1981 Yamaha xs400 No Power

[gymrat1964]

I am still having problems with no spark on the left. It has been intermittent, sometimes it runs great, sometimes it quits on me while I'm riding it, sometimes I can't get it to start. I have checked the wiring with an ohm meter and it checks out fine. If I connect the right side wiring to the left coil it fires. I have a new ignition module.

So if I have a good ignition module the wiring is ok and the coil, spark plug wire and spark plug are ok, what else could it be? There is a cover on the left side of the engine that has a black crescent shaped device with two brass contacts with a post that spins in the middle. Reminds me of a distributor on a car. If that is bad could that be causing the problem.

The intermittent problem is no longer intermittent. I rode the bike to work on Friday and then couldn't get it started again. I checked everything out today and it is still not working. Please help, I'm getting really frustrated.

[BuzZz]

You sure the plug is O.K.? They can come and go at will, so to speak. And if it is a Champion, get it out of your motor and throw it as far away as you can, good or not. Plugs are cheap. Champion plugs are cheap garbage.

[gymrat1964]

Yeah, when I take the wires that go to the right side coil and hook them to the left side coil, the plug sparks just fine.

[gymrat1964]

ok, after doing some searching online, the part I am looking at is labeled Pickup coil/governor. If this is bad, can it cause one side to not spark? I'm thinking it could, but I want to make sure before I go ahead and buy a new one. Does anyone know what the readings should be when testing with a voltmeter?

[thespirit]

It is possible that it's a bad pickup coil... However, in my past experiance, it hasn't just been one side that has gone, the whole thing quits. That past experiance, though, was just one 2 different bikes, so it is limited...

Is the pickup coil expensive?

[gymrat1964]

Hey, thanks again. I took off the pick up coil and had it tested at the local bike shop and one side WAS bad. I drove down to the bike graveyard and picked one up for $150 and the bike fired right up. I'm really hoping that the intermittent problems I was having is due to the pick up coil going bad. I worry though that there might be a short or something else wrong somewhere that CAUSED the pick up coil to go bad, but my fingers are crossed that this is the final solution. Thanks again for your input Spirit!

[thespirit]

I'm glad you got it working again. Coils go bad with age, so more than likely it just went bad and it's not something else... However, as a preventative measure, you should probably take a day on the weekend and check all of your connections and also all the wires for cracks or melted insulation.