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Dr. Frankenstein wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 2:08 pm Interesting post there - so apparently I must clip into the green and white wire coming off the blinker relay...? (If so, why do the instructions say I can get the necessary power from the Accessory panel...?)

He says "So I followed the Dyna instructions and spliced into the white/green wire going to the blinker. This caused the static timing light to go out."

I will get back out there and double-check the plate ground as soon as possible, hopefully before it gets too cold to hang out in the garage. So, bottom line is, clip it into the wire coming from the blinker relay, yes...?

Also, that timing plate Randakk sells - you cannot use that on the '78 models, right? It says it's only for the '75 - '77 models? Would it do me any good to get one?

i ran mine thru a relay, directly off the battery. It always had battery voltage. And the 78 has a different ign. curve then the 75-77. Requires a different wheel

I'm beginning to think it's the unit itself.

Cliff, I went out today and followed those instructions of yours to a "T", and Nothing; the key is On, the switch set to Run.
Crankshaft is set to F2.

I cleaned and tightened the plate, the screws and made sure it was tightly on there, rotated through; the light stayed on the whole time.

Cedric, I measured the voltage from the accessory post to the plate ad got 94.3 mV, or 9.3 volts at the plate; this is off a batter that tested 12.60 volts when installed.

Interestingly, when I was testing the blue and yellow coil leads the unit plugs into, the light came on and stayed on; when I tested the red wire from the Accessory panel with the ignition switch On (one test lead to Ground, the other to the red wire), I got Nothing! It seems that whichever screw I have the red wire attached to, I get nothing, but DO get a voltage reading off the one that's got nothing in it! And yet I have continuity through the unit's red wire!

My voltmeter is self-ranging; With the voltmeter's red test lead on the Right Accessory screw (This is the one I currently have the unit's red wire attached to) and the black test lead on the plate, I get 112.8 mV. (Yes, millivolts! Or 11.28 volts...)

Put the voltmeter's red test lead on the Left (empty) Accessory screw and the black lead on the plate, I get 11.71 volts!

From the battery Positive lead to the plate, I have 12.13 volts, and the light comes on really bright, as it should being a direct ground from the battery.

With the test light, I have the Negative lead grounded to the engine mount, and the Positive lead attached to either of the two female connectors the unit plugs into. In both cases, when I attach the test light and the light comes on, it does so but a bit slowly and is kind of yellowish, but still pretty bright - makes me think of resistance "somewhere" in there. This happens with both connectors, even when I turn the crank.

I think I'm missing something here, btu I have not the foggiest idea of what...anybody??

And are those two green and white wires on the left in the pic supposed to go together?

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at right now, but don't know if he'll do it. I contacted him and asked for a known good unit, we'll see what happens.

John, I agree with Cliff about getting a replacement, but I think you should also check your wiring harness ground wires. I would clean up all connections that connect to the frame. I would start with the main negative wire that connects between the frame and the engine. Get all the connections perfectly clean using sandpaper, a file or something else that you have. The next one I would go after is the green wire that connects to the coil mounting bracket. You may need to take some paint off the frame to get to bare metal. Clean the battery connectors too.

Dr. Frankenstein wrote: ↑Thu Oct 20, 2022 3:15 pm when I tested the red wire from the Accessory panel with the ignition switch On (one test lead to Ground, the other to the red wire), I got Nothing! It seems that whichever screw I have the red wire attached to, I get nothing, but DO get a voltage reading off the one that's got nothing in it! And yet I have continuity through the unit's red wire!

My voltmeter is self-ranging; With the voltmeter's red test lead on the Right Accessory screw (This is the one I currently have the unit's red wire attached to) and the black test lead on the plate, I get 112.8 mV. (Yes, millivolts! Or 11.28 volts...)

Put the voltmeter's red test lead on the Left (empty) Accessory screw and the black lead on the plate, I get 11.71 volts!

Something is definitely wrong with that. Are you sure the accessory fuse or a connection in the circuit that powers it isn't causing the problem?

BTW: 112.8mV = 0.1128V
11.28V = 11280mV

Funny you should mention that, I've already started cleaning connections by removing the spades and sanding them until shiny; I also contacted the seller and he seems favorable to refunding half my purchase, since I did buy it back in May, and I can't really fault him for at least making an effort after, what...? Six months? True, that's when I did get it but I just got back around to installing it and trying to get it operating, and he doesn't know that.

