'01 Bonnie dead again

msc66

msc66

Two Stroke
The Bonnie is dead again. No spark. I replaced the coil in the spring and it still checks out ok. The pick up coil read a higher resistance than recommended so I replaced it hoping for the best but no luck. So what now? CDI?

I don't know anyone with a bonnie to swap with but there is a shop in town that just works on brit bikes. Should I see if they have a bike to test my CDI on and pay them a diagnostic fee or should I just go ahead and replace it since the pick up coil is new and the coil checks out? Man, I wish there was some way to test these CDIs.
 
sanjuro

sanjuro

Two Stroke
Glad I could help confuse the situation by letting you test the CDI on my Bonnie. Since it appears to be working, and your battery is less than a year old, I'm thinking it's the charging system. Hope it gets fixed while the weather is still nice.
 
Bonafide

Bonafide

NBR founder
If you're talking about British in The City, he specializes on Meridian Bonnevilles .. not Hinckley Bonnevilles - but our bikes are pretty basic machines. If it were me, I'd pay for a diagnostic instead of throwing parts at it.
 
bluesforchallah

bluesforchallah

Rocker
BlueJ said:
Didja tighten the battery terminals??
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Funny you should say that. I was riding home one night and as soon as I hit the freeway, my bike felt like it would lose power anytime I hit a considerable bump or seam in the freeway. I immediately thought of the igniter box. I took it easy for the rest of the ride home, got it into the garage and put it away for the night. I drove my car to work the next day figuring I would take a look at the bike when I got home. That evening when I got home, I pulled the seat, looked at the igniter and couldn't really tell if it was the igniter or not. Then I decided to check the negative battery post. Yep, it was loose. I tightened it down, went for a test ride and it seemed to have fixed my issue. Then about a week later, riding back into town, same thing started happening. FUCK! I had a buddy who I ride with let my barrow some tools that he carries on his T100. Again, check to see if I can tell if the seat and igniter are making contact. I couldn't see any signs. Then about the time my buddy’s about to check for loose fuses, I said "hey, let me check the positive post on the battery". Sure as hell, that side was loose too. Why I didn't check the week prior when I was tightening the negative post is beyond me. :chin: It all seems good now though.
 
BlueJ

BlueJ

Blue Haired Freak
Been there, done that. :) I'm glad it worked out for ya without money spent on a mechanic. I think the metal used in those battery lugs and screws oxidizes pretty easily, now I unscrew and re-tighten each of them a couple times a year to make sure!
 
msc66

msc66

Two Stroke
Well, I put the cdi back on and it fired right up. Went for a ride making bigger and bigger circles from my house. Finally got cocky and headed across town and bam, it dies. Pulled the seat, checked all connections ect. spins over fine but no spark. After about 10 minutes it starts. Go about 100 yards and dies again. This time it starts after a minute and runs fine all the way back home. I've started it twice in the hour I've been home now.

This is almost exactly what it did 3 weeks ago only after I got it home that time it wouldn't start again until today.

So what kind of diagnostic can they do? I also don't want to spend a lot of money and time taking it to the dealer if they can't find what's wrong with it either. Guess I'll call Freedom on monday. Damn its a long haul out there.
 
Bonafide

Bonafide

NBR founder
msc66 said:
So what kind of diagnostic can they do? I also don't want to spend a lot of money and time taking it to the dealer if they can't find what's wrong with it either. Guess I'll call Freedom on monday. Damn its a long haul out there.
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Well, at least they're open on a Monday - most M/C shops keep barber hours. I live a couple miles from there. I have a spare CDI if you want to try that first. As for the testing, they can see if it's a failure in the part itself or a wiring issue.
 
msc66

msc66

Two Stroke
Bonafide said:
Well, at least they're open on a Monday - most M/C shops keep barber hours. I live a couple miles from there. I have a spare CDI if you want to try that first. As for the testing, they can see if it's a failure in the part itself or a wiring issue.
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Thanks for the offer. Will you be home tomorrow (monday)?
 
msc66

msc66

Two Stroke
Just a follow up for anyone that might have the same problem. Swapped on a spare cdi from Bonafide and problem solved. He let me keep it until I got a new one and its been running fine ever since. Big thank you Bud!

I ordered a ProCom unit off ebay but when I got it the bike wouldn't start at all. Went through all the scenarios with the tech at procom but no luck. Sent it back (I had to pay shipping grrr) and am waiting on a new one. Hope the next one works.
 
D

drlapo

Hooligan
Procom sent me a unit for my Thruxton a few years ago to "test"
they wanted my opinion of the unit.
I noticed the additional advance immediatly and even had to lower the idle screw on the carbs to compensate.
the other thing I noticed was that the bike seemed to be more "willing" to go.
i don't know if it actually went any faster or quicker but it felt that way
good stuff in my opinion
 
S

strokerlmt

Moderator
I think I have an 05 unit if you would like to borrow and see if that works. I could mail it to you. Let me know...
LMT
 
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