82 gs 850 spark only in one coil

[Tunr4life]

ok fellas i just recently just finished putting together my first gs the motor was running when i bought it i cleaned carbs and basically did a frame up resto into a bobber well now my problem is that im only getting spark from one coil if i switch the two wires that go to the ciol thats working to the one that doesnt it gets spark i traced the wires back to the black box im getting power to all other wires except the white one im assuming that thats a ground when i touch the wire to the black wire it gets spark ill try to take pics and post them thanks in advance fellas

[chef1366]

Sounds like you narrowed it down to the igniter or the crank trigger.
You did say you got both coils to spark swapping wires right?

[Tunr4life]

yea when i swap the wires from the right coil to left coil it sparks this is gonna sound stupid but where would i find the igniter or the crank trigger thanks for the fast response

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Trunr4life,

The location varied a little between models years. On mine the ignitor is under the left sidecover, to the left of the fuse box below the solenoid.

You can see the ignitor (black box) to the left of the fuse box.



You'll find a manual and igniter troubleshooting tips in the links below. If you do have a bad igniter, may I suggest installing a Dyna-S ignition? They are about 1/3 the price of a new igniter. Even used igniters are pretty expensive. Anyway, you'll find lots of GS850G lovin' in the links below.

If you are here you probably have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs about 20 years worth of maintenance. You'll find all kinds of helpful tips, procedures, manuals, diagrams, "how-to" guides, etc, in the links below. Let's get started.

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Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Tunr4life]

@basscliff thanks for all the links and info thats some good stuff i have one question for u would u know if a 1981 gs 850 igniter box would plug right into a 82 model i appreciate the help

[tom203]

@basscliff thanks for all the links and info thats some good stuff i have one question for u would u know if a 1981 gs 850 igniter box would plug right into a 82 model i appreciate the help

Make sure you have good connections from signal coils to ignitor and from ignitor to both coils- connectors sometimes behave badly!

[Tunr4life]

yea i cleaned all the connections and everything is pretty clean i was just wondering if 81 gs igniter would plug right in to a 82 or if the re different

[tom203]

yea i cleaned all the connections and everything is pretty clean i was just wondering if 81 gs igniter would plug right in to a 82 or if the re different

It appears that they are identical -according to parts fiches.

[Tunr4life]

Is there anyway to test the igniter box ?

[chef1366]

Is there anyway to test the igniter box ?

Basscliff gave you a link to a manual for your bike which has the process.
Use the 80-83 GS1100 manual. Chapter 11.

[Tunr4life]

Ok awesome thanks guys

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Is there anyway to test the igniter box ?

Look in the electrical section of my little website for troubleshooting tips. The factory manual is a good place to start too.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Tunr4life]

I'm sorry guys for the stupid questions fellas but is it possible for one coil to spark and not the other coil if the ignitor unit is bad

[chef1366]

I'm sorry guys for the stupid questions fellas but is it possible for one coil to spark and not the other coil if the ignitor unit is bad

Yes...........................

[Tunr4life]

Does anybody know if the igniter box has to be grounded to the frame ?