Turns but no spark on new (old) Ridgeback

[macs13]

I just purchased an 04 Ridgeback that looks to be all stock other than the seat and pipes. She is turning over nicely and has a good battery on her, but I'm not getting spark. I'm not a gifted electrician, so to speak, so I'm not sure what my "if this, then..." order of operations should be in order to assess and repair the issue.

My experience with riding Big Dogs is pretty long - I've been riding an 03 Pitbull since 08 and I used to sell Big Dogs in Honolulu back in the early 2000s - however I am not a mechanic by trade so if anybody can help, please be detailed.

Thanks in advance

 

[Chong]

Did you pick this up in Michigan ?

 

[Sven]

Voltmeter to the coil. Pick a prong, meaning, one side is from key switch to hot the coil before you hit the starter button, the other is the signal from the distributor.

 

[macs13]

Did you pick this up in Michigan ?

Yes. I liked the sellers so much that I forgot to hear the bike run. I just got too excited. Oi

 

[Rottweiler]

Have you contacted the seller.

 

[Rottweiler]

They might have added a hidden switch somewhere?

 

[Chong]

Yes. I liked the sellers so much that I forgot to hear the bike run. I just got too excited. Oi

Yeah I seen her posts, apparently it was her late husband's bike . I even replied to thread of hers .. I wasn't looking to buy it .

 

[macs13]

Have you contacted the seller.

I did. There is no hidden switch. Seller is widow of former rider, so she likely wouldn't have known anyhow.

 

[Jersey Big Mike]

check the handlebar switches on the right side. if run/start is bad that will happen. Open the controls and jump it with a wire - check manual for pins.

 

[macs13]

check the handlebar switches on the right side. if run/start is bad that will happen. Open the controls and jump it with a wire - check manual for pins.

Thanks. I just watched a YouTube video on how to do that. I should be able to lean into the bike this evening after work and try to find my issue.

The seller claimed that they had fired the bike earlier in the week. If that's true, I might be looking for a short or a partially broken wire (Hopefully just a bad connection somewhere) but I'll see what I can figure out.

 

[Mickmorris]

Post pics of the EHC & ignition module.

 

[Mikeinjersey]

I just purchased an 04 Ridgeback that looks to be all stock other than the seat and pipes. She is turning over nicely and has a good battery on her, but I'm not getting spark. I'm not a gifted electrician, so to speak, so I'm not sure what my "if this, then..." order of operations should be in order to assess and repair the issue.

My experience with riding Big Dogs is pretty long - I've been riding an 03 Pitbull since 08 and I used to sell Big Dogs in Honolulu back in the early 2000s - however I am not a mechanic by trade so if anybody can help, please be detailed.

Thanks in advance

View attachment 124373

First , make sure you have fuel and the petcock is on. Look for fuel to squirt inside the carb when you give it throttle. No fuel would have the same symptom you described.
Next turn the key on , hit the run button and look for a red indicator light on the ignition module. Hit the start and look for blinking lights on the module. No red light means the module is not getting voltage to operate and red light but no blinking would mean no signal from the cam sensor.

 

[macs13]

First , make sure you have fuel and the petcock is on. Look for fuel to squirt inside the carb when you give it throttle. No fuel would have the same symptom you described.
Next turn the key on , hit the run button and look for a red indicator light on the ignition module. Hit the start and look for blinking lights on the module. No red light means the module is not getting voltage to operate and red light but no blinking would mean no signal from the cam sensor.

I had checked all of the fuel related stuff prior to posting which is why I had narrowed it down to spark. I then spark checked it.

When I turn the key, the iron heart LED lights up red, once, and then goes off. There is no light coming on at all when I'm turning it over.

 

[Rottweiler]

Clean the cam sensor.

 

[Mikeinjersey]

I had checked all of the fuel related stuff prior to posting which is why I had narrowed it down to spark. I then spark checked it.

When I turn the key, the iron heart LED lights up red, once, and then goes off. There is no light coming on at all when I'm turning it over.

I may be wrong about the blinking on an 04. You have a duel fire system and maybe they don't blink like a single fire ThunderHeart. Check the cam sensor as Rottweiler suggested and if you see no obvious damage ( melted) contact WSW https://wildsteedworx.com/ or https://www.bigdogpartskingpin.com/ They have information and parts if need be.

 

[HMAN]

Cam sensor

 

[macs13]

I see multiple votes for cam sensor. Does that still hold true if I said that the the 04, specifically, does not do the multiple blinking light "codes" like the 05 and up and, as far as I could tell from the manual, it's only supposed to do that one initial LED light flash?

Perhaps I should just order a new cam sensor? I did read the how-to by chacha here on the forums and it looks like a simple swap.

 

[Rottweiler]

My 2004 when motor is spinning the red light blinks.

 

[macs13]

My 2004 when motor is spinning the red light blinks.

OK. Thank you for clarifying that for me! So, we're still on board with replacing the cam sensor and go from there?

Does anybody have a handy dandy party number or should I just remove it and go to my local HD shop?

 

[Mickmorris]

OK. Thank you for clarifying that for me! So, we're still on board with replacing the cam sensor and go from there?

Does anybody have a handy dandy party number or should I just remove it and go to my local HD shop?

bigdogpartskingpin.com
Also pretty sure you can test the cam sensor.