Coil issue again..

[Winddancer]

HI all..

 

Well after a sucky winter here in New England and only able to ride a few days a month during that crap,

we finally are getting some sunny and warmer days, and I can finally work on the bike.

I had issues with both rear coils last year having them both fail within 2 weeks of each other.

Now, again as I am working on the hole that has developed in my exhaust just after the spot where you connect the cans, (which is another nightmare)

I start the bike up and again, it has a funny sound, a sound I am all to familiar with, so I check the head pipes at the engine to see which are hot,

and which is not, and #3 is cold again.

I do the normal checks of the wire, put in a spare plug to test for spark, nothing.. unscrew cap, cut back wire a little incase of corrosion and test again.. Nadda..

used the Multi meter with no luck, checked on here and see that the manual says to do it the wrong way, so I will check it using the Common wire blade, which I believe is the center one.

now during the winter, I did have one occasion when it seemed as if it had lost power, so after it all cooled down, (and at 27° it didn't take long :0) front left #2 was cold.. wiggled and pushed the plug wire, fired it up and it got hot and sounded better.. same deal with #3 a few weeks earlier..

But, after this short little history, I am now thinking as I am about to tackle this issue again,

I cant be THAT dam unlucky with coils and have 2 die, and at sporadic times others quit working, then start working again.

so I came her to see if it could be an issue with whatever the coils are connected too?

I read the 1st gens have a TCI but I don't see that we do, so what else could possibly be causing my coils to quit working like this??

is there a test I can do to see if the wires to the coils are good?

 

Thank you...

Chuck

[videoarizona]

Hi Chuck,

 

I have a 1st Gen so can't help with the coils, but I can offer an idea that solved my frustratingly "plugs not firing" issue. I went to Harbor Freight and bought a long handle curved pliers. Similar to these...

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-11-inch-20-offset-45-angle-long-reach-needle-plier-set-33202.html

 

I found my problem was two fold: 1: I didn't get the wires clean enough at end to make good contact 2: didn't get the ooomph I needed to push the wires in tight enough to make good contact with coil. The long pliers, especially the curved one...did the trick for me. I was able to reach up and get a good grip and push the wire in solid. Another trick from the forum was to cut the end of the wire in a cross pattern with a blade to make it easier for the wire to push in and contact the coil pin. Don't know which trick worked but now I'm finally firing on all four!

 

Hope this helps...

david