After long thought COILS

[toolsmech]

After pondering all the trouble i have been having with my GS550LZ 1982 i have come to the conclusion that i need new coils. I have 2 questions 1st is there another place i can get the coils for around the same money as Dennis Kirk? and 2 dose this bike have points or is it the wierd timing thing on the right side of the crank case?
thanks for all the help Justin

 

[catbed]

z1 enterprises has coils and your bike is electronic ignition i think. green dyna coils are what you need.

before you go and order new coils, measure the voltage drop at the coils because you might need the coil relay mod.

 

[toolsmech]

question

question

what should the voltage be between to be in specs?

 

[ryonker]

Why do you think you need new coils?

Most often, it's not the coil that fails. I thought the same thing and my problem was many other very solvable issues.

1. Do your plugs get spark?

2. Like Catbed mentioned, are you getting 12 volts at the coil? If you are getting several volts less than 12, that could be part of your problem.

I was getting around 8 volts at my coils so I did the coil relay mod and now I get 12 volts.

 

[tfb]

Yes, please detail why you think you need coils?! You may of course be correct, but about 9 times out of 10 these are fuel problems and not electrical. And that 1 time out of 10 when it is electrical... well, 9 out of 10 of these electrical problems are spark plugs!

We'd love to help, and we'd love to help a bloke not buy a 2nd set of coils he doesn't need!

 

[TheCafeKid]

Yes, please detail why you think you need coils?! You may of course be correct, but about 9 times out of 10 these are fuel problems and not electrical. And that 1 time out of 10 when it is electrical... well, 9 out of 10 of these electrical problems are spark plugs!

We'd love to help, and we'd love to help a bloke not buy a 2nd set of coils he doesn't need!

Agreed. The coils CAN go bad, but i have the same year bike, and my coils are still goin strong. Its more likely something else in the ignition (if it IS the ignition system at all) would go bad before the coils, such as the ignitor, plug wires, plug caps or plugs themselves. Your bike uses an electronic ignition so there are no points or condensors to fiddle with, and its generally unlikely that your timing has fallen out. But also agreed, what symptoms do you have that have led you to believe that your coils are bad? While i wont say that 9 times out of 10 its fuel, I would definately say its at least 50/50, if not 60fuel 40 spark. These bikes have precarious electrical systems, but even more so carburetion. Let us know whats going on man!

 

[toolsmech]

fuel, carbs, ignition

fuel, carbs, ignition

I have got the carburators stripped and dipped. I placed new spark plugs in but the old ones didnt look bad. I do get a spark at the plug but I think its weak on #1 and #4. I have a digital thermometer that i have used on it and it says #1 is around 155 degrees, #2 is 310, #3 is 280 and #4 is around 135. So i just figured that the coil was bad or the ignition system somewhere. I have rebuilt the petcock and it seems to work properly. dosent let fuel out till it has a vaccum. all of the carbs are getting fuel. checked by cracking open the drain plugs and they all have fuel. I really appreciate you guys' help on this it really means alot to me. I hate taking any of my stuff to shops because they always over charge for simple things and really over charge for major things. I am an auto mechanic and i am trying to get better with bikes.
Thanks a ton Justin

 

[Guest]

measure the voltage at the coils, and the coils' resistances (primary and secondary) to confirm where the prob is

 

[don_gibb6512]

Guys, I've personally had a lot of problems with coils going bad. Only when I switched to Dyna coils did that headache go away. The primary resistance of OEM coils should be between 3-5 Ohm (most of the time it's real close to 4) and the secondary should be around 32K Ohm. The OEM plug caps could be an issue as well the wires themselves. Dyna's aren't that expensive and just for the peace of mind of having updated coils that provide excellent spark is worth the $125 or so, IMHO.

 

[tfb]

OK toolsmech, there's an easy way to confirm that it is the coil that supplies cylinders 1 and 4 being the culprit: swap your coils around and see if the problem 'moves' to cylinders 2 and 3. That will seal the deal if it's a coil.

But if the problem stays with cylinders 1 and 4, that will mean you need to look somewhere else for the problem...

