Newb with an ignition problem

[zangetsu]

I've had my '79 GS1000E for almost a year now and since I bought it it's worked flawlessly. About 2 weeks ago, I lowsided (leaves) and slid the bike on it's right side. I broke the cover that goes over the ignition and bent up one of the points. I ordered a new point/condenser set and replaced them, but my bike still won't run right.

It sputters and will only idle. If I try to give it gas, it will sputter and eventually die. I noticed that the #3 (starting from the left) exhaust pipe does not get hot. 1-2-4 all get hot. I used my timing gun to determine that I've got spark on all 4 plug wires. When I put the timing gun on #1 I see the "T" thru the hole in the timing plate.

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks in advance!

[robertbarr]

After swapping in the new point set & condenser, you did set the timing on both pairs, right?

I'll assume yes. Remove the points cover and start the bike at night. You might see some light-duty sparking at the points (but not much, nothing intense), and should be equal at both sets of points.

A bum condenser will cause heavier sparking on one ignition circuit (one set of points) and will make your bike run like you describe. It's possible your new condenser is bad. Swap in a known OK condenser & see if that changes anything. Also see if that new set of points looks burned beyond its short operating life.

[zangetsu]

Revisiting old problem

Wow, has it been that long since my bike hasn't run right?

I ran out and got a new set of points & a condenser, I've set the timing with a timing light - I see "1-4" when I time cylinder 1 or cylinder 4 and I see "2-3" when I time cylinder 2. When I attach the timing gun to cylinder 3 I get no spark whatsoever. I removed and replaced #3 plug to no avail.

I had thought that if the coil was bad, I wouldn't get spark on either 2 or 3 - any ideas as to why only 3 isn't firing?

Thanks for any help!

[Steve]

It's possible that part of the coil is bad, but it's more likely that the plug wire is broken.
Are the wires replaceable on your bike? Many stock coils have the wires molded in. Many of the aftermarket replacements use replaceable wires.


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[zangetsu]

Thanks!

Thanks for the help.
I'll see if I can find a new coil this weekend.

\\/

[Steve]

Did you try swapping the plug leads, or are you jumping straight to a new coil?

Just curious, as you did not say that you found the problem.


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