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Checking coils, got a shock!

  • Thread starter Thread starter UncleMike
  • Start date Start date
t3rmin said:
That kind of voltage may or may not work depending on whether it gets worse when hot, the condition of your coils/wires/caps/plugs, the tuning of your carbs, etc. etc.
Click to expand...

I agree, mine happened like that. I had initially approx. 9v on the coils (after cleaning raised it better). Turning ignition on drops battery voltage quite much, so they require power. On high revs it charges coils even more frequently.

I threw away breaker points (installed transistorized ignition) and even bought new coils for sure. This made my bike work fine for 1000km, but after failure came back again. (very hot summer day). It was just so long time time that I even suspected cam chain etc. Specially because I was able to ride below 3000rpm gently trottle.

Boyer's aftermarket ignition sparks all the cylinders every 180 degrees, so it requires power for 4 sparks at the time, and now afterwards it is obvious why removing cyl 1&4 helped sparking number 2 and 3.

Back to issue:
actually I missed the point, what was the symptom in the first place what made you checking coils etc. I mean knowing what is going on, keep us focused on your problem better. I just wanted to share some experiences of my gs850g mystical case which seemed to be after all quite simple when it was resolved..

First time when my problem occured:
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=91026

Here it happened again...
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=96323
 
Thanks. Any input is appreciated.

I'm diving into the headlight bucket today to check all those connections. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

~Mike
 
Headlight bucket has two terminations with no connection.

There is one with two brown wires connected to the female end of a bullet connector, and it's not attached to anything.

Second is two black wires with white stripes, also connected to the female end of a bullet connector and not attached to anything.

What the hell?
 
Into the kill switch/starter now and it's open but there doesn't seem to be anything to clean. All the connections are soldered.

Anyone wanna attempt a step-by-step for an idiot?
 
That's it. There's nothing more to be done if you've cleaned all the connectors in the back, in the headlight bucket, and in the ignition switch and kill switch. If there's nothing to clean in the ignition or kill switch then there's nothing to clean...

Short of replacing the entire wiring harness, if you haven't got 12v to the coils now, you'll need to go the relay route.
 
I've got 11.7v now. I haven't gone into the kill switch because I didn't have time to undo the instrument cluster today.

Now to test the coils again to make sure they're okay.
 
UncleMike said:
Headlight bucket has two terminations with no connection.

There is one with two brown wires connected to the female end of a bullet connector, and it's not attached to anything.

Second is two black wires with white stripes, also connected to the female end of a bullet connector and not attached to anything.

What the hell?
Click to expand...
The brown wires are lighting related and my bike has them too. Just there for some auxiliary lighting or something. The black/white wires are extra grounds. Nothing to worry about.
 
Billy Ricks said:
The brown wires are lighting related and my bike has them too. Just there for some auxiliary lighting or something. The black/white wires are extra grounds. Nothing to worry about.
Click to expand...

Thanks brother. You have no idea how many compliments you've gotten throughout this whole process. People really think highly of you on this board.
 
I've got 11.7v at the coils, but I still can't manage to get a resistance reading through the caps. I've got the ignition on and the kill switch set to run and I'm sticking the ends of the multimeter in the #1 and #4 plug caps. Multimeter set to 20K ohms. It gets no reading, but will intermittently flash all kinds of weird numbers for a second, everything from 4.6v to 18.3v. But only for a second.

There's still something making the rear running light blink out when I rev the engine, and I'm getting really, really tired. I just want to ride. It's not fun anymore. It's not fun knowing that anytime I come to a stop or slow down or even shift ffs, I have to worry about whether the bike is gonna stall out on me. It's not fun and it's not safe and it's frustrating as all hell.

I got the new r/r installed and it's charging fine, but it's gonna short out again because I can't find the damned short making the rear running light blink out occassionally when revving.

This can't be carbs, it can't be valves, it can't be compression, because it's not consistent, right? It's gotta be electrical. If I'm getting 11.7v at the coils, then the coils must be bad, no? I just want a reliable ride and I'm about ready to put a freakin' bullet in her.

Actually I'm ready to buy a running bike, but then I go down there and look at her and she's just everything I want right there already,...SHE JUST WON'T RUN RIGHT!

Thanks for letting me spout off.

Mike
 
You don't need the ignition on for resistance readings. Just make sure you get contact inside the plug caps. If you need to screw the caps off the wires and measure at the wire core. Measurements can be adjusted for the lack of caps.
 
Billy Ricks said:
You don't need the ignition on for resistance readings. Just make sure you get contact inside the plug caps. If you need to screw the caps off the wires and measure at the wire core. Measurements can be adjusted for the lack of caps.
Click to expand...

I'm definitely getting contact, but no reading. Isn't it bad to keep unscrewing the caps from the wires?
 
You probably need to switch your multimeter to the next highest resistance setting. 20k ohm may be too low. Switch it to 200k or whatever your next highest setting is. The correct reading for stock coils with caps is 30-35k ohm according to my Suzuki shop manual, so that's too high for the 20k setting.

By the way 11.7v at the coils will probably be OK.
 
Not sure what type of meter you're using. Do you need to switch the probes to another set of jacks on the meter to test resistance?
 
Billy Ricks said:
Not sure what type of meter you're using. Do you need to switch the probes to another set of jacks on the meter to test resistance?
Click to expand...

No idea. There are a bunch of esoteric dials and knobs and symbols that I will NEVER understand.

I'll play around.
 
UncleMike said:
No idea. There are a bunch of esoteric dials and knobs and symbols that I will NEVER understand.

I'll play around.
Click to expand...
You may need to move the positive probe to another jack. If it has multiple jacks look for one with the ohm symbol.
 
Moved it up to 200K and I'm getting a reading. I did 1 & 4 first and it was wandering all over. Started showing 22.5 and then fluctuated between 21 and 24.

I moved to 2 & 3 and got a steady reading of 21.6. Moved back to 1 & 4 and got the same. Very steady 21.6.

How do those numbers look? They are with the plug caps on, and they're brand new.

Also, I was talking with an electrically inclined friend of mine, and he was thinking that since my rear running light is only blinking out when I'm revving the engine, something else might be stealing enough current to cut it out temporarily. Perhaps these faulty coils?

Thanks,
Mike
 
Yeah your resistance is about 10k too low I think. As I understand it, sometimes when the coils fail they short out in their windings somewhere and the resistance is reduced (less windings for the current to go through). The coils might be drawing more current like that, but I doubt it'd make your tail light go out -- dim maybe, but not go out.

If your tail light goes out when you rev the motor, something else is amiss. Don't have a clue as to what it could be, though...
 
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