relocated TCI worry wart question

[6m459]

OK folks, a couple of worry wart questions from the dirvers seat:

 

I moved my TCI last weekend. The job was the expected PITA but its done now.

 

I took the bike for its first ride to work since the relocate today. I find that the original problem, a misfire under load at 3k rpm's and above was still there but less frequent than I was used to before.

 

The problem always did seem to be temperature related. It was much more apparent on cool mornings than warm afternoons. Today, the engine was rock solid when I set off from home but as she warmed up there was a short period where she would mis fire and then she seemed to get through it and ran flawlessly again. It was as though there was a troublesome tempreature band she went into and then out of as she warmed up.

 

I have yet to open this TCI but I am prepared to do so if necessary. I suspect that I'll find an iffy solder joint somewhere inside that is sensitive to thermal expansion. Meanwhile I am trying to characterize the fault and the effects that the TCI move has had on the situation.

 

While riding, I was wondering / worrying about the reasoning for Yam's engineers to put the TCI where they did. Do we know anything about their original thinking?

 

Does the TCI actually require some cooling from the air flow in its stock location? If so am I damaging it by running it up top?

 

What sort of miles have folks here got running bikes with relocated TCI's ? Is there any indication that the TCI's are more prone to fail after a relocation?

 

Thanks,

 

Brian H.

[Dano]

Morning Brian,

What I found with my mis-fire which was a PITA to find, and I didn't find it till I moved my TCI, was that a connection on the 8 wire plug going out to the coils was not making constant contact, therefore leading to a mis-fire condition.

Use some contact cleaner on the connections, along with one of those brass cleaning brushes (small) that you can find at any parts store to clean the terminals on the TCI.

Check the 1st gen tech section for the pin-out diagram and diagnostic sheet to help you check the connections, coils, pickup coils and connectors. THis can all be done while the bikes running now since all the major wiring comes thru the TCI and now its accessible to work on.

It's also possible a coil is breaking down after it gets hot from running for a while, but it's usually not an intermittent condition.

TCI doesn't need to be in an airstream, its actually better being up where it'll stay dry.You still need to open it up and dry it out and check the connections, but it'll be easier now.

 

Good luck,

 

Dan

 

PS We STILL cannot figure out what their engineers were thinking on some of this stuff!

[MiCarl]

Yamaha put the TCI where it was because it was convenient in the Design/Assembly or just because there was space there. They really weren't worrying too much about diagnosing intermittent faults 25 years later.

[rhncue]

Hello, I changed my location over 9 years ago. I may have been the first as I did it so that I could much more easily get to it after mine had went bad. I belonged to the Venturerers then and did a write up. I've never had a problem with it since.

 

Dick

[6m459]

I changed my location over 9 years ago................ I've never had a problem with it since.

Dick

 

That's just what I wanted to hear! Thanks.

 

The bike ran like a champ all the way home this afternoon. She was like a new bike.

 

Brian H.