Bike not firing on cylinders 1 and 4

[Guest]

The bike was running great. I have jetted the carbs, been riding all summer. Then yesterday, cylinder 1 and 4 stop firing. I did some testing and the coil is fine, its the the wires coming from the harness to the coil that are failing. I wasn't able to trace where they are going.

Any idea what the problem could be? It's definitely not the coil or the plug wires.

Thanks.

[andygs1000]

sounds similar to the problem on my gs1000 , but 2+3 are the cylinders giving me trouble

[tkent02]

Points? Ignitor? Hard to guess without knowing which model it is or even which year, but 1 and 4 do share a common coil/ignitor/points/condenser. Whichever type ignition you have 1 and 4 are on a common coil.

[tkent02]

sounds similar to the problem on my gs1000 , but 2+3 are the cylinders giving me trouble

2 and 3 are on the other common coil. Again, which type ignition?

[andygs1000]

my bike is running cdi ignition , the coils seem to be ok as ive swapped the wires and got spark ,but have lost power coming to feed 2+3

[chef1366]

The plugs from the harness to the coils under the tank get dirty and wear out.
Replace with some spade connectors or just solder them in.

[tkent02]

my bike is running cdi ignition , the coils seem to be ok as ive swapped the wires and got spark ,but have lost power coming to feed 2+3

CDI?
What is it a Kawasaki?
All this secrecy crap is annoying.

[tom203]

Andygs1000; you need to include your bike/model/year in your signature; go to User CP (top left on this page)- this lets responders know what critter you are talking about.

You don't have a CDI -you do have an electronic ignition that does what points do, open and close to excite ignition coils at proper time.
Understanding multimeter use is mandatory - you'll be a whiz in no time.

[yoshisakan]

My bike is a 1980 gs1100l 16v. I cut off the coil connectors and eliminated corrosion as a possibility. I opened up the ignition cover on the right side and both connections look brand new.

[pdqford]

its the the wires coming from the harness to the coil that are failing.

Any idea what the problem could be?

From your description, it sounds like it is the wires coming from the harness to the coil.

[pdqford]

My bike is a 1980 gs1100l 16v. I cut off the coil connectors and eliminated corrosion as a possibility.

With KOEO how many volts at the coil connector?

You could run a fused jumper from battery + to the O/W wire at the coil to see if 2/3 can throw a spark. If it does, you have just proven that the problem is the O/W wire coming to the coil.

[andygs1000]

CDI?
What is it a Kawasaki?
All this secrecy crap is annoying.

no secrecy crap with me , just new to the forum and feeling my way around , i'll go sort out my signature

[yoshisakan]

Any idea where the coil wires go? Is there a schematic some where? I hate wiring...

[andygs1000]

Andygs1000; you need to include your bike/model/year in your signature; go to User CP (top left on this page)- this lets responders know what critter you are talking about.

You don't have a CDI -you do have an electronic ignition that does what points do, open and close to excite ignition coils at proper time.
Understanding multimeter use is mandatory - you'll be a whiz in no time.

ok thanks , right so ive learned something already ............. i thought cdi and electronic ignition ment the same thing
in my own thread about a similar problem a kind member posted this link

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/electrical_odd-n-ends.html#A17

some very useful tests etc that could probably be applied to your gs1100

[pdqford]

Any idea where the coil wires go? Is there a schematic some where? I hate wiring...

I know what you are saying. I hate digging this stuff out if it isn't where the problem is. Thats why I asked:

"With KOEO how many volts at the coil connector?"