Trouble shooting no spark on a 2001 sportster

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tstapley

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Hey everyone,
I purchased a 2001 sportster that wasn't running due to no spark. The rear electrical box wasn't mounted and I have a question about the grounding plate that is underneath the rear box with two posts that come up to the top. I am wonder what the purpose of them are and what is supposed to attach to them. I can't seem to find them on any of the diagrams.

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Those are where you put the spark plugs wires when you are spinning the motor over for compression test etc. They are so you don't arc something you don't want to hit. Unless you have the spark plugs unhooked nothing goes there
 
Thanks snikwad003 this is my first seadoo and that helps a lot. I have been at this point not ruling anything out. I am sure I will have a few more questions after my next round of testing.
 
I looking for any pointers and I am hope someone can steer me in a direction and perhaps point out something I may be missing.

I have been doing some testing and keep running into a dead end I have been searching this and other forums for possible solutions. I have a couple questions but I will give some details first.

The motor was rebuilt by the previous owner and when it was reinstalled he couldn't get it fire (no spark). He replaced the stator and mpem. I just replaced the ignition coils with OEM ones from the dealer even those they tested ok because they had a bit of rust on them.

I get two beeps when the key is placed on the post and the battery is brand new and fully charged. The motor cranks and turns over strong (400-500 RPM's). I am getting .3 volts on the wires from the trigger coil when cranking which is in range of the .2v - .5v that is states in the shop manual.

The motor ground tests fine and I am getting 12.3 volts to the coils on the white wires. I have done a continuity test on all the wires from the plug on the mpem that lead back to the rear box and they all check out fine. The neutral safety switch is functioning all switches for lights, blower etc work and turn the accessories on and off.

All the fuses on the mpem are good along with the one in the rear box. All the pins in the connectors are clean and corrosion free.

I think things are leading back to a faulty mpem but I find it hard to believe that both of them can be faulty. There seems to be power and ground going to the mpem.

I have read that an ignition or kill switch itself could cause a no spark.
Could it be faulty even though the motor cranks when it is pressed? and would a faulty ignition switch cause a no spark condition? I will try to bypass the switch next.

Is there any other components that could cause a no spark or any other fuses somewhere that I may have missed. Is there any other wires or components that I should be testing?

Any pointers or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
I guess at this point I will remove the wiring harness and inspect every wire hoping to turn up a bad wire, connection, short or ground unless there is anyone with any other suggestions.
 
2 beeps, and the motors turning over eliminate the key or post. 2 bad mpems isn't shocking because how easy they are to smoke. I would still test the harness like you said to eliminate all possibilities. If the mpem is bad I would want to understand why so it didn't happen again, some of them all it takes is hook up the battery backwards and it lets the smoke out of the box and you can't get it back in. In my opinion you are on the right track, signal in-no signal out sounds mpem-ish to me
 
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Thanks again snikwadoo3. It is good to know that I am at least heading in the right direction. I am hoping that it isn't the mpem as they are getting harder to find for this year/model. If I have to replace it I will have to research other models/years that may be compatible.
 
If you're good with electrical stuff you could make one from a 951 ski work, that will eliminate the netural safety stuff the boat had that the ski doesn't. You can use 787 electronics but you have to drill a hole some where in the rave valve and use a trigger coil from a early 951. Hell if you do that you can use the msd enhancer. A 951 guy would have to shed light on that. I know if my ridiculously expensive twin 787 mpem bites it I'm going the MSD route.
 
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