SimonC

Yep that certainly sounds plauseable. Next time I buy some oil I'll ask him how it works and post the details. Also got off the ground today for the first time since it failed!!

any old thing considered Cheers Simon

Hi All thanks for your support - what would we do without the web! Kev - No probs here are the numbers... New one - 42 5479 U/S - 54 5087 U/S - 54 2286 The old battery box had some evidence of a previous 'serious coil malfunction' with a 2p sized scorch mark imediately behind the coil. What I didn't mention above was why both the coils and stator were goosed at the same time. I will try and find out. I will of course post any findings. Cheers Simon

Right then - at last - got it running last night and after a warm up revved it's feckin tits off!!!!! So - tested the HT coil at bike shop - tested OK...... Sent the stator off for rewinding £90..... Got it back - connected primary coil directly to HT coil - still no spark... Visited a couple of bike shops - looks like a beta unit - £145.00 Gulp Can only try if you buy so I left it and contacted (by recommendation of the bike shop) another rewinder. He was mega helpful and explained the subtleties Emailed factory to ask about a replacement stator and what the resistance was so I could get the old one rewound to the correct spec.... no reply - this was over a week ago More research... Found IDM website in Italy and emailed them as it looked like it was an IDM HT/Stator combo manufactured by them. Got a reply straight back from IDM in Italy suggesting I contact Parajet! I had checked out their site before but didnt see the stator. Its EXACTLY THE SAME!!!!!! Well it was on the photo anyway. Great service from Parajet. I ordered it and it came next day TNT. About £45.00 Installed it and coupled it straight to the HT coil as before. Cranked over the engine and still no spark. It was now time to set fire to everything and move onto something less frustrating. So only thing left was to try a new coil and ideally one from Parajet as it would defo be compatible with the new stator. Phoned them again and more great service - it arrived next day and is EXACTLY the same as both the old HT coils from the Walkerjet. Again £45 ish. I was late for an appointment but wanted to test the resistance at least before I left. Putting the meter across the new coil gave me a reading of 1314ohms..... (as opposed the the old ones at ~340ohms).................. I think we found the problem. I got back home ASAP by 19.30hours and the rest is history... So for anyone else with Walkerjet problems heres some concise info which had I know earlier would not have caused me to miss so many flying opportunities over the last nearly 2 months... It is my opinion and no warranties are given - info is subject to change and all without prejudice - yawn. 1 - The relay in the batt box is for switching in the power circuit for the starter motor and that's all. 2 - The kill and start switches are in my opinion ergonomically the wrong way round. Swapping the wiring inside the handgrip was easy and did not affect anything else. Both are push to make switches and do the same electronic job with different physical interface. 3 - Emailing the factory and asking questions is at best hit and miss and for technical detail has been a dead loss. 4 - To the best of my knowledge the Parajet ignition components are identicle to the WJ 5 - Parts Coil CDI/Secondary Coil/HT Coil - whatever you like to call it. It's made by IDM in italy http://www.idm-srl.it/indexEng.asp Available from Parajet... http://www.parajet.com/shopmag/spare-pa ... -unit.html To test it set your meter to the 2000ohms Scale and if it reads ~ 1314ohms or thereabouts its probably OK. If it reads as low as 340 ohms it's goosed. Stator Stator - consists of 3 charging coils and a primary/pulse coil. The primary coil sits at 6 O'Clock and has a tape and varnish covering. To test the primary coil put your meter across the black+red and the blue wire and you should get ~280ohms. Obviously you can test it without taking the flywheel off. Just disconnect the speakon from the batt box etc... To get to the stator the large nyloc needs to come off in the centre of the flywheel. (The flywheel contains 4 magnets set into its inner circumference. The starter ring gear is fastened with machine screws to the back of the flywheel). To 'pull' the flywheel off its tapered shaft (end of the crank shaft) usually takes a lot of force so forget it without using a puller/correct flywheel remover. The bike shop had a big tool drawer full of screw in pullers but none fitted this flywheel - typical. I invested in a set of three legged pullers from a cheap tool shop for only a tenner and the large one did the trick. The legs did have to grip the back of the ring gear which was not ideal but In this case the flywheel came off with no damage. Watch for the key in the keyway on the tapered shaft. If you loose this there will be tears. Also if you dont know how to use a puller ask a mechanic etc.. The stator is also available from Parajet.. http://www.parajet.com/shopmag/spare-pa ... -coil.html For ref the charging regulator and the relay in the WJ batt box also look identicle to the units on the PJ site. If you want your stator rewinding contact Steve at http://www.uk-motoplat.com/home.html. He didnt rewind mine but comes highly recommended and gave me loads of advice. Cheers Simon

