Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech No spark in the rain

The '03 still hates the rain.
No spark when things get wet.
All requisite inputs are there at the Igniter.
I'm reluctant to just go ahead and replace said Igniter, so I'm open to ideas.

Thanks in advance.

Have you tried greasing the coils or putting a protective sheath around the coils/ignitor? might be worth a try.

Ben

Cory make sure you are getting power to the coils, also check if you are getting a spark at both plugs. It does not sound like the CDI if it only does it in the rain. Definately sounds like an electrical problem. If it is one plug, swop over the lead and coil connections and see if it does it then, no need to undo the coils, just take a note on which wire goes where. But don't forget to swop the lead over...

As Ben has said above apply dieelectric grease or vaseline to the electrical connections..

hiya cory. i had the same problem with my 03 speedy. changed my coils and plug leads all is fine. riding through belfast recently in 2ft of water no probs apart from a bit of popping but thats understandable in 2ft. rest of the journey never missed a beat

After your cdi (ignition module)is dry and functioning properly again, remove it from the bike and seal the space between the mounting bracket and the module itself with silicone sealer.. that has worked for a few folks here.

Put dielectric grease on the coils.
I did that to my '03 Speedy.
Two weeks ago the street in front of work was flooded out.
Through one part the water was up to the carbs,
came over the front end and waterfalled over me.
Other than wet feet (had 'em up on the cases), things were fine.

I had a similar problem with my 03 america.....wouldn't start after being washed......turned out to be the kick stand switch.....removed it and sealed it real well with silicone....it's been fine since.

Hi guys,

I am a newbie to this forum. I live in the Nth Island of New Zealand so we have our fair share of rain down here. I own an '05 Speedmaster whilst my wife has an '02 America. Recently we were down the Sth Island on tour, riding through torential rain when her bike just lost all spark and died. As we were in the middle of a pass (middle of nowhere), we were stuffed. Had to travel 2up to the next town to organise a pickup. Salvaged the bike and got it to the mechanic but after 1 1/2 days he could not get it going and no one could help. We were in the far West Coast of NZ so not much down that way. It would just turn over and that was that. As we were on a tight schedule, we did the rest of our trip 2 up on my bike and had to transport the America back home at great expense.

Upon our return home, the bike arrived a week later at our local Triumph dealer, and wouldnt you know it, she started just like that!!!!

I have since learnt that the problem was water getting into the coils connections. I also found a picture of the new cover that is being fitted to new TBA's and Speedies (cannot find the right thread again), but Triumph NZ will not provide them as they require a hole being drilled through the frame to fit.

I have used Dielectric grease on the connections and haven't had any issues since, but.... I am wondering if anyone out there has any good ideas of 'covers' or otherwise to ensure this does not occur again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Photo's would be a help as I am no mechanic.

By the way, I have just fitted OEM footboards and OEM flyscreens to our bikes. My wife loves her footboards but I havent had a chance to ride my bike yet.

Great bikes! Big change from my old '71 Norton Commando I use to ride.

Regards
Shandyz

I haven't had any problems myself with either of our bikes and have ridden in aian that almost required a boat. I have thought about relocating the coils and CDI under the seat. 1. to get them away from the moisture 2. to get the CDI away from the heat. Haven't done so yet since we both have 04s ,SM for me and BA for her (since we all know the BA is the girls bike)and haven't had any problems yet. The old saying don't fix what aint broke.

Let me tell you a littel store. A while back I was having some issues with my America. And someone on the board suggested to get a voltmeter to check my voltage. I got one form AERO stich (good people). Well it was a LED volt mete work's good now. But after I put it on I hit a rain and it put me on the side of the road and it had never done that befor. So what did I check frist voltmeter. The clear top pulled right off not very well sealed. it was full of water. I bet a Chinamen still thinks that funney. I think it's fixed now. Waiting for the next big rain.Rudy