How to diagnose a no spark situation on a motorcycle

This is for electronic ignition systems, for points bikes see my video on restoring points

[@TheMrVerbal]

Great video, helped me fix my buddies bike. That being said, as a tech I've used a multi-meter for over 20 years, hearing miltimmeter killed my brain, I started telling multi-meter at my phone. But excellent video!

[@otherwiseunarmed4187]

can i use a multi-meter to check my alti-meter?

[@Just_Joshing024]

​@@otherwiseunarmed4187🤦‍♂️

[@DreamwalkerFilms]

Well, nearly 10 years down the line and yet another one of your videos has saved my ass. Always grateful for your knowledge and teaching skills Max!

[@howtoskateboard799]

Hey man just want to say thinks for taking the time to help me and others out!!!! I just picked up the same bike but she's a diamond in the ruff and by you taking the time to make a video help me gain so much knowledge. Now I can't wait to get out there and get her running!!!!

[@scootermacarthy5990]

Really want to thank you for the best video I've found about ignition issues. Helped me solve a problem in that the coils were bad and put out a weak orange spark on a Yamaha 550. Kept hearing that the spark should be bright blue and you provided that perfectly which helped a lot. Thanks again!!!

[@warlord1700]

I have been going nuts for over a month trying to get an old 72 xs650 running, after viewing your video, it has given me an idea of where to look to solve the problem..... Thank you for posting it

[@sleddy01]

Yours are by far the best videos I have found for troubleshooting motorcycle issues. Thank you.

[@WaitingForTheSignal]

Thank you sooooo much for doing this video! Helping me so much! Glad to see someone go step by step and use the same multimeter I use! Your awesome man!

[@stefanburt385]

Best KZbin video I've seen in years. Thanks for the no-frills vid... So simple and useful. Thanks again

[@singerray1]

Great video....good advice, clear and concise, One thing I might add, I call them a mult-i-meter, ohm meter, or volt meter. all are correct. He kept to the subject, didn't bore us with junk talk about everything else under the sun other than motcycles...good video.

[@zeprools]

Great video, dude, so many videos out there but don’t go through it so clearly. Finally ready with the right knowledge to diagnose!

[@graemewooff7084]

Thank you I have moved all my wiring into my handle bars and scrapped the the kill switch, couldnt figure out why I was not getting a spark till I watched this video Thanks again :) I had not connected the wires to bypass the kill switch.

[@EnduranceRoom]

Hey, mrmaxstorey, I just wanted to say thank you for putting out all these great videos. They have been a tremendous help over the last year. Cheers

[@mrmaxstorey]

Glad to help

[@JimPayneOldFartonaMotorbike]

Really great video the electrics on a bike is very complicated to me and you have shown me the way to go. Thanks very much.

[@rwrestores]

Thanks for the video, I've got a 1982 cb650 nighthawk to look at, prob start it in the new year. Your videos are always informative.

[@chriscopley3005]

Yesterday I was seriously considering giving up and either selling my bike or just pushing it into the middle of the lawn and setting fire to it. Thanks to your video I found that the kick stand wasn't hitting the switch (never had them on my old bike). It was push-to-break so I unplugged it and it started first kick. You, Sir, have my thanks!

[@mrmaxstorey]

Glad to help 👍

[@dfw_motorrad1329]

Thank you. You helped me discover why my new 1982 CB650SC was running on 1 cylinder (lol). Spark plug in cylinder 3 was bad, and the left ignition coil was bad, all causing cylinders 1,3,4 to not fire. Changed the plug in cylinder 3, so now it's running on 2 cylinders. And I ordered a used ignition coil that was pulled off a running bike (only $14!!) which should get here in a couple days. So that's $538 for the bike after new oil, carb cleaner, and ignition coil. If this fixes it, I'd say I got a pretty good deal.

[@bigthinkinguy]

Thank you for making this video. It helped me diagnose a no spark situation on my sons bike. The simple screwdriver to ground test broke the logjam and we figured out the rest in 10 minutes. Thanks again!

