• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Disassembled plug wires?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
My "81 GS450L will not start. I was working on it today when I decided to check the spark for the one billionth time. I took the boot off the plug and a small, light blue rod about one half an inch long fell out. 8O A threaded brass nut with a hole through the center and a wire clip was still attached to the plug. I took the threaded nut off the plug and found that it was slotted and would screw back into the plug boot. :D The small blue rod went in a recess behind this nut. What else I found was that both were heavily covered in carbon. I disassembled the other plug wire and it too was heavily carboned. I cleaned all four pieces with some fine sandpaper and now the bikes "burps" when I try to start it. :? I'll wait for the battery to fully recharge and try it again. Has anyone ever mentioned disassembling plug wires and if so, is the blue rod an insulator? It doesn't appear to be metal and the spark is much stronger now.
 
the blue rod you mention is the resistor, there should have been a spring in there as well to keep the plug cap assembly tight, sounds like yours is not making the spark "jump" . get some new caps the are cheep.
 
Since it's Turkey day, can I just get some small springs from our local mega-chain hardware store that'll work?
 
I've never seen these springs before but I'd have a look inside your ballpoint pens.

Steve
 
Damn... I didn't think springs would be so expensive. :D
Great idea, srivett! They fit okay, I wonder if they go in before or after the resistor? I don't think it'd matter, right? :?
 
The blue is needed.

The blue is needed.

You should have a spring, tiny flat copper disk, and the resistor in each one. The Spring goes in first.

You cant clean the resistors. That blue stuff under the carbon is needed for the resistance. Once you sand it off the resistance will be too high. A good stock plug boot is about 10k ohm. Once you sand the resistor it will go up in the high teens. like 19k ohm. The resistor is now garbage.

Go and get yourself some some new NGK boots. the 5k ohm are recomended for our bikes, and are better than stock. All 4 should be about $15.00 from the dealer or Den Kirk.
 
But now I'm getting much better spark. Should I still get the new boots? I'll check with the dealer here in town, maybe I'll get new coils and wires and boots and such, if they're open.
The other question...how do the stock boots come off the wires to replace them?
Oh, and I have two vacuum lines coming off the carbs that don't seem to go anywhere. I've got the one that goes from the carb to the petcock hooked up, are the other two vent lines?
 
The two vacuum lines are probably just the carb vents, they are not connected to anything. The spark plug caps unscrew from the coil wire
 
Most old coils are ok.

Most old coils are ok.

Most old coils are ok. The wire is probably still good too. Just cut 1/2" off the end of it. Or you can replace the old wires and save your coil. Den Kirk sells a 70" roll of new copper core wire for $3.00.

Once you remove the old boots you can test them to see what I mean. If you get 9 or 10 K ohm from them they are still good. The ones I sanded went up as high as 19k ohm.

Replacing the caps is better becouse it will reduce the resistance down to 5k ohm. Right where it should be. anything higher than 10 is beyond the service limit.
 
SHE RUNS! 8O

Hit the ex-suzuki dealership and got the 5 ohm plug caps and a set of NGK BR8EVX platinum plugs. Went home, screwed it all together and hit the start button. She started first try! \:D/

The caps were less expensive than I thought, at 3.50 apiece, but the sparkplugs ran 10.00 each, but who cares...IT'S ALIVE!

Now all I have to do is get my motorcycle endorsement. :lol:

Profuse thank you's to all who helped get my first motorcycle running again! Chrisdnoel,SqDancerLynn1, srivett, deano, my hat's off to you for your input.

catnthehat
 
The stock NGK B8ES plugs usually cost about $2.50 ea.

Earl

catnthehat said:
SHE RUNS! 8O

Hit the ex-suzuki dealership and got the 5 ohm plug caps and a set of NGK BR8EVX platinum plugs. Went home, screwed it all together and hit the start button. She started first try! \:D/

The caps were less expensive than I thought, at 3.50 apiece, but the sparkplugs ran 10.00 each, but who cares...IT'S ALIVE!

Now all I have to do is get my motorcycle endorsement. :lol:

Profuse thank you's to all who helped get my first motorcycle running again! Chrisdnoel,SqDancerLynn1, srivett, deano, my hat's off you for your input.

catnthehat
Click to expand...
 
So I have a platinum fetish. :D
This is the same place that charges $50.00 for a trickle charger, so $10.00 for plugs is probably in line with their 300% markup. I don't buy a lot of stuff from them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top