1980 GS550 Igniter Wiring

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

I see some wires coming from the igniter:

Brown
Green with white tracer
Orange with white tracer
White
Black with white tracer
Black with yellow tracer

I know the black/white tracer and white go to the ignition coils. The brown and green/white tracer go to the signal generator. Where do the others go?

And if I were to touch a circuit tester to them, which should show a light?
I want to make as sure as possible that it's my igniter, and not, for example, something going wonky in the headlight bucket.20191015_125006.jpg

[salty_monk]

Orange/white is power

White and black/yellow go to the ignition coils.

One of the black/white wires will get grounded to the frame (the one with the hoop terminal on it).

The other wires should go to the pickup coming from the engine.

You should be able to get a wiring diagram out of a manual & follow it on Basscliff's site (hosted by Bwringer) http://gsarchive.bwringer.com/or a general google on the subject brings up a ton of refs in the image search....

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

The GS550 wiring diagram is missing. The GS650 diagrams have 404 errors. I know it's pretty similar across the GS series, but "similar" and "exact" are still very different. I'm going to check the orange/white wire to see if there's any power going to the igniter.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Ok, the igniter is getting power.

[Steve]

The GS550 wiring diagram is missing. The GS650 diagrams have 404 errors. I know it's pretty similar across the GS series, but "similar" and "exact" are still very different.

One nice thing about Suzuki was that a colored wire retained THAT function across pretty much ALL models. The only major differences were when features were different.

Orange/white wires were ALWAYS ignition feed wires.
Black/white wires were ALWAYS ground wires.
Red was ALWAYS the feed from the battery to the ignition switch.
Etc., etc., etc.

Wire colors did change from points to electronic ignition in 1980.
Wires were added for sidestand switches on some models in 1982.
The larger bikes had self-canceling signals, which required wires not present in the smaller bikes.
Etc., etc., etc.

.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Could it also be a ground somewhere? I'm unsure what would prevent one coil from sparking while the other does.

[Steve]

A bad ignitor.

Unfortunately, I have a bit of experience with bad ignitors. My wife's bike has gone through several during the 14 years we have had the bike. Finally found what was blowing them. I had always thought the Accel coils that came on the bike were a great upgrade, but found out they had the wrong resistance. They were 0.7Ω coils, when they should have been 3-5Ω coils. Coils and ignitor have been replaced, the bike is running quite well now, hopefully for a LONG time.

.

[Gorminrider]

hmm ^^ That's interesting as it says something about the ignitors' tolerance...your lower R coils act the same as shorted coils ...

but Steve-did you ever try a ballast resistor to bring the coil circuits within "range" of "3-5" ohms? You would want the CERAMIC type of resistor..ie: porcelain with a high wattage rating -quite chunky things...
Might be worth a try to get some use out of the Accels..I think you'd want the ballast even fitting to Points.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Here is a video of the left coil sparking with a spark plug tester. It's really faint, though. https://vimeo.com/367507125

[Steve]

... Steve-did you ever try a ballast resistor to bring the coil circuits within "range" of "3-5" ohms? You would want the CERAMIC type of resistor..ie: porcelain with a high wattage rating -quite chunky things.

Those low-resistance coils were discovered last year, when our "Little Ride" was interrupted less than 600 miles into our planned 7000+ miles. After finding them and determining that they were the reason we have had to replace an ignitor about every two years, I arranged for some new coils, but also went to the NAPA store and got a couple of ballast resistors. The girl behind the counter (who also happened to be the manager ) seemed to know her stuff, but was puzzled when I did not know what vehicle I wanted them for. I just told her I am looking for something in the 2-3Ω range, I would adapt mounts as necessary. Found some that were 1.8Ω (verified with my meter) and mounted them on the bike. We then did a consolation ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway during the last week of our vacation. Only 1650 miles on that trip, but never missed a beat. My 'new' Dyna coils showed up a couple of weeks after we got back.

Might be worth a try to get some use out of the Accels.

I'm done with them. You want them? Send me your address in a PM, I'll send them to you.

I think you'd want the ballast even fitting to Points.

Need to change the wording a bit there, ... "you'd want the ballast especially fitting to Points."
Too much current flowing through points leads to pitting of the surfaces. That is why bikes with points call for 4-6Ω coils, bikes with electronic ignition call for 3-5Ω coils. Doesn't seem like much of a change, but it's enough.

.