99 EZGO No Spark Troubleshooting (are my coil values OK?)

[bobbyorange]

I am in need of some troubleshooting assistance. My cart will turn over but it will not start. it had been sitting in my garage, being stored for the winter. It has not been running at all this season, however it did run when it was put into storage.

Initially I installed a brand new battery and a grounding strap, changed the oil, all filters, spark plugs, and adjusted the valves. After getting it all done, I went to start it and again it cranked over but would not start.

I checked for spark by using one of the old plugs inserted into the wire and holding it with a pair of pliers to the motor. Nothing, no spark at the plug. Pulling the manual, I checked the ignition coil and on the primary side I have 3.5 ohms and on the secondary side I had 29kohms. (not within the 10.6k-14.6k ohms desired spec but it doesn't seem unreasonable.) Next, I checked the pulsar and it read 20 ohms stationary and put out ~138mVAC when the motor was turning over. (I have read in the forum that other members have had low ohm values from the pulsar it wasn't an issue.) I've also ohmed all of the wires from the 4pin connector at the ignitor and all checked out ok. I also checked the ground at the motor and it is properly grounded as read with an volt meter.

My question is, before I spend money for an ignitor (which I know there is no test to prove good/bad) are the readings from my ignition coil reasonable? (Primary: 3.5ohms/Secondary: 29kohms)

[my1423]

Well its not within specs so it tests bad but i have seen many a coil still work when not within specs.
It is way cheaper then an ignitor and usually a failure point.

First try checking for spark with a new clean plug.
Old plugs can look good but be shorted with carbon ect.

Next check that you have power at the coil when cranking.
Check both sides of the field.
No power at all the you have an issue with wiring fuse ect.

If you have power and the coil is good but the ignitor is bad you usually get one spark when you stop cranking.
No spark at all is a sign of a bad coil.

Crude coil bench test.
You can unhook the field wires on the coil and use a jumpers to the battery.
Make sure to leave the coil grounded.
Touch and release the + and check for spark. Do not leave it connected or hold it connected. Touch and release.
Every time you remove the wire you should get a spark.

[bobbyorange]

my1423, based on your troubleshooting steps here is what I have.

I put a new spark plug in the boot and still no spark.

Testing the power to the coil. Primary side + referenced to ground I have 11.5v when cranking. Primary side - referenced to batt + I had a quick spike and then fall off. (my guess is, this is drop out side and my digital meter isn't quick enough to pick it up and it comes and goes and I don't have an analog meter to verify)

Assuming that the above indicates that the power is present at the coil, I still have no spark, not even one when I stop cranking.

I'm now leaning towards a bad coil. Using the "crude" test procedure outlined above, I got a VERY weak spark out of the coil each time the jumper was removed.

My guess is the higher than desired reading on secondary side of the coil is enough to prevent it being driven by the ignitor. I've ordered a coil and will replace it when it arrives. As a back-up, I ordered the ignitor just in case. I found one online that was fairly cheap and would allow me to return it if it was not needed.

When the coil arrives I'll report back with updates. Thanks for you help so far!

[bobbyorange]

Both the coil and ignitor arrived on Saturday, but today was the first opportunity I had to work on changing them out.

Installed the new coil to no avail. Still cranked but would not start. So I put a new plug in the boot and cranked, got a nice solid spark but only got one.

Installed the new ignitor and she fired right up. Having read that the likely cause for a failed ignitor is a bad voltage regulator I put my meter on it when it was running and read a higher than desired voltage while charging (+16vDC) So i'll be picking up a new voltage regulator before I run it anymore.

It seems as though my problem was multi-tiered. With a very weak spark when crude testing the coil, it needed to be replaced. As well as having a failed VR which took out the ignitor.

Thanks for the troubleshooting tips my1423!

[my1423]

Your welcome. Glad you got it fixed.

For your voltage regulator, Is it a solid state version or does it have points?
The point ones can be adjusted as long as its not burnt ect. Make a nice backup part for the parts bin.

In the future you could get a gm dual coil and an hei module. Make yourself a coil mount and module heatsink. Install them on the cart with all the proper wiring but leave them unhooked and in the future if you have a failure swap the wiring and have a quick easy troubleshoot and emergency backup.