First Gen valve adjustment, boost sensor and TCI service, first timer

[cowpuc]

Just thought it would be good to update the thread. So Jeff Borowski was kind enough to take a look at my TCI and confirmed that it was the problem. Lesson learned was don't fix it if its not broken. Apparently it was probably likely to fail soon anyways so replacing it with another used one worked out. It was only something like $75 off of ebay. Plugged it in and all four cyclinders fired. I took it out for a spin and it feels like the new used vacuum boost is also working. So now I just have to work the wires through the inner fairing wall so I can mount the TCI next to the radio some place. I might also put it on top of the battery if put the new fuse block on top of the air box. I could not get the TCI to fit on the air box. I think someone mentioned that it would not fit on the 1300s.

 

I am very happy to have it running again now that the weather is getting better.

 

OUTSTANDING and a HUGE congrats Geo!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing like a job well done and V-4 hitting on all 4!!!

That Fool,, he really is quite the lop eared varmint I tell ya - one of the sites gurus for sure!! Know what I would do if he ever did something like that to my bike Geo?? I would nominate him for one of those fancy little blue ribbon "honor award" things that ya see hanging under peoples avatars - living proof that that Fool really is a blue ribbon kind of varmint IMHO!!

[Flyinfool]

OUTSTANDING and a HUGE congrats Geo!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing like a job well done and V-4 hitting on all 4!!!

That Fool,, he really is quite the lop eared varmint I tell ya - one of the sites gurus for sure!! Know what I would do if he ever did something like that to my bike Geo?? I would nominate him for one of those fancy little blue ribbon "honor award" things that ya see hanging under peoples avatars - living proof that that Fool really is a blue ribbon kind of varmint IMHO!!

 

Now stop that Puc, your gonna make me blush, then I may have to go hide in a snowbank, and you know who will get the over spray..........

 

That TCI looked like it had leaked some battery acid inside of it. There was about 2 square inches of board with the copper runs rotted away, I had to do a couple hours working under a magnifying glass to lay down wires to rebuild the damaged circuit traces. I do not have the technology to to any kind of in depth testing of the board other than to plug it into my bike and it ran badly on just the 2 left cylinders (Same thing GeoBob was getting on his bike). Put my TCI back in and bike ran smooth as silk again.

[cimmer]

Glad to hear you have it running on all 4 now..

Now go out and put some miles on that bike..

 

Rick F.

[Geobob]

Come to think of it, I have have had a leaking battery at least once in the recent past. I fought with a hard starting problem for a way longer than I should have before I looked at the battery and yes it was leaking I think.

 

So now that its running I did notice the white headlight indicator light on the dash is flickering. If I recall that suggest the voltage or amperage draw on the new LED headlight is not high enough. So what is the trick here. Do we just get a couple ohm resistor and put it inline. I'll do so searching around on here.

 

For anyone else relocating the the TCI on a 1300 or at least an 88, it appears that it cannot be fitted into the left side of the fairing with the stereo. I also could not fit it on top of the air box. I resorted to putting the little Lithium Ion battery back in. I believe Flinfools rational for why not to use them but dam it, I have three of them. It left plenty of room on top of it for the TCI and the fuse box (soon to be replaced with the new upgraded one. I did make up a longer battery cable but so far so good. It has been sitting for a week and the battery is holding a charge. I suspect on of my USB plugs might have been draining the battery down. I will have to make sure they are all on circuit that are off when the bike is off.

 

Next project will be the replacement of the front calipers and separating the linked system. Anyone have a suggestion for where to buy braided steel brake line and fittings. I have made up line in the past but that was using a local parts shop at an airport that sold Areoquip stuff. That was handy but I don't live close to them anymore.

[Flyinfool]

@skydoc_17 sells a delink kit with instruction and all the needed braided hoses and other parts needed. He also has a braided kit for the clutch.

 

On my 88 I was able to stuff the TCI into the left fairing, BUT I have a standard and a aftermarket stereo so my audio may be smaller than the one Yamaha uses for the Royals.

[Geobob]

Thanks Flinn, that is where I got the idea from. We were talking one day about it and I realized I had the calipers already from another project so all I need to do is make up the lines. It is actually very easy to make your own lines if you have the correct parts. The most work will be in rebuilding the calipers. They are not bad but they have been sitting in a box for the last 15 years or so. He claims the braking improvement is outstanding. I took your suggestion and tried to fit the TCI in there but I really did not think it would work. Maybe if you really played around but I just wanted to get the thing road worthy so I dropped the Lithium battery in and the TCI on top of it. So far so good. Thanks again for all the help. What I really need to know is what do do about that light on the dash. Maybe I should just unplug it if that is possible. Or we could just use the black electrical tape method.

