No spark on ALL cylinders 1982 550L

[mizz0313]

New member and first bike. found lots of information on this forum, also basscliff's site is very very helpful. this is a 1982 gs550L with roughly 4600 miles. when purchased PO said it ran strong but had sat over winter causing carbs to gum up, i did tear carbs down about 5 times trying to get it running and have gained alot of knowledge along the way. The few times i got it running i thought it ran pretty decent i even rode it on my street a it seems strong, but a inline filter that kept clogging caused me to tear down again. bike also wouldnt stay running at idle the last time i got it going, would die when throttle was applied and wouldn't start back up without jump pack being added and choke closed. new battery crapped on me from hard starting so i picked up a new one since last carb tear down and have been having troubles getting it going again. PO did cut airbox which i believe is a issue so i ordered a factory replacement which will be here tomorrow. I did clean gas tank with evaporust and put factory petcock filter on so i do not believe i have clogged carbs. before installing new battery neighbor thought i wasnt getting spark but with further testing i seen spark on all cylinders despite primary side voltage being 8volts, which lead me to coil mod. installed coil mod and have not had spark since. voltage at coils is 12 volts but no spark on any cylinders, ive tested primary coil side and getting reading of 5.5 on each coil. secondary side im reading 14.55 ohms on each coil and testing signal generator im getting about 70 ohms going off the testing procedure on basscliff site. Instructions on basscliff's site for igniter testing is for another gs model because my igniter and signal generator plugs are separated, i believe the connectors in test procedure all run to igniter but my igniter only has a 6pin connector. I have downloaded manuals for this bike from the site and i do see the ranges for testing this equipment, it would tell me that my coils and signal generator are bad, but are they? I thought while reading issues on the site from others that the 550l may have different ohm ratings for the electronic ignition setup mine has. Is this true? Can someone help me out. iv been looking at buying new coils and possible generator or dyna system but would like to confirm i do have bad ignition parts. would also like feedback on igniter testing. thanks.

ALSO,i did have it running about 5 times before having ignition issues, but was still trying to fight PO old screw ups (cut airbox and stuffed with foam) and carbs while also trying to figure how to bike was from factory. spark plugs are black and sooty. CArbs have not been drilled out for adjusting air/fuel screws like iv seen in the carb tutorials so im assuming PO did not screw with them too much, will be putting stock airbox on when it comes in.

 

[tom203]

The covers over the mixture screws need to be removed (so you can remove mixture screws) or your carb cleaning is inadequate. These carbs resist quickee cleaning.

Been a bunch of gs550 ignitor woes lately, might want to do some reading other threads. Primary on each igntion coil is about 4 ohms,secondary with plug caps removed is about 12000 ohms (plug wire to plug wire). At this low mileage, I'd quess your ignitor is still OK, but testing them seems inconclusive. They don't tolerate high voltage from failed regulators or jump starts from running cars.
If no spark now, make sure that you got about 12 volts positive to ignition coils and check all ignition circuit connections.

 

[mizz0313]

Okay i didnt know if i should go about drilling out the covers or not. I will look more into doing that and also actually tearing the carbs completely down for cleaning. with the stock air box going back on should i just make sure i put screws back to where they are? This is the first set of carbs ive ever touched. only testing i could do on ignitor is check voltage or orange/white wire which was around 11 volts with a battery that was dying, ill get it charged and make sure its at 12 volts before checking for spark again. If i can get it running again ill look directly into the regulator. when it did run with battery that was purchased brand new bike would shut off from idle but battery would start to die if i tried to start it up again. Ended up getting another new battery this past saturday.

 

[mizz0313]

If anyone has any advice or suggestions on any of these topics please feel free to comment, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[tom203]

You're on the right track... Do the carbs properly this time (see Nessism's tutorial on basscliff's site). Airfilter box and airbox need to be in place before carb rack goes back on. They need to be pushed to rear to get clearance for carbs reinstall - 1/2 inch is a big deal here.
Since you had spark at first, double check all ignition system connections,including your coil relay mod. If you conclude that your ignitor has failed, a dyna system can be had for about $130.

 

[mizz0313]

Okay, I appreciate the guidance. I did go as far as removing air and battery box and disconnect all grounds and connectors, there's a lot of corrosion there so I will clean that up and put dielectric grease on everything before putting it all back together. Thanks a lot

 

[mizz0313]

Removed ignitor, regulator, fuse box and cleaned contacts and connectors still no spark. New plugs and inserted new fuses. 12 volts to coil and ignitor. Anything else I can try to test ignition system before buying dyna?

 

[tom203]

Removed ignitor, regulator, fuse box and cleaned contacts and connectors still no spark. New plugs and inserted new fuses. 12 volts to coil and ignitor. Anything else I can try to test ignition system before buying dyna?

