Weak Spark

[Jebus23]

I have a 1980 Suzuki GS550. The early symptoms of my problem were very sluggish output at low rpm's followed by a quick catch and normal power. It had a hard time idling and the battery drained. Today I pulled each wire off the plug and put in place a spare to monitor the spark for each. They were all very weak. Starting from the spark plug back where are my possible problems? I popped the cover off of the right side of the bike and found condensation and a bit of oil. The gasket didnt do its job in a wet ride on Sunday. What are the black things condensers? Point me in the right direction. As of now the bike will not start.

 

[almarconi]

Weak spark could be due to a low battery. What is the voltage at the coils? If you find that they are less than 12v you should consider the coil mod. Do a search on it. If the voltage is several volts less than batter voltage you have more serious problems. Check your grounds and clean all the connections in your harness to make sure everything is up to snuff.

I would think your bike has electronic ignition since it is a 1980, no points or condensors. Those black things are pickups. When the crank rotates past them it sends a signal to the ignitor which tells the coils to spark.

You may want to go through the stator papers and check your stator and R/R to make sure your system is charging. The stator was dead on my 750L when I bought it.

 

[rapidray]

The stock Suzuki coils are notoriously WEAK also & after 29 years, I think you should replace them. I would start there. New coils & wires from Dynatek I can get you for about 165.00. Ray.

 

[spyug]

Ok. Don't know the history of this bike and your experience(s) with it but you've got 3 or 4 issues that I suspect all contribute to the issues you mention:

1)Carbs. won't idle, likely dirty, gummed up and in need of o-ring replacement.
2)Difficulty starting. Valves need adjusting, insufficient charge in battery to crank and fire coils.
3)Battery discharging while running. Charging system not working correctly.
4)Weak spark. Likely as a result of a)battery discharging/weak b) corrosion in connectors in the starter circuitry ( i.e key switch, starter button,fuse block, coils etc.)

To solve these issues you need a)manual (BikeCliff's site) b)circuit tester c)digital multimeter d) patience, perserverance and organization.

Start with the carbs. Pull them, clean and rebuild with new o-ring as per the tutorial on the cover page.
Next check and set your valve clearances as per the tutorial on Cliff's site.
Once you get the bike running check your charging. Refer to the Stator Papers and follow through. In addition take your battery in to the local autostore and have them do a load test. The battery may be crap. While your on the electrics, take the time to clean all the contacts you can find especially in the starter circuitry as corrosion creates resistance which means full voltage is not flowing to the coils and the starter. This will make starting really difficult.

A great help for the weak spark/ hard starting issue is the "coil relay modification" (outlined on BikeCliff's site) which insures full voltage gets to the coil. It will make a very big difference but is only worth doing after a thorough carb cleaning and the valve clearance check.

This looks like a lot of work and it is if you try and do it in one fell swoop. Break it down to a few hours here and there and you'll get it done.

Sorry but there is no quick and easy fix for this type of problem.

Hope this helps and good luck with it all.

I'm pulling for ya!

Cheers,
Spyug

 

[rustybronco]

Have you solved the issues with your plug wires yet?
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=141444

 

[Jebus23]

Can I check the voltage at the coil if the bike won't run? I think I'm going to replace the coils and wires with after market and check the charging system somehow? How can I do this with the bike not running? The carbs have been thoroughly cleaned and can be ruled out. The valves have never been adjusted to my knowledge in all its 27,000 miles. I don't understand.....this bike was running great last Saturday.

 

[almarconi]

Can I check the voltage at the coil if the bike won't run?

Put a battery in the bike, turn on the key and measure the voltage.

The valves have never been adjusted to my knowledge in all its 27,000 miles

You need to check and if necessary adjust the valves

I think I'm going to replace the coils and wires with after market

Check the ones on your bike first, your coils may not be the problem. If you have less than 12 volts at the coils, aftermarket coils are not going to work much better.

 

[Jebus23]

Ok put a volt meter to the coils. I'm getting full power to them. I then tried to put the meter on a few different setting to measure the output to the plugs and got nothing? Whats my next step? How could both coils go bad at the same time. I am reading the stator papers and diagnosing this for the rest of the evening. Help is appreciated.

 

[Jebus23]

The black box under my battery labeled TR IGNITER i guess is replacing what points do? how can I test this? Maybe this is my issue?

 

[Jebus23]

I am testing my signal generator on the right side of my engine case that looks like 2 black boxes. I am getting no resistance through both of those boxes. Im not sure if I am doing the test correct. And to give more info I had water in here due to a bad gasket. Please help.

 

[rustybronco]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=964199&postcount=4

 

[Jebus23]

Well I just ordered Dyna S signal generators since the stock ones were wet and i wasn't getting consistent ohm readings. I figured if thats the culprit, great, and if not it was a performance mod. Then next would be my igniter box since my coils are getting 12v. Where could I get an new igniter box? And will I have to change anything with the new Dyna S product?

 

[lucabond]

The Dyna S replaces your ignitor box and fires the coils.

 

[Jebus23]

What do I just un-hook the box under my air-box labeled TR IGNITER?

 

[posplayr]

Kill two birds with one stone, Coil Mod and Dyna S mod.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=141055

 

[almarconi]

This thread is pretty old..you should post a new one.