coil eatin' 450T!!

[motosikal]

...I'm the FNG for today, glad to be here.

I've scoured the forum for my problem and haven't seen any exactly like mine, especially with respect to the lil' ol 450T, maybe there is, maybe I need to read more....maybe I need to learn how to read

....ok, I'm done buying the "good used" coils from my local Bent Bike/ebay/good buddy. (3~4 sets total)
My coils burn, not just get hot, I'm talking bubbling, smoking, smelly molted epoxy at the mounting post burning.:shock:

I thought to myself, it appears its getting too much voltage, maybe the R/R is bad? Naturally I haven't suffered enough, so I buy a another "good used" R/R and Ignitor. The coils continue to burn, and smoke, and bubble over.

Please, somebody give me a magic pill that will make it all go away.
GS 450T, 1981 w/ 7K+ ACTUAL miles (no crazy flips of the odometer, it's barely broken in!) I almost sold it.... but found this site!!!!\\/ Now I'm GOING to fix it....[-o<

so send me your funny comments about the new guy, about the 450T, or what ever, bring it, I can handle it, just please for the love of everything good in this world send me some good information, I'll be your best friend!

motosikal

[SqDancerLynn1]

Are you shure you haven't been using 6 volt coils ????

[mhardig]

81 gs 450t

Again, I don't know a lot about motorcycles, but i know something about electrics.if the coils are melting it means one of two things- the primary or secondary is overheating. The reason for the primary or secondary overheating would be because
a: the energy isn't getting to where it's supposed to
b: the energy isn't of a type that the coil can use.

If A is the case, it could mean the coil isn't being triggered or it's not getting the spark to the plug. If the engine runs ok, then I'd suspect b: that the coil is getting intermittent (or constant!) alternating current, which makes the coil act as a transformer and not a coil, and will cause a bucketload of trouble.

What I'd be looking at (if this were a car) would be

1: Is the spark plug sparking properly (a timing light will telll you that
2: is there an undervoltage at the coil (less voltage =more current=heat)
3: is there AC at the coil. You can find an AC voltmeter cheap many places, and you could hook one up and tape it to a handlebar, check while you're driving.

it may not be that your Rectifier/regulator is dead, but that your stator has trouble.

Just my non expert $.02

[nabrams]

Have you actually taken a multimeter and measured the voltage at the battery terminals? If it's greater than 14.9 volts then your R/R is toast. It may be generating enough voltage to fry your coils but not blow your fuse (you DO have an appropriate 15 amp fuse in there, don't you?). My GS450 was generating 17 volts with a bad R/R. The batttery would boil dry after a few rides, but it was not enough to blow the fuse. When the R/R got worse, the voltage wen't up enough to blow the fuse every time I revved up. I was forced to get the Electrex R/R and my battery/charging/fuse-blowing problems went away. The old R/Rs on the stock GS450 are notoriously bad.

[nabrams]

I have to disagree with mhardig on the "less voltage =more current" statement he made.

Voltage = Current x Resistance

In this case the resistance is more or less constant (slightly increasing with heat), so more voltage will yield more current. I'm not worried about getting electrocuted by a 1.5 volt battery, but I am worried about electrocution from a 2000 volt transformer - more current passing through my body.

[mhardig]

I have to disagree with mhardig on the "less voltage =more current" statement he made.

Voltage = Current x Resistance

Maybe I should explain a bit better. yes, you are correct- but you forget that you;re not dealing with a light bulb or a resistive load, but an inductive load, and inductive loads react differently than simple resistance.

[earlfor]

The GS's were wired from the factory with a "lighting loop", that diverted one phase of the stator through the lighting switch. I am guessing the reason for this was so as not to Overheat the R/R with having to dissipate excess current when the bike was run with the headlight switched off. The first thing I would check is the wiring harness to see if somone has wired the coils directly to the AC stator lighting loop.

Earl

[Energizer Bunny]

ANother thing although remote may be that the battery connection is intermittent and the coils (and the rest of the electrics) are taking the unloaded output of the alternator.

But it sounds like a regulator. And or the coils are 6V. Measuring the voltage while running should tell the tale.

[motosikal]

I think a moment of clarity.

Okay, I've read the posts above, I appreciate all the input the site is great....this is what I'm gathering;

Pretty sure the coils were not 6V, I say that because they looked the same as the OEM ones I had on the bike (unless there is no visable difference), Okay, how do you tell?

At one time, I was making critical measurements with the multi-meter, and remember voltages at the battery was an incredible 17V but thought it to be another reason.

Another observation was the fact that my headlight lit up like a '06 Audi "blue headlight" and wasn't the typical yellow glow of older bikes :-D

Someone mentioned the 450 around that year as having bad R/R and that you bought a replacement R/R, which seemed to have solved your woes.

I'm guessing there are optimal aftermarket replacements for both? Suggestions are appreciated[-o<

motosikal

[focus frenzy]

17 volts!!!! :shock:
17 volts is way to high.

running you should not see more than 14.5 volts tops, 14.2 would be ideal.

[beby99]

You mentioned Bent Bike in your first post....you around the Seattle area?

Have you checked out the Stator Papers:
http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_garage.htm

[motosikal]

aftermarket R/R

I was forced to get the Electrex R/R and my battery/charging/fuse-blowing problems went away. The old R/Rs on the stock GS450 are notoriously bad.[/QUOTE]

I'm fairly confident I'll need a new R/R, I went in serch of the Electrex R/R but none were listed for the 450T, only the E,S, & L

Do you know the difference anyway?

THX

Motosikal

[maparker]

Nice to see another 450T being rescued. Since finding this site I've been able to get mine running tip-top and find it to be a great bike even after having ridden much larger bikes.

Now to your problem. 17 volts is way too high! Very bad! Your R/R is toast, and if you continue to run it that way you will destroy your battery and eventually your stator...if you haven't already (and stators are expensive).

Easy fix: search the tech section here for honda R/R. All the info you need is in there, easier than me tellin you how to wire it up. I got mine off Ebay for ~$17 with shipping. Bike never ran better. The OEM is crap at best. Follow the directions on this site and you should be golden unless you have already cooked the stator....

Good luck and don't give up!

[motosikal]

sell it? vs setting it on fire and watch it burn?

Good luck and don't give up!

....seriously, I was almost there, funny how this is like a support group too!
Thanks for you input maparker, I c a n NOT wait to ride again.

[earlfor]

You can use the same R/R as the E,S, and L. No problem.
Hang in there, it only gets better. :-)

Earl

I was forced to get the Electrex R/R and my battery/charging/fuse-blowing problems went away. The old R/Rs on the stock GS450 are notoriously bad.

I'm fairly confident I'll need a new R/R, I went in serch of the Electrex R/R but none were listed for the 450T, only the E,S, & L

Do you know the difference anyway?

THX

Motosikal[/QUOTE]