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1982 gs550l bike wont run and coils only spark sometimes...HELP!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Defore
  • Start date Start date
D

Defore

Guest
Ok so I have two gs550s but building and restoring one of the two. The one im working on has 3k miles and the other has 2k. My bike just wont run. It turns over, Iv taken off the carbs and cleaned them 4 times, swapped the pick up and the coils and still nothing. WIm getting fuel in my bowls, flames out the pipes when it pops and backfires and when I spray starting fluid and it backfires thru the carbs the catches fire. my spark plugs are getting good spark then sometimes not then no spark at all. Basically sparks when it wants. all 4 coils are reading 5 ohms primary but I do not know how to test the secondary. Also both pick ups are reading 66 ohm. Ive also swapped CDIs with the other bike. Now the worse part. I go to show a friend I finally got her to turn over but instead she cranks up and runs. It was choked which I forgot so I started idling down the screw then not thinking I turned off the choke and she died. This has happen once before but she would only run on starting fluid. But this last time it ran on just gas. I was thinking coils but I dont want to assume then buy them and nothing work. Also if anyone has the book can someone tell me how to test the secondary coil, the rectifier, stator and pick up and what ohms all require. Thanks in advance.
 
Your carburetors need a proper clean and dip after stripping them completely.
 
You test the secondaries from end/end of the two plugs each one fires. So take the boots off plugs 2 and 3, and test from boot/boot. Then repeat for the coil firing 1 and 4. If it's way high (>50k ohms), try unscrewing the boots from the wires and testing them independently. The boots are supposed to be ~5k, but frequently they go bad and the resistances go way up.

Matchless is right, your carbs need to be clean. I know you SAID you cleaned them four times but a GSR member's idea of cleaning a carb and yours may be completely different. Did you take the carbs completely apart (except the butterflies) and dip each one in carb cleaner for 24 hours? If you didn't, you didn't clean your carbs.

Mr. Clymer says that the correct resistance for the sig gen is 60-80 ohms, so 66 is dialed right in there.
 
lol alright I didnt soak them so I will get right on that. Do I need to take all four apart or should I soak all four together with just the bowls, jets and floats out? Ok so i just tested all four coils at the 20k ohms setting because it wouldnt read on the 2k and heres what I got...12.28, 12.38, 12.38 and 12.47. So basically thats saying their all around 12,000 ohms?
Also this is my first post and so far Iv already been helped. Thanks a lot guys
 
Defore said:
lol alright I didnt soak them so I will get right on that. Do I need to take all four apart or should I soak all four together with just the bowls, jets and floats out? Ok so i just tested all four coils at the 20k ohms setting because it wouldnt read on the 2k and heres what I got...12.28, 12.38, 12.38 and 12.47. So basically thats saying their all around 12,000 ohms?
Also this is my first post and so far Iv already been helped. Thanks a lot guys
Click to expand...

You need to strip them completely, remove all jets, including the pilot screws. Make sure all the holes and orifices are open by shooting carb cleaner through them after dipping overnight. Replace all o-rings. Go here and find everything you need to know http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/
 
greetings and Salutations!!

greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Defore,

Welcome to the forum! It's good to see another classic Suzuki being taken care of.

Yes, please visit my little website. Use the link in the previous post or click on the link in my signature file. Start by reading the READ ME page. It contains a couple of maintenance lists of items that must be addressed in order to restore your bike to a safe, reliable, ridable condition. Use the proper procedures and (most of the time) real Suzuki OEM parts. Shortcuts will lead to frustration. I encourage you to do it right the first time.

Everything starts with properly cleaned carbs. They must be completely disassembled, all the metal parts dipped in parts cleaner for 24 hours, all of the openings sprayed first with carb cleaner then compressed air, and finally reassembled with a new O-ring kit from http://cycleorings.com. You'll find links to step-by-step processes on my website. If you have any questions, just ask in the appropriate sections. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Thanks a lot everyone Im defiantly going to pull off the carbs and reclean/soak them. About those coils are the ohms too high? And does anyone have a set of air jets. I have three 50's and one 40. Their the jets on the out side of the intake side. Also a retrofit petcock?
 
What were you measuring? You gave four, but should only have two readings for the secondary: one between plugs 2 and 3, and the other between plugs 1 and 4. Are your coils stock?
 
Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Defore,

Here is your "official" un-official "mega-welcome". ;)

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/electrical_odd-n-ends.html#A10Let me dump a TON if information on you and share some GS lovin'. :D

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.
big_hi.gif


If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....
hat1.gif


Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

carpet.jpg


Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike! :D

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Defore said:
....
........ Ok so i just tested all four coils ....
Click to expand...

Four coils?

I will say again what has been said before, but maybe say it slightly differently:
Measure from 1 cap to 4 cap.
And measure from 2 cap to 3 cap.
(that would be measuring two coils)
SHould be about 35 to 40 K the factory specs say, but not more, and not lots less.
Mine have measured at 30K, and each cap right at 5k.

Can measure each cap seperatly, they twist pull off. SHould be about 5k each. They can go bad and go real high or completly open. Seems to me that they fail more than a coil would. Caps only cost about $5 each, and are NKG aftermarket avaialable at most mo'cycle shops (dont need to be Zuki shop). 1&4 are differetn part number than 2&3 only beacuse 1&4 are shorter.

When you put caps back on, look at end of wire to see that the wire is acuaully there to make contact with the probe on the cap. Some folks recommend cutting wire back 1/4 inch or so to expose new fresh wire.

.

.
 
Last edited:
Yes stock coils but Iv been pulling parts off of my other 82 gs550 also not running. Iv been testing parts off of both bikes to make 1 running 1. But yes I tested both of my 1-4 coils and both of my 2-3 coils. and all were around 12.2ohms when I had the meter set at 20k ohms. This was done with the caps of the plug wires.
 
Defore said:
Yes stock coils but Iv been pulling parts off of my other 82 gs550 also not running. Iv been testing parts off of both bikes to make 1 running 1. But yes I tested both of my 1-4 coils and both of my 2-3 coils. and all were around 12.2ohms when I had the meter set at 20k ohms. This was done with the caps of the plug wires.
Click to expand...

I would think that reading is 12.2K ohms.

Would not think all four or your coils (2 from one bike, two from another) would all be bad.

Mine meausure 30K with the caps on the wires, so at 5k for each cap, that would be about 20K for the coil itself.




Defore said:
.....
.................. This was done with the caps of the plug wires.
Click to expand...

caps OFF the wires?
or measured with the caps ON the wires?



.
 
DO you have a CLymer manaul? A Suzuki factory manaul?

There is a way to test the coils and the ignitor (the entire ignition system except for the pickup) by connecting your meter (set on ohm scale) inplace of the pick up and it should make one coil spark, and then you connect meter in other polarity and should make other coil spark. The voltage the meter puts out simulates the signal from the pickup and that triggers the rest of the ignition system. I dont recall the specific details. See if you can find that.

.
 
Thanks a lot. Thats with the caps off because I couldn't get a reading at all with the caps on. I just went ahead and got another set of coils because I know soon these will go out. I figured now i have a back up set. I waiting for them to get it. The problem I was having is that it would sometimes have a good spark and some times not have a spark at all. it ran fine 2 times and sounded like the timing was fine. Iv just almost completely restored this thing I just got to get it running!
 
Look back at post #3. Caps are about $5/ea.


There's no reason to expect that your coils will spontaneously go bad - especially if you have two pairs to swap in.
 
The resistance you're looking for is 30K to 40K ohms approximately. Therefore, you need to set your meter to the next setting higher than 40K ohms. On my meter that is 200K ohms. 20K ohms is too low of a setting but if it actually gave the 12 ohm readings, maybe that is the true reading.
 
So the stock OEM caps just twist-pull off? I need to check mine. Just wanted to be sure before I break something.
 
Well, I just pulled the caps off a coil that measured 36K ohms. Measuring without the caps, I goth 12.8K ohms similar to what Defore got. Does that mean the stock caps actually have about 12 k ohms each or does it mean the coils are weak and the extra resistance in the caps was hiding it? Any chance anybody else could measure the wire to wire resistance in a known good coil with the caps off? Seems like quite a coincidence that I got the same value that Defore got on several coils.
 
I just want to say this site and the ppl on it are amazing. I bought a set of coils but they were over heating so the ebay member gave me a full refund. Thank god because all 4 of the small caps weren't putting out any resistance. Thank you everyone for your help.
 
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