Having some issues static timing this Ultima Ignition running a single fire setup. All the wires are connected correctly at the coil (blue to front, pink to rear). The instructions say that you set the motor to TDC front compression stroke and turn the module to get the light to go on and off. I can't get the light to go on at all (other than the half a second when I turn the ignition on). Also, if I remove the locking bolts to the plate, I get no power to the module. Do the bolts act as a ground for the plate maybe? The bike seems to run good with the module in the position the PO had it set to. Am I missing something?
The bolts do act as the ground so to speak cuz it's frame ground just like everything else on a bike for the most part. Sometimes getting the light to come on is pretty far to one direction or the other. Sometimes it's tough to get there because the wires make it pretty tight in there.
Are you sure you were on TDC and not the advance mark and that it's in center of hole. The ignitions looking for the right spot on the timing cup which theoretically should be there based on where the motor is. There's no harm in just shaking it back and forth until you get a light then just follow the instructions based on which way you turn it and lock it down. There's normally plenty of adjustment on those to find the light unlike some of the stock timing plates. It might just feel like your out of adjustment because of the tight fit like I said earlier.
Quote from: Chopper75 on April 29, 2019, 05:34:36 PM
Having some issues static timing this Ultima Ignition running a single fire setup. All the wires are connected correctly at the coil (blue to front, pink to rear). The instructions say that you set the motor to TDC front compression stroke and turn the module to get the light to go on and off. I can't get the light to go on at all (other than the half a second when I turn the ignition on). Also, if I remove the locking bolts to the plate, I get no power to the module. 1. Do the bolts act as a ground for the plate maybe? The bike seems to run good with the module in the position the PO had it set to. 2. Am I missing something?
1. Yes
2. No
Well, I took it apart again and found that the PO painted the inside of the cone so the plate wasn't grounding well. Gotta love it... Scraped that crap off and boom, light! Even though it was running well, the timing was pretty far off. I figured it wasn't perfect because I couldn't get that sweet ol potato potato. Gonna see how she runs tomorrow. Thanks fellas!
Quote from: Chopper75 on April 29, 2019, 07:53:50 PM
Well, I took it apart again and found that the PO painted the inside of the cone so the plate wasn't grounding well. Gotta love it... Scraped that crap off and boom, light! Even though it was running well, the timing was pretty far off. I figured it wasn't perfect because I couldn't get that sweet ol potato potato. Gonna see how she runs tomorrow. Thanks fellas!
Single fire ignition looses some of the traditional H-D sound at idle. With dual fire ign the rear cylinder has it's valves in the overlap position when it gets the wasted spark from the front cylinder firing, sometimes the mixture lights off and this is one of the contributors to the rough idle we all love.
Ah this is good to know. Maybe I will go back to dual fire mode.
As I think more on it, the rear piston will be some degrees past the overlap position and into it's intake stroke. Say front cylinder idle ignition is at 5 deg BTDC then the rear cylinder will be 40 degrees into it's intake stroke.
Quote from: Chopper75 on April 30, 2019, 07:52:28 AM
Ah this is good to know. Maybe I will go back to dual fire mode.
Also keep in mind that low idle people run on Shovelhead's is hell on your rod bearings. I like to keep mine around 1000.
It's worse on the pistons because they don't get any oil.
You can ruin pistons in 5 min at a slow idle. :oops:
Agreed. I wouldn't let it idle too low, just high enough to keep that great Shovelhead sound.
Most idle too low, then the owners complain because the carb always coughs when they crack the throttle to start accelerating.
Quote from: Hossamania on April 30, 2019, 05:21:03 PM
Most idle too low, then the owners complain because the carb always coughs when they crack the throttle to start accelerating.
Yep, got to love lowering idle and sacrificing idle battery charge, carb cough to get a specific sound. :wtf:
Weird things people do... I once saw a motor that had everything painted,inside and out. Pistons,valves,cam, lifter bores, rocker arms,etc :wtf:
Very normal on old industrial Diesels to find painted parts. They looked like they were painted prior to machining.