Checking coils, got a shock!

[Pharkmeh]

Mike, don't you know the way to check coils is to pi$$ on it while someone cranks the engine?

lmfao

hahha 2ff

[UncleMike]

Mike, don't you know the way to check coils is to pi$$ on it while someone cranks the engine?

Yeah, I've come real close to something like that in this long, strange trip.

[t3rmin]

You're right. You win.

Not something I really *wanted* to win, unfortunately...!

[frosty5011]

Mike, don't you know the way to check coils is to pi$$ on it while someone cranks the engine?

You should get 3-5 ohms on the primary side of the primary side of the coils and if they are stockers 30k-50k on the secondary sides using leads from 1 & 4 then 2 & 3. If they are Dyna or Accel coils 20k-30k is what you should get.

Billy - that value is while checking with the plug caps on, right? If he was checking without plug caps (-10k for the set), AND his coils are aftermarket, then he would be OK....on the low side, but ok.

[UncleMike]

Billy - that value is while checking with the plug caps on, right? If he was checking without plug caps (-10k for the set), AND his coils are aftermarket, then he would be OK....on the low side, but ok.

The coils don't look aftermarket. How shall I check?

[frosty5011]

The coils don't look aftermarket. How shall I check?

Does it say anything on them? What color are they? Do the plug leads seperate unplug from the coils at the coil?

So far, all the 'stock' coils I've seen are either in a black casing, or a flesh/beige colored casing. On the stock ones, you cannot unplug the leads at the casing/coil.

[UncleMike]

Does it say anything on them? What color are they? Do the plug leads seperate unplug from the coils at the coil?

So far, all the 'stock' coils I've seen are either in a black casing, or a flesh/beige colored casing. On the stock ones, you cannot unplug the leads at the casing/coil.

They are off-white and say NipponDenso underneath them. It seems the wires are attached by some yellow goo.

I took off the tank and the airbox in order to get to the battery terminals. I turned the multimeter to DC20V and turned the ignition on, placing the red lead on the connection of the orange wire and the black lead on the negative battery terminal and got a zero reading for both coils.

[ScottMc1100L]

Great. One more freakin' thing. What do I expect for a $100 bike. At least she's pretty and I'm learning a lot.

Could be a cheap/inaccurate meter and or method of testing. Make sure you have CLEAN contact points and DON'T hold both ends with your fingers.

And don't **** on it while someone's cranking ...you guys kill me!

[t3rmin]

I took off the tank and the airbox in order to get to the battery terminals. I turned the multimeter to DC20V and turned the ignition on, placing the red lead on the connection of the orange wire and the black lead on the negative battery terminal and got a zero reading for both coils.

Hmm... that would mean you're getting zero voltage to the coils and the bike would not run at all. Try checking another point on the orange wire (it splits and one side of the "Y" goes to each coil, so you have a few different places to test). Make sure you've got some good metal to connect the multimeter lead to and scratch it a bit with the probe to get through any surface corrosion.

Also try putting the black multimeter lead on the engine block/head instead of the negative battery terminal just for kicks...

Unless your multimeter battery is totally dead or the meter is completely broken, you should get SOME voltage here. No multimeter is so inaccurate as to completely miss 12+ volts...

[UncleMike]

Hmm... that would mean you're getting zero voltage to the coils and the bike would not run at all. Try checking another point on the orange wire (it splits and one side of the "Y" goes to each coil, so you have a few different places to test). Make sure you've got some good metal to connect the multimeter lead to and scratch it a bit with the probe to get through any surface corrosion.

Also try putting the black multimeter lead on the engine block/head instead of the negative battery terminal just for kicks...

Unless your multimeter battery is totally dead or the meter is completely broken, you should get SOME voltage here. No multimeter is so inaccurate as to completely miss 12+ volts...

I tested it against my battery just to be safe and was getting 13.3v while ign. was off and 12.35v while it was on.

As for the coil, I peeled back some of the rubber guard and put the terminal directly on the connection at the coil. Should I be trying in another place?

[t3rmin]

Well I thought you said you were getting "zero reading" before, so I was worried. If you're getting greater than 12v with ignition on, then you're in good shape.

However, you should be getting zero, nada, nothing, with the ignition off. If the coils are getting power with the ignition off, then you'll eventually fry them, not to mention drain the battery.

*EDIT* When you say "tested it against my battery just to be safe", do you mean put both multimeter leads on the battery (ie: just testing the battery)? Or do you mean putting one lead (red one) on the orange wire and the other (black one) on the - (negative, black) battery terminal? I wrote the above assuming you had one lead (red one) on the orange wire and were getting 12.35v with ignition on.

[UncleMike]

Well I thought you said you were getting "zero reading" before, so I was worried. If you're getting greater than 12v with ignition on, then you're in good shape.

However, you should be getting zero, nada, nothing, with the ignition off. If the coils are getting power with the ignition off, then you'll eventually fry them, not to mention drain the battery.

*EDIT* When you say "tested it against my battery just to be safe", do you mean put both multimeter leads on the battery (ie: just testing the battery)? Or do you mean putting one lead (red one) on the orange wire and the other (black one) on the - (negative, black) battery terminal? I wrote the above assuming you had one lead (red one) on the orange wire and were getting 12.35v with ignition on.

Nope, I'm getting a zero reading when testing the coils. I tested just the battery to check and make sure my multimeter was still good.

[Billy Ricks]

Billy - that value is while checking with the plug caps on, right? If he was checking without plug caps (-10k for the set), AND his coils are aftermarket, then he would be OK....on the low side, but ok.

Sounds like stockers so the resistance is low.

You can usually get late model replacements from Kats and Bandits off Ebay for $30 or so that work just fine.

[Billy Ricks]

Here's a set of coils from a '99 that will look very similar to the old stockers.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/99-Bandit-GSF-600-Coils-Wires-Gsf600_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10066QQihZ004QQitemZ140035443770QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[t3rmin]

Well obviously the bike is running (isn't it?), so there has to be voltage to the coils. I'm not sure what to tell you. I suppose the colors could be different on your bike. Regardless of what color, we're talking about the wires that feed the coils. Not the plug wires, but the wires on the other side of the coils. There will be two wires to each coil. Hold the black meter lead on the neg battery terminal and put the red lead on all of the wires going to the coils (one at a time). With the ignition on, one of the two wires going to each coil should have voltage.

If you're disconnecting the wires from the coil before testing them, make sure you test the correct side. If you test the coil side after it's been disconnected you won't get anything. If you test the other side (the side coming from the wire harness), it'll still work. I just tested mine without disconnecting anything by jamming the lead under the rubber/plastic sheath until I hit metal. It sounds like you're basically doing that, too, but I just wanted to make sure...