Spark plug wire ripped... OUCH! What now?

[Guest]

Hey guys,
Been trolling these forums for a while now and they have been very helpful in many ways to me over the past 3 years of owning my 82 GS1100e. That being said, I was doing some work today on the bike and when I went to take off the spark plug boot from the cylinder 3, the thing just crumbled apart. Wire came right off the boot. Doesn't seem possible to me to mend this, but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any.
My main question is -
Does anyone know of a solution to getting new wires? They seem to be hard wired into the coil(?). Not sure what those units are called that they are wired into under the tank. I'm about to hop on ebay and check out my options on there, but I honestly don't even know what I'm looking for.
Any and all suggestions would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks,
Jim

[60ratrod]

Jim, I would inspect the integrity of the rest of the wire insulation. There are coil wire splice kits available if the insulation is good on the rest of the wire. Otherwise you are looking at replacing the coils if they are the type that's hardwired in. Photos would help, but best course of action would be to replace both coils IMHO

[vcalvarese]

Ah they are coils. (i'm learning )
The break in the wire is pretty close to being right inside the boot, i.e. there is no room to make a splice. I'll have to snap a picture when I get back to my garage. Any ideas on a good aftermarket coils for these bikes?

[Nessism]

Several people around here have replaced the wires before. Pull out the old wire from the coil and install a new 7mm copper core wire. If the wire doesn't pull out clean, use a pick and dig the end out. There is a spike in the recess channel in the coil, so be careful to not damage it.

[rwnielsen]

http://www.z1enterprises.com/ItemDetails.aspx?itemDescription=Dyna+Dual+Output+3.0+Ohm+Coils+%28pair%29+DC1-1&item=DYDC1-1

This is another option, a good one at that.

May as well spring for a set of these too. You'll be golden for years to come.

http://www.z1enterprises.com/ItemDetails.aspx?itemDescription=NGK+Spark+Plug+Cap+14mm+102+degree+elbow+XB05F&item=TU38-1007

[Rover]

What Ed said, I would suggest replace all four wires and boots (four cylinder) Get new ones Z1 Enterprise can hook you up.
Yours sound old and decrepit,throw in new plugs while your at it.
Don't buy someone else's old ones.

[vcalvarese]

They are indeed seeming decrepit. I think I might give this a try.. looking into cost effectiveness vs. new coil and wires currently. Also, I'm a little worried I may botch this job and be stuck buying a new coil and eating the cost of the wires. Do the senior members of the board think this repair can go smooth with a steady hand and a general understanding of electrical systems?

Thanks again!!!

[60ratrod]

I'm not a senior member and new to motorcycles, but not new to 12vdc systems. I built a DIY ignitor last night without much hassle, some confusion. I honestly didn't know you could yank the old wires out. Since this is possible, and you have an understanding of electrical systems, you'll be ok. The coils rwneilsen linked are awesome coils.

[Missile99]

If you exposed clean wire on the plug end, check the coil resistance. If they're within spec and the insulation on the wire looks good, buy brand new caps. If the insulation is shot, try replacing the wires. Chip the epoxy away, insert the new wires and seal it with fresh epoxy. There are pictures if you search good. It takes some patience. Once this is done, check your spark intensity. If acceptable and bike runs good, then no need to waste money. You'll need to verify good coil voltage too.

[Brendan W]

Whichever way you go the other three are probably on the same road. For the future this is where WD-40 comes into it's own. An occasional spray of the ht leads from coil to plug will put the brakes on the cores corroding. Running the bike in the dark with the tank off will show up points where sparks are 'leaking', helpful if you're trying to chase down a misfire. Old insulation will crack and although not immediately visible to the human eye will let sparks escape. Accumulated dirt on the leads retains water and encourages leakage so wipe them clean before applying the WD-40.
I had a cap explode once on the R100 - sounded like gunfire. Yet another reason for always wearing a helmet.

[subid]

check this thread

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=178396&highlight=spark+plug+wires

[vcalvarese]

Awesome dudes. I think i'll take the route of replacing the wires from the coil. The bike has been running really good (IMHO), and I believe everything else to be in order.

These are what i'm looking at using with the stock coil on the GS1100 right?

http://www.z1enterprises.com/ItemDetails.aspx?itemDescription=Dyna+Ignition+Wires+7mm+copper+core+%28black%29&item=DYDW200

What is the proper way of verifying coil voltage and spark intensity?

[Missile99]

Those wires are correct. Don't forget they come in different colors...

Measure the coil secondary resistance by attaching your multimeter to both plug leads either on the bike or off. Set meter to read at least 20K ohms. I would think they should be between 15-20K ohms. Check your spark intensity by laying the plugs attached to the plug boot on your head (to ground them). Turn the engine over by hand with the ignition on in the dark to see the color and intensity of the spark.....and hear the snapping sound too...

My stock coils measured out good, both primary and secondary, but the spark didn't impress me. I eventually ordered Dyna greens and what a difference in spark intensity and color. It went from weak as hell to a fat whitish spark.

[vcalvarese]

Great!
I'm considering just doing the Dyna green while I have everything apart (the bike does have 37k miles at this point, and probably deserves a treat

This may be a dumb question, but with the Dyna green coils, and the Dyna wires, how to the wires hook up to the coil? Is it an epoxy situation like the stock coil?

[Missile99]

Nope. They snap on like they would for any car with a distributor cap, easy as can be. I did have to shim the Dynas a bit to move the boots away from the frame tabs when mounting them but no big deal. You might not have to.

A treat for sure. The spark energy is probably better than you'd find on new coil-on-plug systems for cars.