1983 GS550E, No igniter unit!

[flyhunter3825]

Victorgallas,
Thanks, now i know thats not gonna be an issue.

JEEPRUSTY,
I havent checked the signal gen coils. Ill do that as soon as im done with work. I havent checked if i even have signal going into the coils. I didnt even think of checking that. That should just be 12 volts right?

[JEEPRUSTY]

Victorgallas,
Thanks, now i know thats not gonna be an issue.

JEEPRUSTY,
I havent checked the signal gen coils. Ill do that as soon as im done with work. I havent checked if i even have signal going into the coils. I didnt even think of checking that. That should just be 12 volts right?

12 ish it will be dictated by however hight the voltage at the battery is minus losses through the wiring harness and switches etc.

Do a full run through you grounds and connectors because this is a bike that folks were messin with so nothing can me taken for granted.

[flyhunter3825]

Alright, I checked the voltage at the coils. Its at about 9.88 volts. And my battery is at 11.86 volts. So I'm losing 2 volts somewhere. Now I know that's not enough for what is required but does voltage at my coils mean my igniter unit is working?

[Nessism]

Alright, I checked the voltage at the coils. Its at about 9.88 volts. And my battery is at 11.86 volts. So I'm losing 2 volts somewhere. Now I know that's not enough for what is required but does voltage at my coils mean my igniter unit is working?

That battery voltage is too low. Should be at least 12.4 volts.

[JEEPRUSTY]

Alright, I checked the voltage at the coils. Its at about 9.88 volts. And my battery is at 11.86 volts. So I'm losing 2 volts somewhere. Now I know that's not enough for what is required but does voltage at my coils mean my igniter unit is working?

You can clean the switches. The kill switch is nasty as it basicallly sits there without being used and corrodes.

You cant disassemble the beastly thing either just spritz it with contact cleaner. Do that and check the voltsge again.

[flyhunter3825]

I've also got this black/white wire with a female spade terminal on it that is wrapped along with the turn signal wires. What is it supposed to be for? Or does it just end?

[JEEPRUSTY]

where is this? by the coils?

[victorgallas]

You definetely need to go trough your entire harness and check the connections for ground and power. On my bike, even after restoring the switches at the handles, cleaning them on the inside, doing contact cleaner everywhere and essentially making sure it was all like it should have been, I was still measuring a .5 volts voltage difference from the battery to the items in the front of the bike. I did a simple addition by running a wire directly from the battery ground to the front of the harness. In a way think of it as "injecting" a good ground source.
My electrical has been alright, but I am getting really close to just make myself a brand new wiring harness.
But you should go trough that entire harness. Maybe while you are at it, do the relay trick for the coils.

Another thing to mention, on my bike the stock connectors used on the coils from the harness looked good, but I still had issues. After having to cut those out to fit a set of Dyna coils on the bike, the newly stripped wire had much better voltage than ever. So essentially rust develops at the base of the connectors and so that fisrt 1/8" of wire gets really bad.

Alright, I checked the voltage at the coils. Its at about 9.88 volts. And my battery is at 11.86 volts. So I'm losing 2 volts somewhere. Now I know that's not enough for what is required but does voltage at my coils mean my igniter unit is working?

[JEEPRUSTY]

Yeah old wires get that oxidation up into the insulation as well.
Not sure if this is a resistance problem.

The wires are in a miserable spot and they are of a fine gauge.

[flyhunter3825]

That stray wire comes out of the harness with the 2 wires that connect to the turn signal relay, right where the igniter is.

And thanks guys, this is really helping. This is my first bike I've ever owned & I've learned so much on these forums in the past 2 weeks. I really appreciate it

[JEEPRUSTY]

That stray wire comes out of the harness with the 2 wires that connect to the turn signal relay, right where the igniter is.

And thanks guys, this is really helping. This is my first bike I've ever owned & I've learned so much on these forums in the past 2 weeks. I really appreciate it

It flaps in the wind. It may be of use in another jurisdiction with differing lighting requirements.

[Mista M]

I was in the same boat a couple months ago. Definitely soak all connectors for a couple hours to clean them. I used rust removal solution. I replaced all but a couple of my bullet connectors with spade ones. Crimped/soldered/dielectric grease.
I second taking the harness out. You never know what a prior owner did to the wiring. Piece of mind knowing you have good connections while driving down the road.

[JEEPRUSTY]

OK now an important update.

My spark moves when swapping the coil wire from 1-4 to 2-3
This would mean that the igniter is bad and or the signal generator is bad.

So the signal generator has proper resistance readings.

I dont know if this will fry a pulse coil but test for voltage on each coil and one side has .024 and the other has less.
like half or so.

So is it a dead or dying magnet? If I go crazy and swap the coils will by spark move?

I could buy and igniter I suppose. But damn EBay electrics are iffy propositions.

I think this problem was made worse by resistance in the ignition switch which I checked um a while ago and it was good.

Ultimately the question I am failing to ask is:

What voltage does the igniter expect from the pulse coils in order to produce a spark?

[flyhunter3825]

My voltage regulator resistance readings aren't matching the manuals specs. One, is this like the igniter where the manual isn't "bullet proof"? And two, are there any other tests I can do to check it?

[JEEPRUSTY]

The test in the manual on BassCliff's site dhould tell you how things stand.

Got it running yet?