I'd say that you proved your ignitor is no good. 550 versions were troublesome for some reason. Note that there are two dyna versions.one for the ND ignition and other for the KD. I guess that you have the ND unit, but look for markings on ignitor and signal coil plate.

 

[hannibal]

I'm not familiar with the later ignition systems but I think you should diagnose your problem before throwing money into a new Dyna system.

 

[mizz0313]

Thanks still searching for other ways to test system not finding a whole lot

 

[Guest]

The coils fire when the field collapses when the voltage is interrupted. Pour a very small amount of gas in each spark plug hole, put the plugs back in and the wires on. Wait a little while for the gas to vaporize, turn the ignition on so there is a field and turn the ignition switch off. If you hear a pfft sound, you have triggered the coils and ignited the gas vapors. It happens on my GS1000E with a Dyna ignition fairly frequently when I'm doing something where I switch the ignition on and off. If that is the case you will have confirmed the rest of your ignition is working and the igniter is bad. This doesn't happen all the time on my bike but it might possibly tell you something if you are lucky. You could do the same thing by grounding a plug to a screw on the motor case with tie wire twisted around the plug threads. Turn the ignition on and off in a dark place where you can see the arc.

 

[hannibal]

Are you sure your coil relay mod was wired correctly?

Hook up a light bulb to the output of the relay. Does it work when it should (run button on I guess)? If so, you know your relay and wiring are good. Just a thought...

 

[mizz0313]

I did try the process putting a little fuel in the cylinders still nothing. I will try grounding plug and screw later tonight. Thanks

 

[mizz0313]

I will pick up a test light to try this. Using a multimeter I am getting 12 volts to wires with killswitch on and no volts with it off

 

[mizz0313]

Okay so now after further testing by jumping coils I got spark on all cylinders so to my belief it's my ignitor that went bad. I will be purchasing a dyna s system. One thing I have read about these ignitors is that a bad charging system will kill them. It worked fine the 8 times I got it running but always thought the charging system was weak or not working correctly. Grounds were mounted under rubber bushings at battery box by PO so I know it wasn't grounding. Once I get it running I will test charging system but can anyone suggest a good replacement for regulator?

 

[Guest]

The factory isolated the battery box and electrics plate with rubber grommets. There should be a ground wire from the harness to ground them, otherwise the solenoid for the starter would not work. Make sure you check for the ignition manufacturer on your mechanical advance unit. It should be near the top spring post either ND or KD. I imagine it uses the units for the older bikes since you have a mechanical advance. I would call Z1 Enterprises for that information. They also have good prices on the ignitions. You want to replace your R/R with a Series R/R and thoroughly check out your stator. posplayr has all the information in his signature line on how to do it. The most popular unit is the SH-775 because of price. I prefer the Compu-Fire 55402. It costs more but it is a smaller heavier duty unit.

 

[mizz0313]

Appreciate it! I will get this started and keep you updated on my results.

 

[mizz0313]

just a update on this issue, it was resolved with a dyna install. with carb tear down and installing factory air intake setup bike is running okay. still sorting issues out to getting running properly though. First off, after installing dyna i did use test light and everything checked out as far as timing. Now on to pilot screws i had them turned out about 2 1/2 turns and idle hung up, with about 3 turns out it seemed to idle smooth with nice response from throttle. When i took it out for a ride it bogged when giving throttle not really picking up any speed, got it back home and in neutral it ran like crap when throttled. After work i got it out again and once hot noticed while running that 1/4 where not firing, confirmed by grounding plugs to head. let it cool started again idled smooth revved great and still bogged when i took it for a ride, drove better but cant get rpms up to go through the gears. got it home immediately checked plugs and tried grounding 1/4 no spark, 2/3 fine. all connections check out 12 volts to dyna and coils from relay. 1/4 coil is hot when ive checked it while having these issues, is this how a bad coil acts? It is factory coils with 4600 miles on the bike. im chasing lean/rich conditions and realizing its actually ignition, is this a coil issue?

 

[tom203]

Remove the spark plug caps from the plug wires, cut back the plug wires 1/4 inch (this exposes fresh copper) and screw the caps back on. Note that spark has to travel down one plug wire ,leap two spark gaps and return to ignition coil.

Ok, best to describe your carb cleaning method... sounds like slow circuits aren't clean enough yet.

 

[mizz0313]

carbs were removed from rack, separated and dipped. each being Fully torn apart and thin wire pushed through all holes and float bowl circuits. I will try cutting 1/4 off the 1&4 plug wires, i did do this previously when going over no spark but will go down a little further. Thanks so much.