the stator that is bolted and keyed to the left end of the crankshaft. Set that rotor TDC mark (#4) to line up with the line at # 3 above. Number 3 is the total lead mark where the timing is set. All you do is turn the crank with a 17mm socket to line up #3 and #4 above, and set the white dot on either magnet in the previous image above this one at the red arrow in the timing index hole and that's it. You can check the timing with a timing light later if you like, or advance or retard it to your liking. Number 2 was used for setting the points, and number 1 indicates when the pistons are at top dead center.

This prob explains why I'm such an idiot and can't seems to work on my own bike!!

[kakedog]

you're right and I'm a jerk who doesn't always check his manual when talking about one mc to anouther. I've had a few old bikes and they're all a little different. My bad

[kakedog]

ps, acording to the manual F is full retard position, which is about what I feel like right now, piece

[billybadass]

Ok, now I'm the one who's confused...my mod fires the plugs just fine when they are laying outside the jugs...i see spark and everything...so what marks should I time it to? I've tried the first hash, the "F" mark, held the weights out...just about everything.

Being so busy, I've yet to tear into another distributor and replace the part I castrated, but I have been able to get it to idle from time to time (kick only bike get's me tired). When I tried to rev it up though, it dies. Replaced the mech advance...same thing!

Gotta get into that other distributor and replace that dang part...prob solve all my problems.

[pamcopete]

kakedog

The "F" mark on Yamaha XS650's is the idle timing mark, or 15 deg before TDC. billybadass was correct when he said it is equvalent to "FIRE".

[mrriggs]

Sept 2, 2008 14:05:27 GMT -5 billybadass said:

To time it I put the crank on the full advance mark then held the advance weights out, turned the reluctor until one of the teeth lined up perfectly with the pickup, then tightend the nut.

Mrriggs, why did you time it using this method instead of simply using the "F" mark?

That is the method I used to position the reluctor on the advance shaft and set static timing for the initial firing. When the motor is running you can fine tune it with a timing light by turning the "breaker" plate.

[kakedog]

Pete,

Yes I found out my blunder shortly after I posted, and issued my retraction. I was confussing it with anouther bike, anouther time, maybe even made it up, couldn't say. I did tell him he was right and the F stands for "F"ull retard (more generally idle). I prostrate myself for forgiveness and pray that the lives I touched can be repaired.

[idnovacaine]

This has to be the best mod I have ever seen !

I picked up a couple of toy dist on friday and just finished it today (sunday)and went fer a cruise . works BITCHIN` used the gm brain , cb750 coil and BAM !

No more points fer me , this mod is so easy you can use it on almost anything !

Thank you for posting this killer info !

This forum is the best !!