[@benjaminhayes4253]

your video was absolutely amazing dude thank you so much fo all of the details on everything and how to check it !!!your the bomb

[@treyfraser1107]

Great video. Love the step by step. Getting no fire on any plugs on 1973 Honda cb750 four. Will do all this when I get home. 👍🏻

[@tomcathughes2969]

I’m diggin’ a lot of your videos. Good stuff here. Over the last few years I’ve gotten pretty familiar with old Kz440’s and a Evo Sportster through trial and error, busted knuckles and some KZbin videos. Either way, I appreciate you sharing the information.

[@stephenparkinson5303]

Thank you so much, very informative - My sons old Honda Bali SJ100 has sat in the garage since he had 'no spark' problems and he went and got himself a bigger bike anyway - I'm gonna make it a project and see if I can get it running.

[@judechopper]

very good video, you helped me a lot, my cdi is crapped itself, thanks for your knowledge.

[@Sole-Survivor]

Fantastic video! Thorough and to the point! From my perspective the only way it could have been any better would be if you were demonstrating on a Honda shadow.

[@aaronrroche9981]

Great video had a repeat loss of spark I changed ignition coil twice and spark plus and it was the cdi all along thanks mate helped me so much keep it up

[@Chopik1149]

Hey! This is an EXCELLENT video! You really explain things clearly and really helped demystify the electrical troubleshooting process. A sincere THANK YOU for taking the time to put this together. It really is appreciated. Now... let's see if I can find out what's wrong with my '80 CB750K.

[@akaashkhokhar7768]

Sweet video, I'll go through this for my 79 Yamaha. Starts and runs great but has a cold start issue.

[@taysonreda6145]

I have a 1982 yamaha xj650rj (SECA). I jumped the solenoid, and got it to crank, but it is not sparking! Thankfully I found this video, so I'm going to try some of these tests!

[@michaelbuffington5403]

Just picked up a 1980 Maxima XJ650 as a project. Hit the start button and only thing that happened was a clicking sound from the starter solenoid. Going to pick up a multimeter and a spark tester tomorrow so I can perform your checklist. Thanks for the video.

[@mrmaxstorey]

You should review my video on starter motor problems, because you first need to get the starter spinning before you can do these tests

[@walkerrog25]

Excellent 'how-to' from the net's best bike channel.

[@Patrick5059123]

GREAT VIDEO!!! Helped me with my electrical issue on the 1983 xj750 good job

[@jamesonedsel9520]

I got a 82 xj 550 that I'm trying to get running man I feel it.

[@Richard-lionhearted]

Good informative video ! So hard to find a video like this , I might do one for pickup coil replacement ...not much on utube about that !

[@dvvalant]

Thanks for the information about a weak battery causing no spark. I thought if lights worked and bike turns over the battery was fine, and not causing the no-spark issue. I put my bike on a charger overnight and the next morning it fired up like a new one!! New battery on the way! That's a weird one to me but thanks so much!!!

[@CameronGoris]

Excellent video, thank you for posting it!

[@barry7608]

A very thorough and well explained video, I’m no novice but I still can’t figure my no spark Mk 2 hayabusa, thanks anyway

[@FoundingStockNZ]

I was looking for a way to run these tests on a mate's Triumph and I find this great video, and its demonstrated on my exact kind of personal bike. Weird. Thanks!

[@mrmaxstorey]

XJs are common for a reason, because they are awesome 👍👍👍

[@spelunkerd]

One of the humbling things for people to do is to test for spark in bright sunlight, when the flashing light can be really hard to see. Also I'll agree with your point that lack of spark may sometimes be seen from a weak battery even when the starter motor turns the engine over fine. Once before I went chasing the wrong pathway when that happened on my dodge ram.

[@ramsn1971]

Max ur videos are awesome! You rock dude!

[@milanshubert1860]

Thank you very much. You did a great job of explaining everything. Very informative. Your wonderful sir.

[@dportz91]

Great video!! You always make it look so easy :)

[@the_jankyard]

I feel stupid but I forgot why the battery affects the spark

[@andrewcombs9392]

Fantastic video. I've got a 1986 Kawasaki 454 taken apart in my garage, trying to figure out why it's dying on me when I run. At this point, I'm thinking it's a problem with the spark plug boot. It seems to intermittently spark. I'll be pulling the plugs out when I get home today to make sure it isn't just a fouled plug. Anyways, this is great. Thanks!

