Don,
No argument from me, I guess my original point was that if your mechanic had been told that my condensor was leaky, it would most likely have changed his diagnosis and his prediction that the problem would recur.
I still agree with Fred on the coil. I think that coils are often replaced because they are difficult to diagnose without a good understanding of how they work and how to test them.
In any case, given a choice between a condensor and a coil, if I had no way of testing either one, I would allways try a new condensor first because almost any ignition condensor will work, at least until the points burn, so a substitute test is easy, and coils are much more specific and expensive.
On the other hand, I never assume that a coil will never fail, as you can see from Ree's latest posts.
In case anyone is holding thier breath waiting for the answer to your puzzler, here is a copy of your email to me:
Hi,Ron! No, your thinking too hard.It's a `down to
earth,run of the mill noise.I'm just mentioning it
because I was so surprised at the problem.Here's what
happened.I went out to take a long planned moped
excursion(over 60 miles)and when I tried to fire it
up,I couldn't get it to go.I checked for spark and it
was really weak.Now i'm like you,thinking
;Wire,coil,spark plug,points,etc.,when I decide to
crank it really hard by pedaling fast .I heard this
crazy noise like the `Wheel of Fortune'game show has
as the `clicker-pointer'strikes the pegs as the wheel
is rotated.I kept pedaling,put my ear down closer,and
the noise was coming from the horn! It turned out that
the switch failed closed and it drew so much current
that the total magneto charge wouldn't create enough
spark.How's that for strange? So,everybody out there
who has a weak spark should check for a current bleed
off also.This bike has a horn which really draws a lot
of current.I'm wondering if maybe age is getting the
better of it,but it works fine.Just thought I'd share
this weird little occurrence with you guys.BYE!
>
I have to admit that this is a wierd one. Normally, the horn would run from a completely different winding than the ignition. Are you able to find this connection on the wiring diagram, or is it possibly a short in the wiring?
My Motobecanes blow the horn if the run stop switch is in the stop position, but that is because it closes the horn contacts at the same time as it grounds the ignition (they are both on the same switch). If you try to start it, it quacks to let you know that the ignition is off. The down side is that when you turn the switch off the horn makes a noise like a duck being choked.
Ron