Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech '03 BA Wont start! Turns over good.

Hey Guys,

My bike isn't starting. If I charge the battery it starts ok, but it does seem to be running rich. It seems like its not firing or something... I dunno.. anything I can check? I already bought a new battery for it.. $75 down the tubes...

Thanks,
Tony

Pull your spark plugs and take a look; if they're fouled, try popping in a new set of plugs, also verify (safely) that you actually have spark at the plugs.

thanks... how do I get the tank off to remove the plugs?

Hey Tony,

You don't have to remove the tank to pull the plugs. Look under the tank right above the finned cylinders for the sparkplugs. If each are behind a chrome tube, you still have your Air Injection (AI) system in. You will need a thin-wall 18mm socket to remove the plugs. Gently pull and twist on the sparkplug wire caps to remove.

If you want to pull your seat and then your tank to see what's up under there, check out the Tech Vault. A wealth of information!!

Here's a direct link to the Tech Vault for removing the seat(s) and tank:

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...mp;page=0#89436

For an engine to run you need three basics... air, fuel, and spark. Easiest one to check's spark: pull the plugs, connect the leads and ground the bodies to the engine, turn it over and look for spark. If the plugs are wet you're getting gas (but it's not burning for some reason), and it's usually safe to assume you're getting air, unless your filter's way past it's use-by date or squirrels have filled it with acorns. Mind you, at one point I spent WAY too much money taking my bike to the stealer to find out why it was breaking up at high revs, only to find the end of the elastic strap holding my sheepskin seat cover on was getting sucked into the air box. Odd things can happen.

Hey Guys, thanks for the info... sounds like removing the tank would have been easy. A technician came and loaded her up on a flatbed last night. I'll know something on Sunday. By the way, my AI system was removed I just didn't have anything that I could get in there to get the plugs out with. I did buy a new one and hook it up and I couldn't see any spark. I think the ignition might have crapped out. Sucks, the bike only has less then 4K on it. Anyone know where I can get an ignition for this bike cheap? the tech told me the factory CDI box is close to $400. Thats not cool.

Warranty? How old is the bike? If it's the ignitor, and you've only got 4000 on the clock, be persistent with Triumph and they might give you a good will extension on your warranty (if it's expired). I had a major failure two months after my warranty expired, and Triumph summoned up the good grace to fix the thing.

my bikes been out of warranty for two years!

Push it anyways; Old Wolf (feel free to chime in Dood ) had a similiar problem, and managed to get Triumph to replace the ignitor (if that's what your prob is)

I'm in Sal!
Let's get a campaign going to get ProComm to make us a box!

I can't find the URL for them though, someone post it here and we'll have at em.

The POC at Procom is Jennifer@Procomengineering.com

That's what tmax posted back when my igniter went out. You can also try

info@procomengineering.com

In a thread on this site, I came across somebody mentioning that the dealer Great Bay has aftermarket igniters for $200, but doesn't advertise that fact because they don't know how Triumph might react.

Already got a replay back from Procom. Here it is:

--------------------------------------------
Hello there. Indeed we are planning on making only the American CDI box this years. However, you won't see the finished box for at least another 6 months due to the fact that we have to thoroughly test the boxes. Also, I will put your name and contact information down for the Speedmaster and if we get many requests for this model, we will consider making them. Please check back with us in the future since we are always updating our store with new products.

Thank you,

Aivy Huynh
Office Administrator
Procom Engineering, Inc.
66 Maxwell
Irvine, CA 92618
Tel: 949-748-6338
Fax: 949-748-6339
----------------------

Looks like I need to send a reply letting them know stock igniter boxes can be swapped between Americas and Speedmasters. But the important thing is they mention that they listen to demand if people would take the time to e-mail them. Let's get some e-mails rolling so they know it's needed.

Email sent along with explanation that the bikes are the same.
Good grab on the email Sal.

I know what its like to have igniter problems and it's not pleasant. Fortunately, mine turned out to be a wiring connector problem and hasn't re-occured in months. But, it does appear that most that do go, happen after the 2 year warranty is up. I would like the security of knowing an igniter is available at a more reasonable price just in case. My warranty has 6 months left.