[@HartfordHD125]

Congratulations on 200 videos Roger

[@Welderady]

This was very helpful. Good information

[@feartheindoors]

Thanks so much! Last Fall my bike lost power while riding home from work... All the lights slowly dimmed until the bike would stall out. I managed to put a new battery in it and then the starter wouldn't engage at all! After taking apart the starter motor it was filled with oil and carbon build up so i used carb cleaner to clean it very well, however after reinstall i was getting a buzzing noise from bike once i hit the starter button (which by the way works every time its pressed now). Thanks to your video I've concluded so far that the battery voltage is definitely sub par sitting at only 11.5 !! I'm going to go through and check all the other things for general maintenance purposes but jeez was this video informative for owners of old motorcycles! Mine is a 83' Suzuki GTR-650 and this video even helped me ! Only thing i would suggest is maybe showing where the kick stand relays are or how to access them i know you were trying to shorten the video and i could appreciate that, however it did take me quite a while to access these on my own!

[@feartheindoors]

Haven't completely fixed this yet so i will post with updates.. Watching your starter motor video now seems as tho that was my problem and now my battery just needs a charge we will see!

[@feartheindoors]

Okay, so i trickle charged my battery to about 12.5 volts and tried to start it.... Cylanoid spring is clicking but i've rested my spark plugs on my motor (brand new plugs) and neither one of them is sparking. Going to watch the video after that part to diagnose what to do next.

[@iwandekker934]

The best mechanic video ever💯

[@joef.3094]

the camera work could have been better, but a truly excellent "no spark" troubleshooting guide.

[@charging7]

Thx for the video, you're awesome bud.

[@memybikeni9931]

My CX500 has just decided not to fire. Not even on one cylinder which is odd. One spark plug has a spark not the other, but both cylinders not firing, so probably a coil issue, there are two coils. hope its not the CDI. Going to test all these steps. Great video

[@RoadBikeCC]

great explanation thank you buddy. Had this issue with an aprillia rs125

[@rawministries929]

good job you really break it down..have a great day..it really help me out

[@trainmaster0217]

Good video...thank you.. What I've done is to hotwire the ignition coil to bypass the ignition switch and kill switch. I was getting intermittent spark. Bike would quit at random. Replaced my coil and ICM and still no go. Couldn't find an ignition switch that was the problem so I hotwired the bike with a 10 amp fuse and a toggle switch and the bike than ran perfectly. Just had to remember to turn off the toggle switch.

[@robinhood8119]

Thank you very much for your great great videos

[@yoyimarti2864]

Just what I needed awsome video and explanation..thanxxx

[@deepfishfryerpagel8656]

Great video! I was able to find a bad pickup coil!

[@MathieuTechMoto]

You are a great teacher

[@vicpetrishak7705]

Lisle 20700 is a very durable spark tester which will interpret spark strength ! Good Video. 6/25/23

[@robertgroomer6296]

Ty you info was great I'll be watching it over and over till mines fixed

[@janelleg2884]

did you fix it ?

[@robertgroomer6296]

@@janelleg2884 not sure what I was supposed to be fixing this pain for months ago if it was my motorcycles and no I haven't I've been waiting and waiting and waiting because I'm fixing other people's stuff

[@tomgjerstad5546]

great video! thank you.

[@hogg8888]

your a good man mr max storey !! nice one

[@KEVRPH]

Another great video Max! Thanks for all your help!

[@michaelfleury5272]

awesome video, man.. really appreciate you going step by step with each component! definitely have much more confidence to tackle my project now

[@cool0454]

Hi, great videos you're the teach!

[@fatherfreedom1946]

10 years later, and saving my ass in 2024. You rock man, thank you

[@mrmaxstorey]

glad to help bro

[@jeremyhoch6474]

Thank you bro you were a big help.

[@C1Rob1990]

Thank you for this vid ;) this might help a us start our first project bike!

[@emilhenriksen9533]

glad u made this vidio, it really helped me out eith ny supermoto bike

[@captaincessna7897]

Very interesting. I have an fj1200 with no spark so this will be super useful!

[@garydjohnsonjr]

I have been going fucking crazy trying to find a video on electrical systems similar to my 82 nighthawk and where to start and what to test. great video. you really put everything into Lehman terms! going to go by an ohms reader now! thanks again.

