On Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:45:59 -0600, Wayne
wrote:

Gunner Asch laid this down on his screen :
Im puttering around with the 1974 Honda XL 350...and the coil puts out a
weak spark...It may have something to do with the fact the lead wire to
the plug is only held on with the internal wire..the insulation is
broken around where its molded into the coil itself. I suppose I could
repair that with JB weld. The condenser is also molded as part of the
coil, and it may be bad, so I picked up a used condenser from a bike
yard and will splice it in.

I picked up a used generic 6vt coil for $10, and machined a mount to
adapt it to the bike. I tested the coil by grounding the hot lead by
scratching it to the frame and after 10 or 15 sparks, the coil split
around the circumference . It doesnt spark anymore...shrug. It had no
condenser attached to it. It "bumped" pretty good each time I sparked
it. Had a nice brite spark too.

Im testing the electrical with a 6vt battery charger hooked into place
of the battery

The wiring diagram I have and all references say that the Honda uses an
AC coil, fed by an ignition winding on the alternator. Honda wants $80
for a replacement coil, JC Whitney sells an aftermarket "can" coil for
$21, but doesnt indicate if its AC or DC.

Whats the difference between an AC and a DC coil????

Anyone got a surplus manual for a 1974-75 Honda XL 350?

Gunner

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Maj. Gen. John Sedgewick, killed by a sniper in 1864 at the battle of
Spotsylvania

If the battery is used for the ignition, which I don't know that is or
not, then you'll probably need a battery, not a battery charger.

Battery charger puts out a nice DC voltage at 6.8 volts, think of it as
a big wall wart...chuckle


You can see a listing of parts here
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmot...0-1974/o/m9383


$80 for the coil...

Ouch


Still no one can tell me the difference between an AC and a DC
coil......

gunner


"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Maj. Gen. John Sedgewick, killed by a sniper in 1864 at the battle of Spotsylvania

On Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:02:30 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:45:59 -0600, Wayne
wrote:

Gunner Asch laid this down on his screen :
Im puttering around with the 1974 Honda XL 350...and the coil puts out a
weak spark...It may have something to do with the fact the lead wire to
the plug is only held on with the internal wire..the insulation is
broken around where its molded into the coil itself. I suppose I could
repair that with JB weld. The condenser is also molded as part of the
coil, and it may be bad, so I picked up a used condenser from a bike
yard and will splice it in.

I picked up a used generic 6vt coil for $10, and machined a mount to
adapt it to the bike. I tested the coil by grounding the hot lead by
scratching it to the frame and after 10 or 15 sparks, the coil split
around the circumference . It doesnt spark anymore...shrug. It had no
condenser attached to it. It "bumped" pretty good each time I sparked
it. Had a nice brite spark too.

Im testing the electrical with a 6vt battery charger hooked into place
of the battery

The wiring diagram I have and all references say that the Honda uses an
AC coil, fed by an ignition winding on the alternator. Honda wants $80
for a replacement coil, JC Whitney sells an aftermarket "can" coil for
$21, but doesnt indicate if its AC or DC.

Whats the difference between an AC and a DC coil????

Anyone got a surplus manual for a 1974-75 Honda XL 350?

Gunner

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Maj. Gen. John Sedgewick, killed by a sniper in 1864 at the battle of
Spotsylvania

If the battery is used for the ignition, which I don't know that is or
not, then you'll probably need a battery, not a battery charger.

Battery charger puts out a nice DC voltage at 6.8 volts, think of it as
a big wall wart...chuckle


You can see a listing of parts here
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmot...0-1974/o/m9383


$80 for the coil...

Ouch


Still no one can tell me the difference between an AC and a DC
coil......

gunner

A "coil" is a transformer, i.e., two coils of wire placed close to each other. Electrical current through one coil will induce current in the other one. In the case of an ignition coil current flows through a coil with fewer turns and induces a higher voltage in a coil with many turns.

In order for a current to be induced the magnetic field around the
powered coil must change, thus all transformers function through
fluctuating/alternating current.

Now having said that the watts (Volts X Amps) that drive the
transformer are reflected in the output coil (ignoring transformer
losses) so if you have 1 amp at 6 volts flowing into the transformer
you will have 6 watts of power flowing out. If the output voltage is,
say 50 volts, then 6 watts / 50 volts = o.i2 amps.

Mext. The coil resistance and inductance (sort of alternating current
resistance) controls the current through the primary coil so if it is
designed for, say 6 volts and you try driving it with 12 volts you
will have twice the current and just as with welding machines current
= heat. Not good to try using too much voltage through the primary.

Finally, the current (heat) through the coil is also a factor of time.
If you flow 6 VDC through a coil at one amp of current then you have 6
watts of power flowing through the coil. If you pulsed that 6 volts 60
times a second you would have approximately half the current (on a
time basis) and thus heat flowing.

So, yes there is a difference in transformers designed for AC and DC
but only in the sizing of the components.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Gunner Asch has brought this to us :
On Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:45:59 -0600, Wayne
wrote:

Gunner Asch laid this down on his screen :
Im puttering around with the 1974 Honda XL 350...and the coil puts out a
weak spark...It may have something to do with the fact the lead wire to
the plug is only held on with the internal wire..the insulation is
broken around where its molded into the coil itself. I suppose I could
repair that with JB weld. The condenser is also molded as part of the
coil, and it may be bad, so I picked up a used condenser from a bike
yard and will splice it in.

I picked up a used generic 6vt coil for $10, and machined a mount to
adapt it to the bike. I tested the coil by grounding the hot lead by
scratching it to the frame and after 10 or 15 sparks, the coil split
around the circumference . It doesnt spark anymore...shrug. It had no
condenser attached to it. It "bumped" pretty good each time I sparked
it. Had a nice brite spark too.

Im testing the electrical with a 6vt battery charger hooked into place
of the battery

The wiring diagram I have and all references say that the Honda uses an
AC coil, fed by an ignition winding on the alternator. Honda wants $80
for a replacement coil, JC Whitney sells an aftermarket "can" coil for
$21, but doesnt indicate if its AC or DC.

Whats the difference between an AC and a DC coil????

Anyone got a surplus manual for a 1974-75 Honda XL 350?

Gunner

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Maj. Gen. John Sedgewick, killed by a sniper in 1864 at the battle of
Spotsylvania

If the battery is used for the ignition, which I don't know that is or
not, then you'll probably need a battery, not a battery charger.

Battery charger puts out a nice DC voltage at 6.8 volts, think of it as
a big wall wart...chuckle


You can see a listing of parts here
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmot...0-1974/o/m9383


$80 for the coil...

Ouch


Still no one can tell me the difference between an AC and a DC
coil......

gunner


"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Maj. Gen. John Sedgewick, killed by a sniper in 1864 at the battle of
Spotsylvania

I didn't know that any chargers put out filtered DC. I would expect
them to be half or full wave rectified only.

I can't tell you the difference. Maybe there isn't any. A coil
is nothing more than a large step up transformer. It requires
a change in current to operate. It can't work on straight DC.
The points or CDI provide a change in DC current. A pulse of DC current
into the coil provides a pulse of a spark out.