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Not getting spark. Now what?

  • Thread starter Thread starter fyarl666
  • Start date Start date
F

fyarl666

Guest
After numerous charging issues, changing the stator, my bike suddenly quit sparking.

Now what should I do?

I'm attempting to voltage test the coils, but I need to take the tank off, and as it's currently raining cats and dogs and I don't have a garage, I'm having to postpone it for better weather.

Any help it suggestions are appreciated!
 
fyarl666 said:
I'm attempting to voltage test the coils, but I need to take the tank off, and as it's currently raining cats and dogs and I don't have a garage, I'm having to postpone it for better weather.

Any help it suggestions are appreciated!
Click to expand...
Find a tarp to work under.
 
New stator, what about R/R ? did you test charging system afterwards , as in do the Quick test stuff?
 
The thing that keeps re-occurring in my head, is the possibility of the reg allowing the charging system to over volt taking out the igniter.
 
Well, I cant do bugger all to test any of the charging system, since I cant get the bike to start.

Contact Breaker - what is that? In my wiring guide, that's the only thing that is connected to the ignition coils. Where do I locate that on the bike? What am I looking for to test if it's working properly?

Also, its a two-cylinder bike. How many ignition coils do I have? One for both cylinders, or one igniter per plug?
 
Check fuses first. Check all connections to and from the ignitor, including all coil and pickup connections, next. Do you have no spark on any plug? If not and all of the fuses and connections check out, then the ignitor may very well be suspect. I'm betting on a fuse or connection problem though.

You have two coils. One for each cylinder. One ignitor controls both coils.
 
Last edited:
In cases like this when all else fails, I pull out my trusty volt meter.
 
I pull out my service manual first. In 1981 did they even have a 400? Is that the 16 valve four cylinder they only had in Canada?

In 1980 and later, did Suzuki even sell bikes with contact breakers?

How about a little help here, like tell us what maintenance you have ever done to it, what happened that caused you to replace the stator, what testing did you do to lead you to that?
 
JTGS850GL said:
Check fuses first. Check all connections to and from the ignitor, including all coil and pickup connections, next. Do you have no spark on any plug? If not and all of the fuses and connections check out, then the ignitor may very well be suspect. I'm betting on a fuse or connection problem though.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, it only has a single 15A fuse off the battery, and it's still good.

And where is the ignitor? I know where the coils are, but not the ignitor.

It's only got 2 plugs and neither are sparking.
 
tkent02 said:
I pull out my service manual first. In 1981 did they even have a 400? Is that the 16 valve four cylinder they only had in Canada?

In 1980 and later, did Suzuki even sell bikes with contact breakers?

How about a little help here, like tell us what maintenance you have ever done to it, what happened that caused you to replace the stator, what testing did you do to lead you to that?
Click to expand...


I'm beginning to wonder what year the bike is. I was sure it was an 81, and the side cover decals on it say GS 400L, but ever time I try to look for parts, I have a hard time coming up with that model year.

And as far as previous maintenance, forgive me if I take the lazy route and give the edited version. I don't feel like re-typing the whole ordeal I've gone through with this bike so far.

Basically, the battery kept dying.

I replaced the battery and the R/R. Battery still died, so I did a few voltage tests and discovered the stator wasn't putting out any AC juice. Changed the stator, and the bike is now no longer producing spark from the spark plugs.

I'm at a loss and I'm about to just pour gasoline over the whole works, toss a match and be done with it.
 
Is there still a VIN sticker on the steering head? It will list the exact model and year if there is.

If not, give us the VIN stamped in the steering head. We can figure it out from there.

What Rustybronco said sounds likely, overvoltage could have taken out the ignitor, but that's just a guess at this point. If it does have contact points instead, you don't have to worry about over voltage.

Look under the little round cover over the right side end of the crankshaft to know for sure.
 
tkent02 said:
Is there still a VIN sticker on the steering head? It will list the exact model and year if there is.

If not, give us the VIN stamped in the steering head. We can figure it out from there.

Look under the little round cover over the right side end of the crankshaft to know for sure.
Click to expand...

That sticker is still there, starting to wear off around the edges. I'm at work right now, but as soon as I'm done, I'll check it out and report back with my findings.

And I'm almost positive it is a contacts point bike, I'll open that cover on the right side crank case and see what's what.

If it is a problem with the contacts, what should I be looking for and what can I do to fix it?
 
Slow down, Glasshopper! The build date and year model code are on the sticker, or at least they were.

Points are easy to fix, but the first step is to understand how they work.

Very simple to fix.
 
tkent02 said:
Slow down, Glasshopper! The build date and year model code are on the sticker, or at least they were.
Click to expand...

All I could get was a serial #, the date code was worn off right where the date stamp was.

Serial # is JS1GK51L8B2100475

Don't know if that helps, it's the best I can get for now.

And I couldn't unscrew the points cover. I need some better tools with me, all I've got is just a lousy little screwdriver.
 
She's a 1981 model.

JS1, Japan Suzuki 1=(motorcycle)

GK51L, G=multiple cylinder sport street -K=250~399cc - 5=4 stroke twin- 1=1st version - L=(variant).

8, check digit

B, 1981

2100475, consecutive build number
 
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