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Coil relay mod question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
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Guest

Guest
Most coil relay mod instructions suggest opening up the harness and splicing into it in order to power the relay. Is there any reason why I couldn?t just remove one orange/white connector from a coil and use it to power the relay, either with a direct connection or with an extension wire from the coil connector to the relay (depending on where the relay is mounted)? The other orange/white coil connector would just be removed and taped up. Then new wires would be ran from the relay directly to the coils, providing power from the battery. This method would be easily reversible to stock. I?m sure someone must?ve done this, but my searches turned up nothing.

Cheers!
K
 
I was working on this yesterday but didnt get too far. Basically just gathered things and figured locations for the relay and fuse. The way I understood it was to trace the orange and white wires back to a single connection and power the relay from there, but cutting into the harness isn't something I wanted to rush through with company coming over in a couple of hours.

I'll be interested to see other replies here.
 
That method would work absolutely perfectly. :encouragement:

But, before you do that, what voltage did you have at the coils, compared to what was at the battery? :-k

While you are checking voltages, check the voltage on both sides of every fuse in the fusebox.

Before you start the bike, power comes from the battery, through a couple of connections to the MAIN fuse in the fusebox. From there, it goes through a couple of connections to the ignition key, then comes back through a couple more connections to power the orange wire that feeds the rest of the fusebox. The IGNITION fuse is right next to the MAIN fuse, compare the voltage on its "dead" side with the voltage at the MAIN fuse right next to it. I'll bet they don't compare very well. The power then continues through a couple more connections up to the KILL switch, then through a couple more connections to the coils. Check the voltage there, compare that with the voltage at the fuses. This will show you where your voltage is dropping and whether the relay mod will really make a difference.

Quite often, the biggest voltage drop is in the ignition key, which has to handle ALL the current that is used by the bike. If the voltage is rather low at all the fuses, you might be better-served by doing a fusebox relay mod, not just a coil relay mod.

Check the voltages, let us know what you find.

.
 
Thanks for the reply Steve.

I installed this mod on my last bike, a 1981 GS650GL, and went the harness route. On this bike I disassembled, cleaned and rebuilt the fuse box last winter. My ignition switch is also brand new with cleaned and De-oxited (is that a word?) terminals. The right hand switch assembly was also disassembled, cleaned and De-oxited. I plan on checking the voltage drop at all of the locations you describe before proceeding with the mod. I'm just planning ahead, and don't want to tear into the wiring harness if it can be avoided. I assumed my intended method would work, but electrical is not my strong point and I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Cheers!
K
 
Last edited:
Yep I've done it that way on a few bikes... Seems to make the most sense to me. :)
 
Installed the mod last weekend as described above and it paid immediate dividends. Much easier starting, much less time on choke when warming up. Now I'm going to adjust the pilot screws, which were set a bit too lean at about 1.75 turns each. I noticed the idle started to hang a little bit after the mod, which it didn't do before. With much better voltage at the coils, and therefore a stronger spark, I think I can set them a little more to the rich side which will hopefully correct the hanging idle issue. Other than that the bike runs strong and smooth.

Anyhow, a good mod with a good result.

Cheers!
K
 
I would like too download this mod but cant find it anywhere.
 
Do you need detailed step-by-step, or can you work with a general description? :-k

I don't have the step-by-step, but can give you the overall picture.

1. Decide where you are going to mount your relay.
2. Turn the key ON, measure the voltage at the coils, on the orange/white wire. Turn key OFF.
3. Locate the orange/white wire that goes from the fuse box to the coils.
4. Cut the wire. If possible, cut it so one of the remaining lengths will reach the relay location without extending it.
5. Extend wire(s) as necessary, but connect the fuse box side to pin 85 on the relay and the coil side to pin 87.
6. Run a fused wire from the battery (or starter solenoid's battery terminal) to pin 30 on the relay.
7. Run a wire from ground to pin 86 on the relay.
8. Turn key ON, check coil voltage again, see if there was an improvement.
9. Tidy up any loose wiring.
10. Go for a ride.

.
 
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