Happy sleuthing,
Mike.

 

[toolsmech]

Coils

Coils

Ok in the morning when i get up i will switch the coils around and see how things go! hopefully i will have an answer soon on this issue. as soon as i find out i will let you guys know. Like i have said many times before thanks a ton for all the help
Justin

 

[toolsmech]

OK no go

OK no go

Ok i switched the coils and same result. Anyone have any ideas would love somewhere to go with this. oh and is anyone in the kansas city area that knows this bike I would love to pay someone to help me figure this out. I want to learn not just send it to a shop Thanks Justin

 

[Guest]

Ok i switched the coils and same result. Anyone have any ideas would love somewhere to go with this. oh and is anyone in the kansas city area that knows this bike I would love to pay someone to help me figure this out. I want to learn not just send it to a shop Thanks Justin

time to measure the voltage at the coils
if you swaped the coils but the prob stayed the same then the coils are not suspect, but the voltage to the coils may be

and remind us, what exactly are the symptoms (other than the temperature difference on the plugs)

 

[don_gibb6512]

Have you measured the resistance at the coils yet? You really need to do that to verify they're ok AND check to be sure you're getting 12V to the coils.

 

[toolsmech]

12V at coil

12V at coil

I am getting 12 volts at the coil. Symptoms idle is all over the place. I cant let it idle below 2500 or it just dies off. It will idle ok if it is around 2700 rpm but its a pain in the butt to sit at a stop light with the engine reved like that. when i go to work in the afternoon the bike runs great 75mph (kinda warm out). but when i head home in the morning the bike wont even get to 55mph (kinda cool out). I have rebuild and dipped the carbs. The cylinders all have Great compression. The petcock has been rebuilt. New battery. umm cant really think of anything else
Thanks for all the Help Justin

 

[TheCafeKid]

I didnt see anything reguarding a valve adjustment in there. Have ya done that? muey bueno imortante. I am not sure that its the soul cause of your issues, but it sounds somewhat suspect if temperature causes a pretty drastic change in running condition.

 

[Guest]

i second the valve adjust. cant tell you how many threads i read that say "cleaned the carbs 3 times, new coils, etc, still wont run right" and they still havent done the valves. like cafe kid says, maybe not your issue, but you gotta rule out the easy stuff. maybe you have already done it, and maybe someone will come along and say "it not yer valves, dood"....but....getting mine in spec fixed all my troubles. after i dipped the carbs twice. and got new coils. etc etc etc.

greg

 

[toolsmech]

ok valve adjust

ok valve adjust

Ok how do i do a valve adjustment? i realize where i must start but is it like a car at all where you have lifters and a set screw with a nut around it? do i need to use feeler guages to set it? please let me know what i should do!! thanks a ton for the ideas guys!! you all ROCK
Thanks Justin

 

[Guest]

see bikecliff website for valve adjustment and definitely do it

but at this point i would suggest you have a major air-leak in the intake system or you are not getting enough fuel
"all over the place idle needle" is a sign of a very lean condition

with the cooler outside air your bike should perform BETTER not worse

if you are confident that you put the carbs back together properly i would start looking for the air-leak (inspect the carb-to-engine boots (for cracks) and orings behind them, as well as the boots' clamps)
also the airbox itself and the carb-to-airbox boots have to be sealed well

 

[Ola]

I posted this in another thread but always nice with some more feedback. My coils are showing 11.6 volts and 4.5 ohm at the primary. Secondary on 1/4 was 35K ohm but on 2/3 it was 25K. Is this a "maybe something wrong" or "definitely something wrong" situation?

My symptoms are stumbles between 2-4K when the engine is hot, sometimes right away if the bike has been sitting in the sun. It definitely feels like I'm a cylinder short in this area and there's the occasional pop from the pipes when I accelerate (not while engine braking at idle throttle). When the revs climb through 4 - 4.5K it jumps back to life. I know the regulator kicks in somewhere around this area, perhaps the stronger voltage helps overcome any poor windings to give good spark.

Please confirm or poke holes in my theory before I spend money!