1100e no spark problem

[SuziQ]

First time posting here! Picked up a 1980 gs1100e as a quick project bike (thought it just needed new paint and a side cover, turns out I was wrong). Got everything squared away... went to start it up only to find its running on 2 cylinders. I have searched the forum up and down, and seen that its a common problem, but haven't seen a solution yet.. coils are good, checked the pulsars to make sure that my timing parts where good, and they are. getting power to both coils, but no spark at my 1 and 4. Has anyone figured out the culprit behind this problem? Checked connections, all are clean and good.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. SuziQ,

Plug caps? You'll find more troubleshooting tips in the electrical section of my little website.

If you are here you probably have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs about 20 years worth of maintenance. In the links below you'll find maintenance lists, documentation, wiring diagrams, "how to" guides, vendor links, tips, tricks, and a whole lot of GS goodness. This is your "mega-welcome". Let's get started.

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Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



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More links to helpful threads in the forum:
Help! Your Bike Won't Start
DON'T DO THESE THINGS
Help! Your Bike Won't Run Well
Oh God! Pods!


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Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[hikermikem]

Hi Mr. SuziQ,

Plug caps?

Yeah, I was thinking same thing - at least cover the base...

Unscrew all your plug caps & snip the lead wire back a biut 1/4" or so to bright clean copper. Spin the plug caps back on & go. NGK replacement caps are a good upgrade.

[SuziQ]

Solution!!!

Thanks for the welcom Basscliff! I've been searching for the answers on this thread a long time, as well as general info on the bike. I've always had an expertise in electrical but this one stumped me bad... and after a lot of poking and prodding, and zapping myself (on purpose, sometimes its the only way)... I have found the solution.....

If you are miss firing on 2 cylinders (from the same coil), It is your IGNITOR. The puslar pickups are too simple to just go bad, and if you flip your coils and both work then that eliminates that as a problem. I was getting full voltage to my coils but no signal from the pickups. So after some thought, I found the ignitor took it a part (just pop the cover off) and you will likely find 2 square components on there.... If its cracked or the coating is bubbled that is your culprit.

These Ignitors are difficult to come buy, and commonly burn up from what I've seen on others posts. I suggest finding your local Junk bike yard, cause you wont find a used one cheaper.

Also... There is little info on crossmatching parts for these bikes. A sure fire thing is that they used the same part for 1980-83 gs750 850 1000 and 1100, all submodels. That being said, I searched, but actually found mine on a 79 gs1000. I think the 550 and 650 would work, although they look different, uses the same pickups and wiring method.

Hope this spot of info helps someone on their quest to get their bike running.

Just a quick background, I build honda choppers, bobbers, and cafe's, my expertise is in wiring and carbs. This bike just fell into my lap as a quick project that ended up taking a little more time. Now that it's running, I'd say it was well worth it!