Coils flippin' hot! - Replace?

[Guest]

Hello,

I have a 1981 GS450 that has point coils ( I know that most 1981s don't have point coils but I am in South Africa and this one certainly does!). The coils has these little condensers on the ends of them (see attached)
Capture.jpg

The other day I was running my motorcycle with the tank off (doing some carb testing) and I accidentally put my hand on the right coil and it nearly burnt the damn thing off. I touched the left coil and it was not hot at all. I have been having issues with the bike running after it is warmed up, could this be the issue - bad coil? The thing is, after I felt how hot it was, I pulled the right spark plug to check for spark and a seemingly health blue spark was coming from it.

So, I guess my questions are:

1) Are coils supposed to get this hot? (Literally, would have blistered my hand if I left it there longer)
2) If they are, why would one get hotter than the other one?
3) Is it weird that it gets so hot, but the spark coming out of the plug looks ok?
4) If this is not a good thing that is happening, where can I buy some new aftermarket coils or do I have to search for used ones? (remember it has those little condensers on the ends of them)

Thanks in advanced!

[Brendan W]

Not supposed to be hot. Have you checked the primary resistance of both coils.
Should have 3 - 5 Ohm in there. Much less and you probably have an internal short.
The correct resistance if not on a thread here should be in here somewhere http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[tom203]

Does this thing also have condensers next to the contact points? Are they laying flat or sticking up?

[benjo]

Not supposed to be hot. Have you checked the primary resistance of both coils.
Should have 3 - 5 Ohm in there. Much less and you probably have an internal short.
The correct resistance if not on a thread here should be in here somewhere http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

I have check primary and secondary resistance when cold and hot. At both states the primary is 4.8 and the secondary is around 17-18. I don't know what the issue is...

[benjo]

Does this thing also have condensers next to the contact points? Are they laying flat or sticking up?

I will check and get back to you ASAP. What would this influence if I had either/or?

[benjo]

Can anyone recommend where I can buy the specific coils new? I would like to buy new ones, but I am finding it very tough to find these coils with the condensers on the end.
Thank you!

[benjo]

Does this thing also have condensers next to the contact points? Are they laying flat or sticking up?

Here is a picture of my points. I don't see condensers anywhere....
IMG_1248.jpg

[tom203]

Me neither! What a dumb (and distant) way to mount condensers .
Check out the usa 1979 gs425 layout.. same dumb system,probably same ignitioncoil "assembly"

http://www.alpha-sports.com/spst/1979%20GS425L/11.htm?q=suzuki-parts

[benjo]

Me neither! What a dumb (and distant) way to mount condensers .
Check out the usa 1979 gs425 layout.. same dumb system,probably same ignitioncoil "assembly"

http://www.alpha-sports.com/spst/197...q=suzuki-parts

Dude! Super helpful! I took a picture of my coils and it looks like the 1979 GS425 has the exact same coils as mine. Here are some coils for the GS425 I found online: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1977-1979-SU...9Y3Tu8&vxp=mtr

IMG_1251.jpg