Bad coil

[Giblet]

My GK has developed a miss at idle #-oand sometimes at speed. I checked the primary & secondary windings on the coils. Per the factory manual, primary is supposed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 ohms (mine are 7ohms #1/#4 & 9 ohms #2/#3). Secondary is supposed to be 30-40k ohms. #1/#4 is 35k and #2/#3 is 109k. I get approx 35 millivolt from the igniter to the primary coil on #2/#3 (#1/#4 is close to 12V). The signal generator also ohms out good per the factory manual at 141 ohms on both pairs. Spec say 140-200 ohms. I pretty much know I'll be replacing the OEM coil(s), which are only 2 or 3 years old, which I assume I'll have to do to properly test the igniter. I'm wondering if I should just chuck the whole mess and get a complete new ignition system and if Z1enterprises could set me up with everything I need. Any suggestions or advice will be appreciated. Whatever it costs is still cheaper than a new bike =D> .

[DickV]

I have a '82GS450 that had an ignition problem after the R/R went bad. Once I checked the signal generator and the ignitor and both appeared good, I checked the resistances of the coils and got readings in or close to spec. I am convinced coils need to be checked under load, they can be bad when the resistance readings are in or close to spec. I took the coils to a local Suzuki dealer who had a coil checker. The test took about 5 minutes and turned out both coils were bad. I replaced both coils with OEM parts (expensive, but known to be good) and the bike runs well now. Good luck!

[Giblet]

Dick, just stumbled onto your post http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...oil+resistance and got a couple of questions answered about how the ignition system functions. Just wanted to say "Thanks!". I may not have a big problem after all. The miss was gone this AM so something I unplugged/plugged Monday night must have fixed it. I'm going to completely replace the wires from the igniter to the coils/starter switch and see if it stays gone.

[DickV]

The coils on my '82 GS450 caused intermittent failure of the ignition system for a while. Then I could not get the engine started at all and I got serious about finding the cause. The key for me was to have the coils tested with appropriate equipment at a local Suzuki dealership. I'm glad the info was helpful.
DickV