Cedric, about that 'green wire'..."the green wire that connects to the coil mounting bracket"...would this have anything to do with that? See that unconnected female connector next to the relay...? What does that connect to? Could that be my problem? And what about those two unconnected green/white wires on the left, there...? Should those be connected, or were those for the old fairing I took off?
DSCN2422 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

And that green wire seems to run throughout the wiring harness, so any guidance here is much appreciated:
1978 GL1000 Wiring Diagram by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

Bob, yes, I'm sure you're right about the voltage translations; I'm not too good at translating that stuff. Re: the fuses, I did check them yesterday and they're all fine. BUT...! I did find a 10 amp fuse in the fuse box slot where the 5-amp Accessory fuse is located; would that have anything to do with it?

I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and install it by clipping into the green/white wire like the original instructions say to, even though it says I can use the Accessory panel for power. Another option is to get a partial refund and go back to the original coil set-up, but I would really like to get this electronic ignition installed and operational and see if it's 'All That' that everybody says it is.

Nope.
Leave the new ignition coils alone. There's no problems with them.
The Dyna system, itself, isn't performing its job; it's Not behaving like two individual sets of ignition breaker points.

The green wire is ground (=return current path), which is why it is "throughout the wiring harness". The unused ground connection next to the turn signal flasher is there to allow the use of a flasher that needs a ground connection.

I have said many times that the electronic ignition (Dyna or clone) has no business getting power from the white/green wire because that circuit already has as many loads as it should have. My preference if the ballast resistor has been deleted (= black/brown and black connected together) would be to connect the electronic ignition to the black/white wire that brings power to the coils so that the ignition is turned off when the kill switch is off.

My point about the voltage is that if you have 0.112V that won't power anything. Also, if there is a poor connection either between the fuse and the fuse holder, inside the fuse (sometimes the link breaks inside the end cap where you can't see it and barely makes contact) or anywhere else in the circuit it can present what appears to be normal voltage until a load is connected and then the voltage drops to virtually nothing because the poor connection can't carry the current that the load needs.

Here's a photo of one of the two screws that fastens the points case onto the cylinder head.
Corrosion on its threads renders it a less than ideal method to provide a very low resistance ground path connection to the Dyna modules' mounting plate. ?? Remember, both DS1-3 modules' metal backside HAS to have a very low resistance Grounded contact with their respective mounting, too. refer to post # 8
Breaker points, themselves, may be more tolerant to a substandard ground path as it increases in resistance, but A Dyna module may not be as agreeable though. ??
I know there is a gasket in the connection between the points case and cylinder head.
Whether it does effectively interrupt the ground path between them I have no idea. If yes and the two screws' threads are the only connection to a ground path, that may be one of potential weaknesses in this particular ignition system.

THAT'S why I harp on installing a temporary ground jumper wire directly into contact with Dyna modules' mounting plate.
attachment=0]20221023_162107.jpg[/attachment]

Cliff, you made an excellent point. They should have added a green wire for the base plate.

cfairweather wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 5:26 pm snip- They should have added a green wire for the base plate.

I'm sitting next to my trike for the first time this year. I was phone chatting with John about his project and decided to investigate and photograph an example of my unrelenting conviction of a ground path weakness.

So. gltriker
This is the first time since you installed trike's Dyna S and DYNA ignition coils, 10 years ago, you looked at trike's points case mounting screws? Yes.

hmmm. gltriker
Had you spoken about perhaps manufacturing a supplemental ground jumper wire to attach to trike's Dyna S mounting plate?
Yes.

and, gltriker
Did you ever do that? No..

AND, I'm happy to say, bending Cliff's ear about this recalcitrant electronic ignition led to the discovery of just what was NOT going on!

Long story short, he instructed me to put a jumper from the battery Positive directly to the electronic ignition's red wire thru the wire downstream of its original connection, and wouldn't you know it everything works as it's supposed to! We discerned that the problem was probably in the wire going from the Accessory panel thru the red wire's connectors, since when I jumped it directly from the battery my test light turned off and on at the appropriate times; so all indications look like it was that connection - the male/female connection of the red wire - is what was bad, probably a manufacturing flaw. I have a bunch of brass connectors I'm going to go out there tomorrow and re-do the wire, so hopefully I will FINALLY have a spark! Yay Cliff! Drinks all around!

Unfortunately, I couldn't TEST for that spark right when I completed the task because then I found out apparently my solenoid is dead! WTF?? It's just one thing after another with this bike! Luckily I have another beefier solenoid than the little $6 jobby I had on there just to get the bike to turn over, I'm sure it just somehow burned out. But I'm one step closer to getting it back on the road!

study This example NOTE- The positive jumper wire is temporary; for testing purposes, ONLY
. Both modules' internal switching circuits are, now, functionally turned ON.

Long ago, I, as well as many other people, was taught the "half-split" method of troubleshooting electrical circuits. Basically, when you have an issue with a complicated circuit path, start in the middle and see if it's good. Then proceed to check in whichever direction seems likely. Cliff's solution is the ultimate step in this process.