[@norbertnoble5316]

great job thanks very helpful

[@upinarmstattoo13]

nice vid man appreciate it

[@TommyTucker0]

as usual, a really good video, very helpful, keep them coming :)

[@MrScottee411]

Thanks for the help. The coil was tested at a shop and the ohm values where close to another XL350 that does spark against the head. I thought it was a grounding issue with the coil. Continuity test on the coil is the best way to test the coils?

[@1mean_5.07]

Great video man !

[@oomrah9748]

Informative video mate

[@riohondofeen]

Great video!!!

[@awakenherb1502]

Cheers, great video🙌🏻subscribed

[@AnagramForCraig]

Another good video!

[@RJSoftware2000]

Excellent video. I wanted to add that you can also check the safety diode on page 161 of Clymer book shows how. You will need a diode checking capable multi meter. (not mul tim mitter -lol ). Multi is short for multiple. Subscribed

[@RJSoftware2000]

not even sure what the safety diode does, maybe like a pre-processor handling the logic of telling tci to allow spark or not. Some have said they can suffer damage from jump starting.

[@josephtorcello6508]

Thanks max now I got to buy coils!

[@knucklehead4233]

Good video, thanks.

[@TheMaximomex]

Great Video.

[@jojobrauer]

Hey, great video, thanks! I have a starting problem. I did the first test (with a screwdriver) and got no spark on either wire. It went from running fine to no sparks at all. Its a 93 nighthawk 250, so 2 plugs, and 2 ignition coils--no spark at the same time. Does this mean its the CDI box? OR is that jumping too many steps? After testing it on my own and with a friend, it started to die and clicked like the battery was dead. Then after it sat a bit, it ran the starter motor fine like before. Could it be a battery issue, or was I just wearing the battery down when I tested it multiple times previously? Thanks.

[@buddybell9711]

Great video bro thanks

[@donaldwoodford824]

Good vid mrmaxstory. I was just starting to get an old gs650m going, rebuilt carbs cleaned flushed tank and redtoke it "Not a plug for name brands, they dont pay" . after getting carbs back on and primed, I attempted to start. first pulled in clutch and it turned over nicely but no start, so checked or attempted to check spark and bike would not even turn over, scratch my head. so now I jumped it at solenoid and no spark, getting weird now I noticed side stand lt on so tried to ground that but no luck. got weirder pulled fuses and now no power at the fuse box and I put everything away and am researching restoring old bikes. Gulf Coast Texas

[@mrmaxstorey]

Something is arresting your start circuit. If your kill switch was on it would show all of these symptoms: not turning over the starter motor, and no spark when the solenoid is jumped. Good thinking about the side stand switch but remember also some bikes work the opposite way and need those wires isolated rather than connected. Also make sure your ignition switch is operating, and if you have old style tube fuses often their connections will get corroded and cause these kinds of problems

[@resaheera1848]

excellent video .

[@marshillthrill5965]

Thanks great video

[@adamwelsh2463]

All older bikes which draw the current for the coils from a common loom suffer the same fate when voltage drops due to current draw being high. If you cannot afford to chase the problem through rplacement of every item using a replacement strategy of almost every item in the system, try another strategy. Wire a new source (fused 10A) direct from the positive battery terminal to a relay with two output posts. Wire from those to the power input of each coil. Take one of the redundant power input wires you have just removed and connect it to the on/off switched input on the relay. Power to the coils from the battery source is now direct, bypassing the main loom. This removes any current draw/voltage drop, and it is controlled by the ignition key as before via the side connection to the main loom, but isolated from it. Never failed me yet, only when the battery is so flat or old that it literally will not turn the starter motor at all will it not fire.

[@patrickmulholland1840]

ACCORDING TO THE METER READING THAT SWITCH IS NORMAL CLOSED NOT OPEN GREAT VIDEO

[@abasjabr7573]

nice and informative video thanks

[@6footrandom556]

I have to redo wiring in my 1986 yamaha fz600 bout idk how to wire up coils an cdi box an key ignition an start switch hope u can help I been at it an at it bout noting

[@williamross7492]

Having the same issues, the bike was running two weeks ago with a smaller battery but I got the right battery another bike. Seems like it does not want to fire up completely.