Hi Chap - I have tried another cap and choped back the HT lead and remade the end. Also checked for a spark at the plug with the lights off in the garage. After all this fannying about I'm pretty sure its the primary coil :-/

Hi Guys - the nightmare continues... I got a quick reply from the factory saying they thought it was the stator and they could supply a new one 46 euro plus 20% tax and shipping. I had aready sent it to be rewound in the UK. I have the rewound stator but thats not pushing enough out to get a spark across the plug electrode. Its defo trying as (with plug cap removed) you can see very tiny sparks if you hold the HT lead just off the block. So after hauling the PM round in the van I found a local bike dealer yesterday in the next village (the irony..) who also thought it was a beta stator. A quick trip into his stock room and he produced a new one and a rewound unit to compare. They are almost Identicle. The iron core and plastic bobbins are the same along with the mounting holes. The wiring comes off the coils in the same place too but the jointing is different. I could not buy the rewound unit (£125.00 exchange) as I didnt have an 'identicle' Beta unit to swap. I did not want to buy the new one (£145.00 ) as I dont trust a new one and I could not get a refund if it didnt work in situe... The guys a the bike shop recomended another rewinding firm as they didnt have good things to say about the guys I have already used so recommended another... So I am now waiting for replies from... ...the WJ factory to confirm what the resistance should be across a new primary coil (I asked them originally but either forgot to tell me or dodged the question so I would buy one from them). ...the rewinders I have used to ask why their rewind looks less stacked than the original windings or the other two Beta units I saw yesterday. (We think that it needs more windings so it gives a bigger pulse). ...the suggested rewinders to see if they can supply a rewound one without supplying an exchange unit. What a load of time consuming crap for what is basically a lawn mower. I defo would not now buy a PM without knowing about the parts support in the UK. It is pityful. At the end of this lot I expect to know where I can source all the bits locally and for the best price. I also think the standard stators are pants. Not just my opinion but everyone who has had dealings with these stators. It has been said that the copper used is poor quality and can fail after only minimum use. It is my intention to only fly with a quality rewound unit NOT an original under any circumstances. Naming no names but after watching a video of the assembly of another very well know british made PM the stator unit looks identical to that one too!!! More details as I have them Cheers S This is the Beta Stator for info...

Hi Guys - I got an old batt pack and Coil to try but alas exactly the same problem. I am managing to get a weak spark between the plug threads and the engine (earth). God knows how that works. We isolated the pulse generator coil and connected it straight to the HT coil and earthed the other terminals on both coils to the engine with new wires - same again. Also tried a 3rd plug with no change. I tested the pulse generator coil at 292ohms. I contacted a rewiring company by email and they came back to me today suggesting it looked like a Beta unit and should be resisting at 380ohms ish. Bike shop said it looked like a Beta unit and they are 'a bit crap' even new out of the box they are not too reliable. So I'm sending the stator off to them tomorrow for an £80 rewind to be on the safe side. After all it's flying machine and if they can fail like that on the ground it could fail anytime. Again it might not be the cause but I have tried everything now without trying a 3rd set of components. Fingers crossed!!! Whitters - I have tested it with and without both battery packs and the handgrip connected and disconnected and it makes no difference but thanks for the heads up. DG - good point. I checked the integrity of the wires (meter) and all seem fine. The wires on mine are routed through one of the webs in the engine mount casting. The hole has a grommet and extra sheathing for info. Cheers Si

Spookily at the time you posted the above I was in the local motorbike shop with the coil sat on his box of tricks looking at a spark from the HT lead that would knock a T Rex over!!! So it's not the coil.... I have been snowed in/comitted to child care duties due to the weather hence no progress. I'm taking the motor in on Sat morning so we can get the flywheel off and check the pulse generator etc... Everyone is telling me to swap the switches back but I just wont do it!!! ) More news as I have it.... S

bearing in mind I really am a numpty when it comes to electronics I got the following results. test 1 - On the 2000ohms scale on my meter I get a reading of 340 across both terminals (spades) test 2 - From either terminal and the HT lead on the 2000k ohms scale I get 004 on each terminal It appears these figures are outside limits described in a previous coil test post so would confirm its goosed?? Sanity check anyone?? ta Si