[cimmer]

Come to think of it, I have have had a leaking battery at least once in the recent past. I fought with a hard starting problem for a way longer than I should have before I looked at the battery and yes it was leaking I think.

 

So now that its running I did notice the white headlight indicator light on the dash is flickering. If I recall that suggest the voltage or amperage draw on the new LED headlight is not high enough. So what is the trick here. Do we just get a couple ohm resistor and put it inline. I'll do so searching around on here.

 

For the LED headlight you need to pull the reserve lighting unit and you can connect certain wires together to have that do flickering go away. What it is doing is actually switching between the high and low beams. There is a thread in here about how to do this.

Hope this helps

Rick F.

[videoarizona]

Here ya go: 2 links that show jump[ering the CMU if you want to convert to all LED, and jumpering the RLU if you want to stop the annoying warnings when you switch to an LED headlight...

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?129385-1st-Gen-LED-Headlight

 

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?92274-How-do-you-quot-Jumper-the-CMU-quot-for-LED-s-bulbs-to-prevent-the-warning-light-coming-on

[Ipleedthe5th]

What a fantastic thread. my 83' is having the exact same issues and after reading this thread I decided to cut my TCI open (I was not as lucky as the OP. It had corrosion and one of the diodes even fell out when I touched it with a q-tip) So I am excited to see its a "easy" fix if im careful.

 

Could someone tell me what the 4 main transistors are? Mine look like garbage and I think its a good idea to replace them while I am in there. Unfortunately the labeling has worn off so I have no idea what specs they are to get replacements.

 

Congrats Geobob on getting it up and running and thank you and everyone else here for documenting the process so well, its going to be a huge help

[Ipleedthe5th]

Ok, so I found that the main transistors are ETD41-035's. That they dont make any more.

And then found this article ( https://www.xjcd.org/TCI_transistors ) that says ST901T can replace them and work well. though these are also hard to find.

 

 

Any thoughts?

[snyper316]

Just easier to replace with after market IMHO.

 

Never ride faster then your angel can fly. I am as free as the wind on my face.

[Geobob]

I tried to respond to the initial post but it got lost some how. I just wanted to add my 2 cents. I tried the repair path because I just wanted to give it a go. I had previously repaired the compressor control board but that was just broken connections. Maybe I did get most of the diodes in but as Flinfool pointed out, my board was bad and I could not really see that. I would keep an eye on ebay for another TCI while you work on the one you have.

 

This forum is one of the best. The amount of experience with these bikes is vast. It make owning and keeping one running much more rewarding that frustrating. My bike is running stronger than it has for a long time suggesting my vacuum advance has been failing slowly over the past few years.

 

I can not help you with the transistor but I bet someone on here can. These guys are the best. I need to get to one of the rallys.

[Chaharly]

I tried to respond to the initial post but it got lost some how. I just wanted to add my 2 cents. I tried the repair path because I just wanted to give it a go. I had previously repaired the compressor control board but that was just broken connections. Maybe I did get most of the diodes in but as Flinfool pointed out, my board was bad and I could not really see that. I would keep an eye on ebay for another TCI while you work on the one you have.

 

This forum is one of the best. The amount of experience with these bikes is vast. It make owning and keeping one running much more rewarding that frustrating. My bike is running stronger than it has for a long time suggesting my vacuum advance has been failing slowly over the past few years.

 

I can not help you with the transistor but I bet someone on here can. These guys are the best. I need to get to one of the rallys.

 

Can I ask what symptoms you were having that you noticed your timing advance was damaged?

[Geobob]

Loss of power since the timing would not advance. It would also get hot. It is easy enough to test even with the unit on the bike if I am not mistaken. I think these guys on here diagnosed my problem just based on my symptoms. Once I pulled it off and bench tested it with a vacuum pump and volt meter it was confirmed. The TCI was just and after thought. That goes back to my old saying of if its not broke don't try and fix it. I my ex wife got me a door mat that said "if it an't broke don't buy it" I have stopped buying old non-running bikes.

[Ipleedthe5th]

Just easier to replace with after market IMHO.

 

I am starting to see that now. I have already contacted the company that makes the aftermarket ones to get some info on it and get that going in case it turns our that my TCI is completely SOL.

[snyper316]

I am starting to see that now. I have already contacted the company that makes the aftermarket ones to get some info on it and get that going in case it turns our that my TCI is completely SOL.

SOL I like that, I used FUBAR lol

 

Never ride faster then your angel can fly. I am as free as the wind on my face.

[Ipleedthe5th]

So it looks like the TCI was the only real problem on my bike!

 

I got the new sparker form IGNITECH (check the "aftermarket TCI avalible" thread under this first gen tech talk colum for details about that) and the bike is running great now. A little rich it smells but I am sure a good dynamic carb sync and maybe some timing adjustments to the new programable sparker will smooth that out. But for now I'm just happy to hear her purr.