I still haven't heard from my tech, he hasn't gotten to the bike as of yet. $500 is way too steep. This bike has only 4000 miles on it. I can't believe such a major repair might be coming down the pipes! Should I email the Procom guy as well?

I sent one Derek for what its worth. Hopefully the forum will join en masse and let them know a market exists.

I sent one as well... I wonder if I should send one to Triumph if it turns out that this 500 dollar part gave out on me after 4K miles.

Been following this thread and what jumps out at me is the huge value this club's members represent to and for each other. Wow, what a super, quick response to a member's need. I love my BA and I love this club!
SteveB

Hi guys, I heard from my tech this morning. He troubleshoot my problem and found that i was correct. i had not spark getting to my cylinders. He followed the problem to the CDI box and determined that it was not working. Some good/bad news: He *tapped* the CDI box on the frame and low and behold, it is now working fine. He said I could ride it, but reccomends replacing it ASAP for obvious reasons. That gives me time to find a used one somewhere. As far as buying one from Triumph, not! I work in the electronics field and I know what is wrong with that box, bad solder. I refuse to pay $560 (that is the going price for that part, imagine that, a plastic box with a couple singleshots in it) for something that fails at 4000 miles. I'll contact Triumph and see if they will eat the repair cost (hell, i'll either fix it myself or pay for labor if they will just ship me the replacement part) but somehow I doubt that is going to happen.

I'm kind of bummed.. not just because of the CDI issue, but I really have lost alot of confidence in my bike now.

The fact that he tapped the CDI box and it's working fine makes me wonder. I had a bad CDI problem with all the classic symptoms - one cylinder not firing, seemed to be heat related. I removed the box and looked at the connector. When they built the bike they had put a tie wrap on the multi-conductor wire going into the connector that was stressing the connector itself. I worked a bit more slack on the wires, cleaned with contact cleaner, and re-connected. It has never acted up in any way since.

I wonder if tapping is moving this connector a little. There shouldn't be anything in the box to come loose but there is some play in the screws that secure it to the bike. You might want to check the connector and make sure there's a bit of slack behind it.

I'm willing to bet I know what the problem was. The wires going from the cdi to the coil become loose and thus kill your spark. It's odd that both would go at the same time, but thats probably what happened.
Anyone at the NH was able to see what effect losing spark to one cylinder had on my bike.

Shocking what Triumph wants for an igniter box, isn't it?

Try Baxter Cycle for a used one. Last year when mine went out, they didn't have one after saying the might, but also said a used one would be $250. AFAIK they have the largest selection of used Hinckley Triumph parts in the country. At the time they had 2 Americas in their yard for parts, and both of them had the igniters taken out.

My problem with a used one is you're just getting a part from the same manufacturer(Gill) as the ones that have shown premature failure, so who knows how long it'll last. Same goes for a new one too for that matter. That's why I'd like to see a Procom unit come out, or some other manufacturer.

I had a similar problem with my America, except the bike would start one day and not the next. I went out one day and it was backfiring and missing, parked it up had a look round could not find anything. It even went back to the dealer three times with the same fault. Then just before Christmas it gave up, luckily at my mates garage, he put it down to the CDI unit,

Triumph did replace it under warranty even though the bike was months out of warranty. The CDI unit is not cheap over here either at £300.00 ($600.00) +VAT (17.5%) + fitting and it has to be fitted by a trained Triumph mechanic

I sent Procom an email to strength in numbers

Guys, thanks for the tip on ProCom Engineerings devolpment efforts. I actually gave them a call and the girl that answered the phone told me the same thing that was posted here.. BUT! She said that they where looking for six *testers* and I got on their list. So whenever their prototype is ready to ship, I will get one, install it and test it to whatever criteria they ask me to. They still need five more as I understand it, so try calling them instead of emailing them.

Tony

I got another reply this morning from Procom asking for my info so I could possibly be put on the test list.

Same here Derek. Who knows maybe all the communication as you suggeseted will pay off.

