about 7 miles!

[dunk 1]

about seven miles is as far as it gets before I lose the front cylinder, slightly more on a cold day and slightly less on a hot day- as per previous advice I have swapped the transducers to no effect and have also tried swapping the carbs. The pick up has no obvious cracks and has been checked although they could only check it cold when i know it works anyway ( so why did they bother). the pick up is the second red type (gold coloured magnet) and i wonder if any kindly soul would volounteer to check it on their bike for me as this seems to be the only way forward that I can see at the moment- any other suggestions welcome.

I have also lost all my lights - careless yes but no obvious cause- loose wire or fuse - any ideas.

thanks again for all your help so far - I'll get there in the end but at the moment am feeling a little jaded- at least for that seven miles it's running great - thanks - duncan

[3narf]

Hi mate- just some initial support 'til someone with more of a clue replies!

Gut reaction is it sounds like insulation breaking down at the ignition coil.

What with your lighting problem as well, kinda sounds like a dodgy stator. Did the two problems start around the same time?

Good luck, A

[3potjohn]

At least check what resistance you have on the green wire coming from the stator. Shouldn't affect the lights if the ignition coil is weak but if it is less than around 186 ish ohms you may have trouble.Does it start easily? What are the earth connections like? I lost my front left indicator yesterday but it came back to life after I wiggled the leads running to the idiot light.

[dunk 1]

the bike starts very easily on the first or second kick- the battery is the one that came with the bike and doesn't seem up to much -is it a wrong assumption with morini electrics that the lights should work with the motor running even if the battery is a bit shot?

[3narf]

the bike starts very easily on the first or second kick- the battery is the one that came with the bike and doesn't seem up to much -is it a wrong assumption with morini electrics that the lights should work with the motor running even if the battery is a bit shot?

Yes. If the battery is ropey you will have lighting problems!

Even with it charging well the lights (and horn) won't work properly.

[3potjohn]

Did you swap HT and spark plugs? Something must be failing with increasing temperature.

[EVguru]

-is it a wrong assumption with morini electrics that the lights should work with the motor running even if the battery is a bit shot?

Yes.

If the battery voltage is too low, it won't turn on the rectifier/regulator box.

It could be argued that this prevents the charging circuit from being damaged trying to charge a battery with a shorted cell.

[dunk 1]

yes I put new HT leads, plugs and caps on it as well all to no avail

[dunk 1]

better go and buy a battery then - what spec do i need as i am not sure i trust the none that's come off to be right

[dunk 1]

one new battery later and I have all my lights back and surprisingly the rev counter which hasn't worked since I got the bike. so now to try and address the losing the front cyclinder problem. I intend to check the resistance on the fly wheel on cold when it beems to be fine and then check it again afterI lose the cylinder to see if there's a short. however electricity is not my strong point and i just want to check a few things- does the engine need to be turned on to measure resistance and the fact that in the manual it says to turn the meter to 1 on the resistance scale- the meter i have borrowed from work only seems to go down to 200 - am I doing something wrong or do I need to find another meter?

[EVguru]

You need to disconnect the alternator green wire from the fuse box and measure the resistance from this wire to engine casing, or the white wire if a later model.

Your 200 ohm range should be too low, but try it first since the coil may well be less than 200 ohms.

Check the resistance between the engine casing and the battery negative. It should be less than one ohm. Morini added an extra (blue) wire between engine and frame to give a more reliable earth, but they're often corroded.

[3potjohn]

When I tested my coil,across the disconnected green wire at the fusebox it read 186 ohms. The bike ran OK and would start second kick but would not start on the electric start. I gather this is borderline fail resistance for running. The spark was poor.
It is now >300ohms after a rewind and the bike starts either way first time. I can see sparking is much better when one tests a plug against the head,so it must improve combustion. I think I have more power and I think more torque.

[dunk 1]

well weathers a bit better and can finally check the resistance - borrowed an older fashioned needle type meter which has a 1 on the resistance scale. the resistance before running seems to be about 185 but to get this I have to set a wheel type adjuster labelled resistance adjustor to its highest level - is this correct procedure?

now got to set the front brake up beforeI take it for a spin -which dot fluid should i be using as the figure of 290 degrees in the book is once again not understood by man in shop.

thanks

[neil]

With the old type needle multimeter when the meter is set to measure resistance you have to zero the meter by shorting the leads together and using the adjusting wheel to give 0 ohms on the meter. You can then measure the resistance and get a reasonably accurate value. Don't adjust the wheel when measuring any resistance as it will alter the the actual value you are measuring. Hope that makes sense. Neil.

[dunk 1]

thanks that makes perfect sense -and i get a cold reading of 200 - still remains to be seen what is happening when I lose that cylinder.- still could do with a recommendation on brake fluid
thanks -Duncan