My R65 died in the rain

[jim356]

I was riding home yesterday and got caught in a downpour. I have owned the bike for about 3 months now and this is the first rain incident. Of course it had to die on me on the interstate at 70 mph.....After trailering home and sitting in the garage for about an hour, he fired right up! Would anyone know what might have caused this? Would a coil with a crack act this way? Thanks for your help - Jim in Kansas City, MO

[k_enn]

First thing I would check is the coil and the ignition wires.  The original coils on some years were notorious for cracking.  A crack can cause one or both cylinders to lose spark.  When it dries out, it may run again fine.  Also, how old are the ignition wires?  They can cause a loss of spark when they get we if they have are old and cracking.

Do a search on crack-o-matic, you'll see how common the bad coil problem is.

[Bob_Roller]

There's a good chance you have the original black and gray ignition coil .

If your ignition leads have a metal cap at the plug end, they most likely are the original .

My suggestion would be to replace both, you won't have any issues for a long time .

Here's a good source for electrical parts, if you are in North America .


http://www.motoelekt.com/ignition.htm

If you do have the original wires, at the coil end, there are metal spring tabs soldered to the conductor, desolder them and install them on your new wires .

While your in there working, just behind the ignition coil, there is a part with an aluminum heat sink attached to it, it's the Ignition Control Module, commonly referred to as the ICU, remove it and clean the mating surfaces between the module and heat sink, then apply a heat sink compound, you can find it at any Radio Shack store, or if you another favorite source .

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

We don't even know what year bike Jim is talking about.  
There are differences, Jim.  How about letting us in on the secret?

[montmil]

Jim, scroll down a couple threads and read the "*3 LS doe not like the rain" posts. Will save you some time as your question will be answered.

Monye

[Bob_Roller]

Jim, scroll down a couple threads and read the "*3 LS doe not like the rain" posts. Will save you some time as your question will be answered.

Monye

He 'Monye', how many Shiner Bock's have you had already  [smiley=beehive.gif] !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[montmil]

Jim, scroll down a couple threads and read the "*3 LS doe not like the rain" posts. Will save you some time as your question will be answered.

Monye

He 'Monye', how many Shiner Bock's have you had already  [smiley=beehive.gif] !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya got me there, Bob!  Keyboarding has always been a challenge for me. That "T" and "Y" are just too close together. But it is the weekend [smiley=beer.gif]

Mongo

[Bob_Roller]

Couldn't resist !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!