I gave em my phone number and year and make of bike

I guess our igniter must be what procom calls a "CDI Box". The one for the Bonneville is listed on their site for $189. Not saying it would work, probably not since the Bonne fires at 360 degrees vice 270, but the price is intersting.

Me too.
Went out to give the bike a maintenance start Sunday.
Temp right at freezing.
Left side is dead.
Bike's on its 2nd igniter.
This one's 13 mo. old.
Think I'm gonna be taking a hard look at some wiring.
Don't wanna think it could be the box again.

I went to pick up my bike and guess what? It didn't start! I guess tapping the Ignitor wasn't gonna be a permanent fix. I'm gonna have to buy a new one... jesus.. couldn't happen at a worse time, that being, taken to the cleaners by a British Motorcycle company... I just don't see any reason for such a steep price for a little plastic box. I'm sure all thats in there is a couple of single shots, maybe some SCR's and a 555 timer. 10 bux worth of parts at best... there is probably some old guy building them whose been with Triumph for 100 years and makes mega-bucks. thats all he does is build those little boxes. He probably can't solder anymore so his joints are going cold out in the field. Triumph knows this but they choose to take their customers too the cleaners anyway. I dunno.. I might fix the bike and sell it i've got a feeling its going to be a headache and a money pit on down the road....

i'm really down on this bike, not just because of the bike, but the company also.

The CDI/igniters aren't made by Triumph, but by Gill Instruments. I know what you're going through, but really these are dependable bikes. The igniter box is the only problem I've had with my bike in 3 1/2 years and almost 48,000 miles.

You might want to try and contact Peter Carleo at Triumph here in the USA. Here's his e-mail address:

peter.Carleo@triumphmotorcycles.com

He's helped out on more than one occasion with bikes out of warranty. Worth a shot.

I don't think the problem is so much Triumph itself, but the limited aftermarket that's out there. I knew when I bought my bike that this was the case, and anything aftermarket was going to be slim pickens and probably cost more than your typical Harley of Japanese bike. And those aftermarket companies just don't realize the demand unless we e-mail and call them.

I just checked Bike Bandit, which has OEM parts for about every motorcycle manufacturer and the igniters for comparable bikes run from $350-700 for other brands. So it's not like Triumph is charging a price that's out of line with the rest of the industry. Now that's not to say that Triumph isn't at fault. There's just been too many of these failing when like you said, it's a fairly simple part that shouldn't fail, especially after only 4,000 miles. That's where Procom, or some other company needs to step in and give us a cheaper alternative. We have to let them know though.

Hi Sal,

I sent Peter an email this morning pleading with him to perhaps cover this obviously defective part under warranty. We'll see what happens, if anything at all.

I'll keep you all posted.

Tony

I thought the bulletin issued for the igniters was only for the 02 models? Oh well, worth looking anyway. Here's the specifics...

Tech news bulletin issue #52
Dated Nov 2001
VIN numbers: 139158 - 148655

Wow, thats great info on the tech bulletin! Thanks!

I have an '02 and have not had any problems but I'm going to check my VIN now. Might as well try and get it replaced.

>Don't wanna think it could be the box again.

Don't want to, but looking like I might have to.
Pulled plugs.
Right fires, left doesn't.
Switched primary wires on coils, problem switched sides.
Unhooked, rehooked, wiggled connector on CDI, no help.
Called dealer.
Guy said bring the bike in.
Told him about watching the problem switch sides & asked if I could just bring the box in.
He said ok, but would be better to bring bike.
I said I'd bring igniter.
He said ok.
Then called me back & said he'd talked to service & they have to have bike.
BS.

>I came across somebody mentioning that the dealer Great Bay has aftermarket igniters for $200

Called 'em.
This mythological beast appears to have arisen from a sighting of the Procom Bonneville unit.

No luck getting peter carleo to write me back. The bike is still dead so i'm gonna wait it out to see when Procomm sends theres out.

This company claims to have a CDI Box with works with all Bonneville's:

http://www.rmstator.com/index.php/Motorc...rmance_CDI/1433