Six Days no spark

[James Niebrzydowski]

1972 125cc with a 6a motor and points ignition system.
The bike lost its spark over the winter. the bike was running great and would start with 1 or 2 kicks hot or cold when I put it away for winter last november. I think I sprayed wd-40 inside the ignition case for storage it was kept inside and about 50 degrees. I didnt have to work on the bike so I dont think its any thing I did (general maintenance).I am not very good at troubeshooting electrical systems .  So any ideas or what to test or look for would be helpful.
Thanks

[thrownchain]

Clean the points.

[wfopete]

Get out your OHM meter and make sure you have a good ground.  I big toothed star washer at a motor mount really bites into the frame.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[James Niebrzydowski]

Pete with the ohm meter how should I set the ohm meter and where should I check for good ground.

[Dale Fisher]

WD40 is an excellent lubricant but does not promote electric contact.  Try an electrical contact cleaner spray on the points.  Accessible through a slot in the flywheel they may need to be opened manually.  If the point surfaces are corroded or pitted try dressing them lightly with an emery board (cardboard nail file) and then cleaning with alcohol or the contact cleaner removing any residue.

Then work out from there on your electrical connections, kill switch, etc.

The FAQ list will be discussed at the next POG meeting

Dale Fisher
Penton Owners Group - President/Memberships
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'70 Six-Day 125 - V2017
'72 Mudlark - W257
'73 Jackpiner - 175 21159727
'74 Berkshire 100 - 40171056
'98 HP-14 Hi-Point
And some silly other bikes...

[James Niebrzydowski]

yesterday Prior to posting I cleaned the points so I thought, removed coil made sure it was a good ground. I also run a separate ground wire from the motor to coil.then looked over the wiring all looked good, probed around with the ohm meter (really dont know what iam doing with the meter).
So this morning I made a sure I really cleaned the points with sand paper a couple of precise swipes and then checked for spark. BIg spark and started on second kick.

Thanks everybody
Jim

[Daniel P. McEntee]

An easy way to just check the points is to drag a piece of white paper between the contacts. If there is anything there that shouldn't be, it will show up on the paper. Sometimes, that's all you need to do is pass a strip of stiff paper through there followed by the contact cleaner. Plain old condensation from temperature changes over time leaves stuff behind.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee