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HT Leads (Ignition Wires)

salty_monk

salty_monk

Forum Guru
Past Site Supporter
TGSR Superstar
Stock GS1000G. Looks like the outers are suffering from age/heat.
Can I replace them without replacing the coils? I assume so, be pretty stupid if not!

I haven't had a chance to get the tank off to look. (Talking of which will the diaphragm stop the petrol from pouring out whilst I do this or should I hang it & leave the hoses connected or what?)

Are there tailored sets out there in cyberspace (I haven't found any) or am I best to get a universal set & cut to size?

Any recommendations? What fitting is on the coil end (I believe it has 2 coil packs).

Thanks for the help, I did do a search for this but nothing came up, something about horn wires & someone who'd dropped a cylinder :(

I have a reasonable amount of experience fixing/building cars (old & new, I run a Lotus seven replica back in England & used to also run a 67 Morris Minor as well as my newer daily motor) but bikes are new to me (although mountain bikes are not so I understand the principal of hydraulic brakes, shocks, swingarms etc - it's all just a bit bigger!!!)

Cheers,

Dan
 
It is possible to replace the wire buy cutting it open, soldering new wires in & then patching the coil case, but they are PART of the coil. Another option would to be to put some shrinkwrap tubing over the plug wire.. Either buy some later model coils from Ebay or buy some DYNA (green) coils.
THe fuel should NOT flow if the petcock is working properly.
The left coils if wired correctly fires cyl 1&4 Rt coil fires cyl 2&3
 
Hmmm that's dissapointing, explains why they hadn't been changed then...

They haven't gone, just "preventative maintenance" ;)

What model Coils should I be looking for on Ebay? Any idea on what I should be looking to pay? What about the green ones? Are they pricey?

Anyone know where I can get shrink wrap big enough to go over the plug cap that will shrink to 8mm? That should help keep them going for now... What a silly design!

Dan :)
 
You can replace the ignition leads on stock coils!!!
As Lynn says if your fuel tap ios working correctly, it is no problem to disconnect the hoses and remove the tank.
Once you do that you will need 4' of 6mm carbon core ignition lead, any auto parts "should" be able to order it. To remove the old lead dig and scrape away the sealant at the coil, when you have done that pull "firmly" upon the lead and it will slide out. Use a high temp sealant, put a band of sealant about 1/2 an inch from the end of the new lead and push it down onto the spike in the coil, walk away and let thew sealant set off before re-installing the coils, screw new plug caps on and away you go. Three years and counting on my new set.

Dink
 
That sounds easy enough, they were just a "push fit"?
What sealant did you use? Just a high temp silicone from a gun?

Thanks for the help,

Dan
 
sealant, pullout

sealant, pullout

A high temp sealant from a tube worked fine on mine. It's just to keep moisture out - the wires are held in there mainly by friction, which you'll discover when trying to get them in there.

If replacing with new, I believe you'll have better luck buying metal core HT leads/plug wires. That's because way down inside the coil there's a little metal spike that is what makes contact with the conductive part of the HT lead. That spike sticks nicely into the strands of a metal-core HT wire.

When pulling out the old wires, you may find as I did that part of the outer jacket pulls off and stays stuck in the coil. Takes a bit of fiddling and poking prying to get it out.

BTW those are 7mm wires, same as most automotive applications. Some places still sell bulk wire, cut what you need off the roll.
 
Sound good, anyway I can test them after I do the job without mounting them back up? (like a continuity test with a meter or something? Make sure I have good contact) or is the only way to "suck it & see"??

Dan :)
 
Resistance between to two high-tension leads should be in the neighborhood of 20k to 30k. That should give you an idea whether you got it right.
 
Hi... don't mean to hi-jack here, but I'm wanting to do the same thing... for, the same reason.

The HT you all are referring to... Is that high tension?
What is that exactly?

A friend here told me about Exel wires... Is that a good way to go?

What makes the most sense? Thanks :)
 
He's talking about the wires that go to the spark plugs. Brand does not matter in spark plug wires -- they're just wires for goodness sake. Go to your local auto parts store and pick up a V8 spark plug wire kit (7 or 8mm stranded wire I believe). You'll have enough to rewire your 4 cyl bike twice and it won't cost much.
 
Great... thanks!

Another system on my bike I'm going to learn about.

Do the coils ever need replacing?
How would you know?
What symptoms would there be?
Is there a way to test 26 year old coils to see if they're still doing what they're supposed to?

Thanks for the lessons, all.
 
Yeah coils do die but not terribly often. Symptoms would be fouling plugs and missing/lack of power I suppose.

You can test coils by resistance. As I recall the resistance between the two plug wires (with boots) on one coil should be 20k-30k and the resistance between the leads on the other side of the coil (that hook to the ignitor) is considerably less (can't remember, search a bit for it ;-)).

Coils are super cheap on eBay and pretty much any coil will work that's got two plug wires per coil and fits the mounts.
 
Ok... I got the sealant all I need now is the wires....

Earlier on someone suggests using copper core wires but I've heard these aren't good for bikes with electronic ignition as there's no suppression... can someone help me confirm what the originals are, I would cut one but I need to use it!!

I'm planning to order either the copper or the suppression core wires from http://www.z1enterprises.com/catalog.aspx?pid=GS1000GT-1980-IG0 price seems pretty good.

2nd question, they come with boots, will they be ok (they look like they will fit) or should I get some of the NGK ones?? http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=425 If so what angle should I get? 120 degree?

These are the plugs I'm going to order unless anyone has any objections?? http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=211

Cheers,

Dan :)
 
Do NOT get suppression wires. The "suppression" is in the boots. Get straight wires and the right kind of resistor boots and you'll be golden.
 
Do you have a tractor supply store near by? solid core wires were used on a lot of the older tractors and they may have it in a spool.
"noise" supression as in radio interference, not voltage.
 
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Ok, now I'm confused.....

No tractor stores round here... not that I know of anyway.

Can someone tell me which of the two sets will do the job? The copper core Dyna 7mm or the suppression core dyna 7mm. They are both on the links above.

They come with boots but I could go for the NGK resistor ones if really necessary (added cost) & add them on but I've read there needs to a be a resistor at both ends... is this the case? If so is there one in the OEM coil already??

CARBON (SUPPRESSION) CONDUCTORS

Carbon conductors are used in original equipment ignition wires by most vehicle manufacturers, and in the majority of stock replacement wires. This style of ignition wire is cheap to manufacture and generally provides good suppression for both RFI (radio frequency interference) and EMI (electromagnetic interference). Conductor usually consists of a substrate of fiberglass and/or Kevlar over which high-resistance conductive latex or silicone is coated, and functions by reducing spark current (by resistance) to provide suppression — a job it does well while the conductor lasts. Vehicle manufacturers treat ignition wires as service items to be replaced regularly, and limited life is never an issue. This type of conductor quickly fails (burns out) if a high-powered aftermarket ignition system is used.
EMI (electromagnetic interference)
EMI from spark plug wires can cause erroneous signals to be sent to engine management systems and other on-board electronic devices used on both racing and production vehicles in the same manner as RFI (radio frequency interference) can cause unwanted signals to be heard on a radio receiver. Engine running problems ranging from intermittent misses to a dramatic loss of power can result when engine management computers receive signals from sensors that have been altered by EMI emitted from spark plug wires. This problem is most noticeable on modern production vehicles used for commuting where virtually every function of the vehicle's drive train is managed by a computer. For many reasons, the effect of EMI on engine management computers is never predicable, and problems do become worse on production vehicles as sensors, connectors and wiring deteriorate and corrosion occurs. The problem is often exacerbated by replacing the original ignition system with a high-output system.
SOLID CORE CONDUCTOR WIRES

Solid metal (copper, tin-plated copper and/or stainless steel) conductor wires are still used in racing on carbureted engines, but can cause all sorts of running problems if used on vehicles with electronic ignition, fuel injection and engine management systems, particularly if vehicle is driven on the street — and damage to some original equipment and modern aftermarket electronic ignition and engine management systems can occur. Solid metal conductor wires cannot be suppressed to overcome EMI or RFI without the addition of current-reducing resistors at both ends of wires.

It's a 1980 1000G so electronic ignition...

Maybe I'll just give the store a ring :D that might be simpler!!

Cheers,

Dan :)
 
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Solid core wires? In that case I must need to buy the NGK boots with the resistors in them?? Otherwise I risk interference with the electronic iginition?

and i thought a HT lead was a HT lead was a HT lead... :D
 
salty_monk said:
Solid core wires? In that case I must need to buy the NGK boots with the resistors in them?? Otherwise I risk interference with the electronic iginition?

and i thought a HT lead was a HT lead was a HT lead... :D
Click to expand...
Need to buy? Only if the boots are bad, they came stock that solid core wires and resistor boots and i don't think there would be a problem using just solid core wires and no resistors (caps, spark plugs or both) with the electronics on these bikes, cars with later computer managment systems that would be a problem.
 
Yep... the rubber on them is perished too, I guess they are as old as the leads.

Thanks for the clarification.

Dan :)
 
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