[@nandallrajkaran4925]

Hi I have a Yamaha 2002 V star 650 I'm getting no spark I went ahead and change Is Ignition coil I did some test with all the killswitch kickstand switch all Seems to be working

[@justinmaxwell4925]

Once you get used to the trigger on your drill you can just keep the torque at the highest level and feel it out. Especially just around the house and diy stuff. I only turn the torque down for furniture where I’ve seen the cheap wood split. Lol start low and click up until the screw is perfectly set.

[@MrScottee411]

Yes Mr. Max, I was told to eliminate possible shorts down the line. Should I hook them up? I heard the coil might have to be grounded by a different ground other than the frame. It has to be something crazy like that.

[@mrmaxstorey]

The coil grounds out to the frame through the spark plug. Those two bolts that go into it are just mounting bolts, and dont serve an electrical function

[@jdogtotherescue]

thanks max! I have this very bike and I have ordered new coils because mine are so old and ive been having issues with weak spark with cylinder number 4 and probably others. i really hope the coils are all i need. im worried that my cdi box but ive got my fingers crossed. your videos have made owning an old bike much easier and more budget friendly!

[@mrmaxstorey]

Typically, if at least one of your cylinders is firing, the CDI is good. Check to make sure your plugs arent fouled

[@miguelatambucho748]

Thank you for the video. I have a VT 750 '83 with weak spark but coils, battery and stator are new. I checked the CDI another bike and are ok.... running out of ideas now :(

[@mrmaxstorey]

Miguel Tambucho Whats the condition of the spark plugs are they getting fouled?

[@mazzaneal7654]

Very detailed and thorough video, thank you Max. I wish that I would have seen this before I took the bike to the shop last week. In a previous response, you had mentioned that the CDI box is typically good if at least one cylinder is firing. Well, I only had one cylinder firing on my '86 Virago 1100. I replaced the spark plugs in case they were fouled and it did not fix the problem. I thought it was a carb issue, which I did not want to deal with right now, so I took it in to the shop. Mechanic called and affirmed that only one cylinder was firing. Coils werent bad, so he told me to shop for a CDI box. He has Virago 750's around and they have different CDI boxes, so he cant test it. I just wanted your thoughts- Is there something else to try before shopping for a CDI box, given your previous comment? Might there be other bikes to test the CDI box on before I go out and shop for one, or is this CDI box unique? And what is the best way to shop for a working CDI box. I guess I just need to confirm that it has been tested in a working bike, and not just for continuity/voltage. Thank you, again.

[@mrmaxstorey]

As far as I know the viragos are different, so youll need a virago 1100 CDI of that generation. Typically the CDI will fire all cyls or none, but rarely it will fail at a place that allows it to only fire on one. I would first check the pickup coils, and doublecheck the ignition coils, plus all the associated wiring. You can usually find CDIs on ebay

[@mazzaneal7654]

mrmaxstorey I will talk to the mechanic again, then. I appreciate this very much.

[@mazzaneal7654]

mrmaxstorey I realized that I never replied. After all of the coils were checked, the CDI box was the malfunctioning part. I ordered a new one on ebay for about $250. It was one of the rare cases of one cylinder firing. Bike has run great since the fix.

[@Wabbit1961]

Yeah, I have a 1986 Yamaha SRX-600. Pita safety switches everywhere. Kick start only to boot. Recently, it just doesn't start. Getting one of those spark plug testers like you showed. Hoping it's the coil. For all I know at this point it could be the sidestand kill switch, the neutral switch, the CDI... A while back they said my stator tested bad. I replaced a bad rectifier with a MOSFET unit and my charging system is fine, so screw the stator. It's obviously putting out enough power to supply the battery with charge. Hell, I can start my bike without a battery if I want to. If it turns out to be a bad CDI I'll get one on eBay for $100. If it's the kick stand switch I have to bypass it. They don't sell replacement for my model anymore, and I don't trust used anything.

[@momo-mn2hj]

Do you know about the spark units? I du have a Honda cb650 that don't want to start.let me know please.

[@rodneyhuckaby3532]

Thanks quite helpful