Only One Coil Sparking

[Gorminrider]

somewhere, maybe at Bass-cliffs site , downloaded a pdf named "Repair_and_Fault_finding_GS1000G_Ignitor.pdf" by member "Matchless" and in it you will find a test for an ignitor.
seeing as you are having trouble with one coil, here's part of it
Locate the igniter and disconnect the plug with the blue and green wires coming from the
signal generator (pickup) at the right bottom of the engine. Test the resistance across these
wires coming from the signal generator pickup coils; it should be approximately 250 – 360
ohm. You should not test any resistance between these two wires to ground. If this is in
order you have proved the pickups and the wires to be good.
14) The little back box or igniter is now tested as follows. With the ignition on, kill switch on,
test for 12 Volt DC between the orange/white and the black/white wires in the plug going
into the igniter. This proves that it is getting the correct voltage.
15) Next test for 12 volt between the Orange/White wire and the Black/White wire going into
the igniter, this proves whether your igniter is getting power.
16) The next step is to prove whether the igniter is powering your coils. Remove all 4 spark
plugs and connect the HT lead caps to a spark plug #1, #2, #3 and #4 then ground the plugs
and locate them to enable you to see the spark. Ensure all the connector plugs are back in,
except the one with the green and blue wires from the signal generator.
17) To simulate the small voltage generated by the pickup coil, prepare an ordinary 1.5V dry
cell with two wires red for positive and black for negative. Connect the negative black wire
from the dry cell to the blue wire on the connector plug going into the igniter. Switch on
the ignition and kill switch to power the igniter and briefly touch the red wire from the dry
cell positive to the green wire connector going into the igniter. You should see a spark on
plugs #1 and #4 when you touch the wire and on #2 and #3 when you remove the wire. If
this works your igniter is in a working condition.

But be sure to check the other stuff too-connections, coils e-youve alredy tested ohms at signal generators but ohms from a multimeter don't always indicate faults in COILS very well...



BikeCliff's Website

[abaton6]

Thank you for that link! Very informative. I checked the ground connections on the igniter, I found a thick cloth "washer" on the ground bolt. I can't think of a reason for it to be there. Can you?

[Gorminrider]

thick cloth washer? well, starining myself, but perhaps the igniter case didn't sit flat on the plate, but a steel washer would do too, so no. It's a mild entertainment trying to understand a PO's thinking.. ("previous owner")

Still, even the cloth washer needn't be "in the way" of a good ground if the bolt itself lands on shiny metal and is threaded into a tapped lug on the frame...

since one side is sparking, the case ground is unlikely to be the main issue.

[brian]

Wow, thank you , will go through this in detail this weekend...

[brian]

Thank you very much for this. Does it mean if I ONLY wire the above diagram, i should be able to test start. Even if nothing else is connected (like lights, gauges, etc..)

[tom203]

“...since one side is sparking, the case ground is unlikely to be the main issue”

I agree ...this is a simple two wire signal generator.
You can just hook up the ignition stuff, lights etc aren’t needed for starting.

[Gorminrider]

Fore checking voltage drops you can do with just the Orange/White stripe wires circuit fuse (O/W wire in diagram)
To START the bike,(O/W) will also allow starting the bike via the button ,the kill switch and the solenoid, and of course, you also need the the master 30Amp on the red wire, but lighting (Orange/red stripe) (O/R) or Orange/Green stripe (O/G) fuse aren't needed.

The headlight especially will drain your battery quickly, but the coils also draw quite a bit of current....I have an old car battery I use if I am fiddling awhile too long but if you think it through first and tkeep an eye on your motorcycle battery voltage while you troubleshoot, it'll be ok. Just don't drain it below half for very long. They degrade quickly without a recharge.

You can check the coils themselves by disconnecting them from the circuitry and applying a very short duration 12 volts to primary coil. They spark when you DISCONNECT. Don't do this around fuel vapors.

[abaton6]

thick cloth washer? well, starining myself, but perhaps the igniter case didn't sit flat on the plate, but a steel washer would do too, so no. It's a mild entertainment trying to understand a PO's thinking.. ("previous owner")

Still, even the cloth washer needn't be "in the way" of a good ground if the bolt itself lands on shiny metal and is threaded into a tapped lug on the frame...

since one side is sparking, the case ground is unlikely to be the main issue.

Agreed, but still,....WTF?

[brian]

Howsit Everyone,

I managed to get a secondhand CDI/Signal Generator and it fixed my problem.
Thank you everyone for your input. Really appreciate it. Now it is taping the whole wiring loom again, put everything back and go for a cruise

[bwringer]

Sounds like a happy ending!

If you're severely lacking in entertainment some dark and stormy night, and if the ignitor is one with a metal case, you can usually figure out a way to open it and inspect the circuit board. Odds are good that you'll be able to see the component that let out the magic smoke. Usually a MOSFET, if I'm identifying the largeish squarish black widgets with three legs and heat sinks correctly.

And yeah, if you're looking for one on fleaBay, for some damfool reason almost everyone calls it a "CDI" even though actual CDI ignitions were relatively rare. I have absolutely no idea why everyone picked up on that term.

[Baatfam]

Henceforth, you shall go by the name of, "One Coil Sparking."

[brian]

Henceforth, you shall go by the name of, "One Coil Sparking."

Haha - I humbly accept it my friend. My next tattoo and sewn on to my patch... When i join a bike club that is...