• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Checking plug caps and coils

  • Thread starter Thread starter UncleMike
  • Start date Start date
U

UncleMike

Guest
Okay, I'm moving onto electrical in trying to figure out what's wrong with this bike. Any chance I can get a short tutorial on how to pull the plug caps off the wires so that I don't damage anything? I just don't want to be twisting when I should be pulling, or pulling in the wrong place or anything.

And shouldn't I be testing voltage too? Where should I stick the ends of the multimeter? 1 & 4, 2 & 3 for the caps, right? But what should the multimeter be set at?

Thanks,
~Mike
 
And shouldn't I be testing voltage too? Where should I stick the ends of the multimeter? 1 & 4, 2 & 3 for the caps, right? But what should the multimeter be set at?

Thanks,
~Mike[/QUOTE]

The caps are tested for resistance (ohms). They may be marked as to how many ohms they should be rated for. I am only familiar with 5 or 10 K ohms. All you need to do for that is set your meter to ohms & put the probes in either side of the cap. I'm not sure if you can test for volts while the caps are connected to the wires or not.
 
There is a rubber boot to keep water out of the wire. Roll that back & unscrew the wire from the plug.
 
When I pulled off one of the caps, and set my multimeter to ohms 20K, it read at ~10.5L for a while, and now I can't get a reading on the cap. I'll stick the ends in and it will flash numbers only very briefly, and then not read anything.

Soooo frustrating.
 
Perhaps the multimeter just needs new batteries. Who knows.

I got the readings though.

#1 - 10.53L
#2 - 11L
#3 - 11.3L
#4 - 10.99L

This was with the multimeter set to ohms at 20K. Is this good?

Also, should I cut the plug wire back a bit to expose new copper? I can't even see any in some of the wires. Any special procedure?

Thanks for struggling along with me.

~Mike
 
The caps screw onto the leads so you don't want to just wiggle and pull off. And yes, cut back the lead a smig so you get good clean contact.

Not sure what to say about the resistance but since all caps seem the same, either all are good (likely) or all are bad.
 
Nessism said:
The caps screw onto the leads so you don't want to just wiggle and pull off. And yes, cut back the lead a smig so you get good clean contact.

Not sure what to say about the resistance but since all caps seem the same, either all are good (likely) or all are bad.
Click to expand...

Thanks. So that difference between 10.53 and 11.3 isn't something to worry about?

And is there any special procedure to cutting back the lead? Just use scissors?

Thanks again,
~Mike
 
UncleMike said:
Thanks. So that difference between 10.53 and 11.3 isn't something to worry about?

And is there any special procedure to cutting back the lead? Just use scissors?

Thanks again,
~Mike
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use scissors, or tin snips you probably won't get a clean cut and you need a nice flat surface with the wires snipped cleanly to rescrew in your plug cap. Use a good wire cutter.
 
I agree with the other gents. You only want to take off a SMALL amount, that way you do not shorten the wire too much. I would look at the end of the plug wire after you cut it to ensure that there is no corrosion. That can weaken the spark alot. If you see more after you cut it, you may want to consider cutting a bit more. But again, becareful how much you cut or you may end up buying a new set of coils unless your wires are able to come off of them. But unless they are aftermarket, they probably do not.
 
Sweet, thanks.

Just checking, but are my plug resistance readings okay? I'm a moron when it comes to electronics.
 
They seem to be fine to me. My only experience with them being bad is the resistance drops, so as long as they are where they are they should be fine.
 
louisciccoli said:
They seem to be fine to me. My only experience with them being bad is the resistance drops, so as long as they are where they are they should be fine.
Click to expand...

Meaning the resistance would drop while checking them?

Thanks again,
~Mike
 
No meaning that they would be lower than they are supposed to be overall. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I was just got back from AZ this afternoon.
 
louisciccoli said:
No meaning that they would be lower than they are supposed to be overall. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I was just got back from AZ this afternoon.
Click to expand...

No worries, I appreciate the help.

How was your trip?
 
No problem I'm glad to help when I can. It was good, except I didn't get to ride there. I went to see my kids in Mesa (east of Phoenix). It's kind of hard to cart them around (x2) on the back @ 2 & 4.5 years old.:-(
 
louisciccoli said:
No problem I'm glad to help when I can. It was good, except I didn't get to ride there. I went to see my kids in Mesa (east of Phoenix). It's kind of hard to cart them around (x2) on the back @ 2 & 4.5 years old.:-(
Click to expand...

At that small, you should be able to fit 'em both behind you! Just use a few more bungee cords.
 
Something about "state law" gets in the way of that though!#-o
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top