DIY! “How to Check and Recover the Contact Breaker (Points) Ignition System Problems of Vintage Motorcycle”

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The most important thing is understanding the ignition circuit. But...

The contact breaker (points) ignition system is often used in vintage models, and often referred to as the cause of malfunctioning. In the case of the contact breaker (points) ignition system, if you understand the ignition circuit, you can recover quickly even if you get into trouble. At the same time, it's helpful to keep in mind what happens when the points and condenser are out of order.

The points seems to change the flow of electricity by "opening and closing". What kind of symptoms is appeared, should you suspect around the contact breaker (points) ignition system? It is also important to know the malfunction pattern.

1. The dirt on the points will cause malfunction.

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If the oil stick to the points, the contact surface may burn, causing the electricity not to be conducted. This may cause idling malfunction and acceleration failure. Spread the points with your fingertips and sandwich a paper and pull it out.

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Let's open the points in the position where the points heel is not on the cam lobe and gaze at the points. If the points is burned or became rough, fold the sandpaper in two, and sandwich it, and brush back and forth the contact point. Use #600 sandpaper.

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POINT

・Since there are many cases that dirt on the points makes a bad condition of the engine, it is essential to clean the contacts regularly.
・If the points is rough, fold the #600 sandpaper in two, and sandwich it, and polish the contact point.

 

2. Why will the points be rough?

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With the contact breaker (points) ignition system, we tend to check only the point as a cause of a malfunction, but in fact, it can be said that many of the causes of the points being rough are in this condenser.
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This is the roughness of the points. There is the case that dirt such as oil deposited on it makes rough, but in fact, it is often caused by a broken condenser. These points need to be replaced, but...

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It is better to replace the points to a new one, if it's too rough. But if you want to fix it with an emergency measure, polish the contact point. The points is opened, and the sandpaper (using #320) is folded in two, and sandwich it and polished the contact point.

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In some cases, the points heel of the bakelite is reduced, so the point control gap may not be obtained. To prevent the reduction of the heel, an oil felt that holds the lubricant grease is attached.

POINT

・The condenser is also cited as a cause of contact roughness.
・There are also many cases that the condenser does not work properly by internal destruction, and it is also not an unusual case that the capacitance of the condenser may change between cold and warm, and conduction overwork occurs.

 

In the motorcycle with the contact breaker (points) ignition system that is often found in vintage models, there are many cases that lead to malfunctions and troubles if regular checking and maintenance are postponed. The circuit is exactly simple, but, regular maintenance is indispensable, so transistor-ignition models and CDI-ignition models have increased since the late '70s, and models with the contact breaker (Points) ignition system have disappeared.

In some cases, performance can be maintained by simple periodic inspection or cleaning, but if the user continues to run without maintenance for a certain period of time, the contact point contamination starts to cause a malfunction and can cause the condenser to break at worst. The condenser cannot be checked with defects without measuring by the exclusive tester, and it is impossible to judge whether the condenser is in good condition or not by a visual check.

Even if replacing the points with new parts without noticing such a condenser failure, it will be fallen into the same trouble again.

3. Whether the condenser became defective or not?

It is better to have a visual check on the points directly during idling after starting the engine if you want. The points should be open and closed intermittently, and it is not a big problem if the spark is emitted with small sounds from the points at that time, but if spark continues to appear with big sounds from the points every time, it is considered that the condenser has already reached the end.

The most troublesome case is when the engine is cool, there's no problem, but if the engine gets hot, the engine fails to function properly. Since such symptoms are common for condenser failures, it is better to suspect the condition of the condenser in vintage models that fail to function properly when the engine gets hot.

In the case of an "outer rotor" type regardless of a 2-stroke engine or a 4-stroke engine, it is possible to check the condition of the points from the side hole of the rotor by viewing from the side after the engine cover is removed. It is recommended that you look into the operating condition of the points in a good condition for the case of an emergency.

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