Hi Chap - I read your thread before I bought my machine! I wasn't too worried about any of the mechanical aspects. My brother races 2 strokes and we have had bikes all our lives. I have owned Lotuses for a long time and if you know how fragile they can be you will understand (I have 2 with engines out at the moment). I have also done stacks of conventional fixed wing flying over 21 years so am familiar with 'flying machines'. The WJ came to light via a friend of a friend. Cutting a long story short I started training last year with loads of GH with Paul Haxby in Doncaster (top chap). Weather and time prevented a full run at the training but I managed to blag a trip to Annecy, France with a new team of 'mates' to observe their silly leaping off a hillside antics. I intended a bit more GH while they did their thing. Ended up doing a tandem then, with a borrowed Sky Fides, took the leap myself several times - a great buzz. I did some basic training with another student - an ex Dutch Starfighter and current Airline pilot. We were as apprehensive as each other!!! Anyway with my new found 'knackers' I went straight back to Paul and did my PM Solo the week after. I then went to look at the WJ again and bought it straight away. It looked bang on and to be fair it is mint. My friends had said it was 'a bit heavy but the power is stunning'. The build quality seems very good and the finish matches the build quality. I however have no experience with any other PM machines so I'm commenting based on my car, bike and other flying machinery experience. The power really is its best feature and I suppose even if ones technique is shoddy one can get away with a pants Toff. It has started first time every time. I have been around it a couple of times to make sure everything is tight and all ok. I was astounded when it failed as it had been bang on every time. I am used to 'mechanical dissapointment' so I took the experience fairly well The adverse torque is a bit of a pig but have tended to sort that once airborne with the LH trim (Bought an APCO Thrust 09). Other than that and the weight its great. As discussed above the handgrip is not ideal and I can feel a custom job coming on when I get the time. I have swapped the switches and this is the best improvement so far. I'm not sure the single trigger thing is the best solution as my finger soon gets cold. The action is not smooth and no matter what I do to the cable or the trigger its shill Sh*te!!! Compared with the old Sky Fides I was using to Glide with the Apco is a total dream especially getting the wing up wearing all that kit and carrying a sherman tank on ones back. So I will try the new coil first then start replacing bits in the pack - well that if this snow ever melts and I can get out of the house Cheers S

Hi Pete thanks for the reply. Yes the handgrip is as you describe. The rocker lends itself to the start function and the other to the kill. I cant for the life of me understand why they were in the former configuration??? Luckily I have another identicle coil to try hopefully on Thursday. If I get chance I will retest the existing coil before then and report back. Cheers Simon

Hi Guys - thanks in advance if u read throught this lot I have a WJ RR 200cc. Its second hand but honestly looks new. I know the original owner and he had it from new but only did around 5 hours. I have done about 5 hours since first going solo a few months back. It has been faultless every start. The only failed starts were due to me forgetting to prime it. I rewired the kill and start switches on the throttle/handgrip yesterday. (I did this as the existing config was to my mind feckin stupid. The side rocker was the kill - almost impossible to use safely - and the push button on the top was the start - again stupid as it was easy to inadvertently push) I 'simply' swapped the wires from one switch to the other - de soldered and re soldered. Didnt get chance to test start it last night so went straight to the field this morning (Dohhhhhhhhhhhhh). It turned over (with the 'new' start rocker switch) but would not fire. Cleaned plug New plug No spark at all Its now in bits.... As both switches are 'push to make' a circuit I cant see how that can have done anything to cause the failure to start. I am fairly mechanically minded although elastictrickery is another matter. So I had an electrician mate check the continuity of the wiring from the handgrip down to the speakon connector and all tickety boo (also consulted the wiring diagram). We had the battery box apart and all 'looked' ok. The start switch cranked the motor over so the relay is fine. The rectifier is probably ok as I have only charged it once when I first got it. As the motor usually fires first kick ie probably by 2 cycles max it could be goosed but looking at the diagram I cant see how it would affect starting (only charging). So with the plug out we hand swung the prop at a fair rate and got (I think) 40v from the mag/dynamo. From that I'm thinking its the coil pack/cdi. I hope to try a new one this week but any other feedback would be appreciated. I did read this thread before posting.. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3762&p=24323&hilit=walkerjet+electric+pack#p24323 Cheers Simon