Kawi2strokes.com Forum

Pecka, the best quick and effective way to test if it is sparking under compression is to see if it will jump a 1/4" gap (or 6.35mm). A simple lawn mower spark tester will do the trick. If the plug sparks when out of the cylinder but it will not jump the aforementioned gap, the spark is too weak.

https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-42-087-Li ... ark+tester

You could also cut the ground off of a spark plug. This would work in a pinch.

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Crankshaft Testimonials viewtopic.php?f=25&t=7593

"Let's keep your crankshaft great!"

This might help, check at 2:15....... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2KI-IzIh6I

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Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

Here is a diagram of the CDI ignition: http://kawatriple.com/cdih2/cdih2.jpg
-The hi/lo spd coils feed a signal thru individual channels to charge a capacitor.
-The pickup generates a pulse to trigger an SCR that releases the energy stored in the capacitor.
-The released voltage charges the ignition coil that produces spark.

A weak pulse from the pickup may intermittently fire the SCR.
The SCR should fire with a certain amplitude pulse.... age may change the trigger point of the SCR.
The capacitor can become "leaky" and not hold a charge due to aging.
The effect of all of the above can be affected by rpm.

This is a simplified explanation to show that there are several components within the CDI that can make spark weak or marginal due to aging of 40yr old components.

IF the pickups measure ohms proper and the air gap is correct, the ignition coil has been swapped with no change, I'd recommend getting an "all in one" box from Lakeland. http://www.lakeserv.net/kaw/h2_all_in_one/index.html

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Answers are here: http://kawatriple.com/

Thanks all!

The spark tester looks like a good tool to purchase.

Using a drill to rotate the crank is clever. If i do want to unmount the bolt to the rotors, which way is the best to stop the crank from rotating?

The Lakeland box looks neat. I could buy NOS ignition units but I suppose there's no guarantee they are any better than the current ones?

When i measured the pickup coils they were mounted, is it better to measure them separately?

Don't buy old units, they are just too sketchy and are at the end of their lives anyway. To get the rotor off, you should need a sharp whack on the wrench. Sometime if you hit the drill too hard, the bolt will unscrew. But it should be locktited anyway.

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Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

Is Lakeland considered the best? There's a German firm making ignition systems too.

Today I measured the CDI units, ignition rectifier, regulator and generator.

CDI units measured OK (I think).

Ignition rectifier I got very strange readings on (following procedure on page 119 H1 shop manual):

+bw
b: 10
g: -
w: 77.3

-bw
b: 5.59
g: 5.56
w: 77.2

+bw
l: 0.1
c: 4.43
r: 3.88

-bw
l: 0.3
c: O.L
r: O.L

Regulator gave confusing values too.

Generator measured OK.

Hmm maybe I should have disconnected the CDI units when I tested the ignition rectifier?

The German maker of CDI-units, http://www.powerdynamo.biz, anyone here using them?

Buy Lakeland....top notch!!

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72 H2, 72 H1B, 74 H2, 74 H2 Cafê Racer, 71 F8 Bison

Yes his products looks very nice.

Is it the possible the fuel petcock is clogged, should I try to switch the gas lines?

Just a suggestion but I wouldn't jump all over the place checking "this" and "that" without confirming "this" first.

Not to beat a dead horse, but make sure you have "good" spark FIRST. Then move on. As I mentioned before, there is no need to buy the spark tester right away (although it is a MUST tool to have for anyone working on small engines). Just use the spark plug with ground strap removed method. It takes seconds to test

Edit: typo by/buy

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Crankshaft Testimonials viewtopic.php?f=25&t=7593

"Let's keep your crankshaft great!"