No spark

[foodog38]

Have a 2018 NC, riding down the road and 6 miles into the ride she said thats it, i quit. could not figure out why, she just stropped. has been in the shop for the last 4-5 weeks and they cannot figure it out. any ideas? the girl has no spark no signal to the spark maker, they ordered a 820 dollar part and still nothing.

 

[bigbird]

If the Honda techs can't figure it out, especially after conferring with the US Honda tech support, who is in touch with the mothership tech support in Japan, then I doubt if anyone on this forum can figure it out.

 

[670cc]

If the Honda techs can't figure it out, especially after conferring with the US Honda tech support, who is in touch with the mothership tech support in Japan, then I doubt if anyone on this forum can figure it out.

Hey now, we here on this forum are some pretty sharp mechanics . . . and our advice is always free!

 

[mtnbiker1185]

I would be taking it to another shop if they haven't been able to figure it out in 4-5 weeks. After about a week I would think they would be on the phone with Honda tech support for assistance, if that hasn't happened you need to ask them why.

If it is just power going to the spark plug and everything else works, my guess would be the engine cut-off switch has shorted...but outside of that...no clue.

 

[bigbird]

Hey now, we here on this forum are some pretty sharp mechanics . . . and our advice is always free!

OK, here's my $.02 for the OP.
Sounds like the service dep't ordered a new ECM.
That didn't help.
So, I would suspect either an open circuit somewhere, or short to ground.
I assume they checked all fuses, and all is good.
So my next question would be, did the OP make any changes to the bike's wiring or electrical system?
Any accessories added, any wires spliced into, or any other mods?

 

[mzflorida]

Have them go over the stator. Putting it out to more accomplished DIYers here, but if I recall correctly that is pretty classic for a stator failure; bike starts, may run a little rough, stator gets hot and fails.

 

[bigbird]

Have them go over the stator. Putting it out to more accomplished DIYers here, but if I recall correctly that is pretty classic for a stator failure; bike starts, may run a little rough, stator gets hot and fails.

I'd think if the stator failed, the bike would have kept running on battery power until the battery was drained.
The tech would (should) pick up on that immediately.
I would be checking all relays as well as fuses first.

 

[foodog38]

OK, here's my $.02 for the OP.
Sounds like the service dep't ordered a new ECM.
That didn't help.
So, I would suspect either an open circuit somewhere, or short to ground.
I assume they checked all fuses, and all is good.
So my next question would be, did the OP make any changes to the bike's wiring or electrical system?
Any accessories added, any wires spliced into, or any other mods?

Your correct they did and it didn't lol they are waiting on the Honda guys out in California to get back to them, California had confirmed that the ECM should be the problem, they changed it and nothing, so now the ball is in cali's hands. The only mod i put on was a new louder horn, plug and play

 

[bigbird]

All you can do now is wait.
Those guys at head office in CA are the experts.
The problem is, it takes a lot of time for the back and forth between the dealer and Honda USA.
But from what I've read on other Honda forums, particularly Goldwing forums, eventually they will get this sorted out.

If you get a chance to talk to the service dep't where the bike is, you could ask if they have done all the obvious, such as check the engine kill switch circuit and the side stand safety switch for a short, did they check all the relays, and if your addition of the plug and play horn could affect anything.
Did you tell them you changed horns?
Keep us in the loop please.

 

[mzflorida]

I'd think if the stator failed, the bike would have kept running on battery power until the battery was drained.
The tech would (should) pick up on that immediately.
I would be checking all relays as well as fuses first.

The battery is sufficient to power the coils? Serious question and not challenging the accuracy; I do not know the answer.

 

[bigbird]

Here's some info I just found on an NC750 Facebook group.
A guy has a similar problem to yours. His bike went dead also.
He tackled the job himself and tore down his bike looking for an electrical shorting problem.
He found the problem.
Tell your service dep't to check around the steering head for a group of wires that are zip tied together, right by the serial number tag.
The zip tie was installed too tight at the factory, leading to chafing of the wire.
Over time the friction between the wires and zip tie ate through the wire's insulation causing a dead short.
You can see from the pic I've attached exactly where this zip tie is.
Worth a shot.

