centauro won't spark

[chris a]

Back in West Cork Ireland and been trying to get a good freinds V10 centauro to start.

There are no sparks on either coil and prior to my envolvement another mate got it running for a short while by cleaning the connectors. This guy reckons that the ecu could well be faulty and we are looking for someone in either the republic or UK who could test and repaire the ecu if needed.Thye bike used to run lovely and has probebly been rechipped at an early date but still has the standard colostomy bag and exhausts.

Cheers !

[raz]

If he got it running a short while, my guess is the ECU is fine. When it does not run, is the fuel pump still priming?

 

Maybe the camshaft position sensor is bad, or just it's connection. You can measure it with a multimeter, it should be 680 ohms ±10%. If cleaning the connectors doesn't help, maybe try dismounting the sensor and clean it.

 

Check out the error codes from the ECU (see WHB, downloadable at various places including from the site in my signature)

[Murray]

I think there is also a crank postion sensor as well that can produce the same symptoms.

[chris a]

Well the pump definatly primes .We will check out the senser but he doesn't have the unit to check the codes with.

The bike lives right next to the Ocean so the air is very salty...the state my T3 got in and still ran perfectly was remarcable !!

Thanks

[raz]

I think there is also a crank postion sensor as well that can produce the same symptoms.

That is the one I meant. On the Sporti it's really a camshaft position sensor, but it's often called crank position sensor. On the carby it was a crank position sensor (only used for ignition timing).

 

Well the pump definatly primes .We will check out the senser but he doesn't have the unit to check the codes with.

The bike lives right next to the Ocean so the air is very salty...the state my T3 got in and still ran perfectly was remarcable !!

Thanks

You don't need anything to check the diagnostic LED, except this workshop handbook. You follow the instructions for enabling the test LED (that already sits on the bike), watch it's blinks and parse them using the table.

[Guest gyles]

I think there is also a crank postion sensor as well that can produce the same symptoms.

 

I would definately check the crank phase sensor first... they are not expensive items and really you should carry a spare if you are ever touring (like you'd carry spare points/condensor on an older guzzi). From memory they are 2 or 3 pin items available so just unclip the connector and count the pins and then order one. They either work or don't, so I'd check this first.

 

That said, if you had any swarf build up on the tip of the phase sensor that could also cause problems. Sorry, but if you are unsure the Crank Phase Sensor is the black pastic unit mounted on the front - top of the engine casing just behind the timing chest and on the LHS of the casing (if you are sat on the bike). Uses 2 x 4mm (allen key size) bolts.

 

I had the same non spark issue on my Daytona RS last year mid season - as it turns out it WAS the ECU, but don't despair they are not expensive second hand - £100 ish on ebay - in fact I have a couple of spare ones if you wanted to buy one if the Crank Phase Sensor is not the problem.

 

Cheers,

 

Gyles

[chris a]

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. Dave and I rarely have time off simultaneously so nothing further has been attempted yet.

Another thing I can't figure out is where the blinking lights are on the ecu .As I understood it, you plug the testing lights into the ECU but we dont appear to have the plug in.This is my first experiance with injection systems as i've always avoided that stuff as I know that there will be some learning curve to tackle...now's the time !!!

Chris

[raz]

Another thing I can't figure out is where the blinking lights are on the ecu .As I understood it, you plug the testing lights into the ECU but we dont appear to have the plug in.This is my first experiance with injection systems as i've always avoided that stuff as I know that there will be some learning curve to tackle...now's the time !!!

Read about "check lamp" in WHB page 116. Everything you need is permanently mounted on your bike! There is an "unused" 3-pin connector (with a cap) on the harness, close to the ECU. This is the "diag connector". Right next to it, there is a plug for that connector strapped to the harness. No cables go from this plug to the harness, because it is just a jumper between two of the three pins.

 

The "lamp" is located next to the relays, not on the ECU itself. It's a red 5 mm LED.

 

So, you connect that plug to the diag connector with ignition ON but engine not running. If the LED starts blinking, follow the instructions in the WHB page 116 on for parsing it. If not, there are no error codes stored.

[callison]

Under the relays, there is a single pole AMP connector, #49 on 1996_Centauro.gif that will pretty much kill everything when it gets a little resistance from age and corrosion. Pull it apart and put it back together a few times to wipe the contact surfaces and see if that does the trick. Just something more to check. Sigh...