 

[Alias]

Sorry I can't help. My money is on the kill switch circuit. Glad you weren't out of state when it quit.

 

[bigbird]

The battery is sufficient to power the coils? Serious question and not challenging the accuracy; I do not know the answer.

Absolutely.
The coil is just a step-up transformer.
Approximately 13.5 V in and about 30K V out.
When charging the battery, the generator/rectifier/regulator puts out a max of approx 14.5V
If the generator was dead, the battery's 12.4V would be enough to energize the coils for a while.
Many racing bikes run a total loss ignition system.
There is no generator on the engine, and for the length of a race the ignition is powered by only a lightweight Li-ion battery.

 

[mzflorida]

Absolutely.
The coil is just a step-up transformer.
Approximately 13.5 V in and about 30K V out.
When charging the battery, the generator/rectifier/regulator puts out a max of approx 14.5V
If the generator was dead, the battery's 12.4V would be enough to energize the coils for a while.
Many racing bikes run a total loss ignition system.
There is no generator on the engine, and for the length of a race the ignition is powered by only a lightweight Li-ion battery.

Thank you. That is very interesting.

 

[foodog38]

Your correct they did and it didn't lol they are waiting on the Honda guys out in California to get back to them, California had confirmed that the ECM should be the problem, they changed it and nothing, so now the ball is in cali's hands. The only mod i put on was a new louder horn, plug and play

Here's some info I just found on an NC750 Facebook group.
A guy has a similar problem to yours. His bike went dead also.
He tackled the job himself and tore down his bike looking for an electrical shorting problem.
He found the problem.
Tell your service dep't to check around the steering head for a group of wires that are zip tied together, right by the serial number tag.
The zip tie was installed too tight at the factory, leading to chafing of the wire.
Over time the friction between the wires and zip tie ate through the wire's insulation causing a dead short.
You can see from the pic I've attached exactly where this zip tie is.
Worth a shot.
View attachment 43881

i will go by there tomorrow, who knows, maybe they will let me look at it, that would be funny

 

[670cc]

Here's some info I just found on an NC750 Facebook group.
A guy has a similar problem to yours. His bike went dead also.
He tackled the job himself and tore down his bike looking for an electrical shorting problem.
He found the problem.
Tell your service dep't to check around the steering head for a group of wires that are zip tied together, right by the serial number tag.
The zip tie was installed too tight at the factory, leading to chafing of the wire.
Over time the friction between the wires and zip tie ate through the wire's insulation causing a dead short.
You can see from the pic I've attached exactly where this zip tie is.
Worth a shot.
View attachment 43881

I'm having some trouble understanding this tip and this photo in post #11. Honda does not generally use zip ties for wiring retention, and at least on a USA NC700X, the serial number plate is not located on the steering head, nor is it riveted on. But maybe this photo is of a bike from a different world market, hence it does not match what I am used to seeing. My NC700X left side steering head is pictured below.

 

[bigbird]

I'm just the messenger.

 

[mzflorida]

I'm having some trouble understanding this tip and this photo in post #11. Honda does not generally use zip ties for wiring retention, and at least on a USA NC700X, the serial number plate is not located on the steering head, nor is it riveted on. But maybe this photo is of a bike from a different world market, hence it does not match what I am used to seeing. My NC700X left side steering head is pictured below.
View attachment 43882

Handlebar risers, detached from the Honda bracket to gain length, then zipped to be tidy maybe?

 

[halfmt1]

So did they find the problem?

 

[foodog38]

Ok so i stopped by the other day and they explained to me that they have read out all the wires tip to tip and found none broken, California has put the ball in Japan's court, I guess I am done for the season, Dang It!!!!!!!!!