Plug wire arcing--Can you nip off a bit?

[tlepac]

I have a GS 750 L I was checking for spark and found one of them giving me a good shock at the boot--in fact right through the boot. I found out that you could not just get a new set of wires but needed to replace the ignition coil. instead I spun off the boot and lopped off about 3/8th of an inch of the wire to #2 cylinder and then spun the boot back on to the wire. After this I installed new O rings with the hex screws so many here have recommended and got three of the four cylinders firing--1,3,4 --but not two. I was wondering if the 2nd cylinder was not getting spark so Ipulled the plug and propped it up against the head and started the bike-(running on three) and got arcing from the body fo the spark plug to the head instead of it going across the spark gap.
So my question--Is this normal or an indication that the plug wire is still defective? Or do I have to go into the carburetor #2 again looking for a clog? (This would be third time in) Someone has suggested that the plug may be bad but it is brand new. They said I should exchange with a working plug and recheck.
Even running on 3 cylinders the bike was able to take me down the block and back so I am now officially a bike rider again! I already like the bike better than my former 75 GWing!

Thanks for any help.

Terry
WBL

[TheCafeKid]

You can certainly nip a bit off the wire. As a matter of fact, its a pretty common thing on the list of "To Do's" on barn finds. They have stainless cores, so they dont really ever go bad but cutting a bit off, say a quarter inch or so, to give the boot some fresh clean wire to connect with is always a good idea. Give it a shot first, then if that doesnt work, let us know and we'll try to help from there. Also, if youve not replaced the plug boots, that may be a good idea as well. They simply twist off and on, but after as many years of use as she has, they tend to dry rot and not seal. Just the other day, in a rain storm, my 1100ES started running on three, i got home and went to pull the plugs thinking I had some issue there perhaps, and found the plug boot had basicly disintigrated in my hand....

[Zooks]

Swap plugs between cylinders and see if your problem 'moves with the plug'. If it does, the plug is the problem. If not, well it's time to look elsewhere.

[tlepac]

Plug wire arcing

Thanks guys I will try that tomo---I may get this bike to the point that I have to figure how to get the title yet!

[TheCafeKid]

Three letter sir: I T S (Internation Title Service) Basicly what they do is title the bike in a state that doesnt require a title for a bike that is over a certain number of years old. There are many states like this, New Hampshire for certain (as my beloved ES didnt have a title when I bought her, but because NH doesnt require them, Ohio had to honour my bill of sale and last registration and give me an Ohio title for it) They basicly register the bike in one of those states, send you that paperwork, and then you can in turn take it to your local BMV (Or DMV as some states call it) and get a temp tag for it in your state. It might take some calls and some talking to someone higher up than Sally the License Lady, but once you have temp tag, you can ride it up to the Title Office with your bill of sale, and whatever else ITS gives you, and they will talk in quite voices as they figure out what the correct proceedure is for this particular situation. 97% of the time they will walk out to the bike, inspect the VIN to assure that it matches the info they have (and some states require a safety inspection for vehicles from out of state, but Ohio doesnt, they just check the VIN) and then you pay for your new state Title. Then you can go get your permanent tags. At least this is how *I* did it. I had to finagle a temp tag since i didnt have a trailer to bring the bike up to the title office, but if you speak to the DMV branch manager, hopefully he/she is just as cool as the one here was, and called his boss and issued a temp tag for me to get it inspected. If you have a trailer, you can skip that process...Its not exactly cheap, I think around 150-200 bucks, but you will get a title for your machine!

[tlepac]

plug wire arcing

Thanks for the information. I live in MN and am hoping that I can get it for less but may have to go the way you describe. Guess I can't complain too much. Got the Bike for 200! Not bad for a 750 L!

[tlepac]

Plug wire Arcing

Well looks like the plug wire is not the whole problem. I switched the plug wires and #2 cylinder pipe stayed nice and cool to the touch.
Guess I have to go into the Carburetor again. I thought the Pilot jet was clean but I guess I have to do some more cleaning of it. I was able to get ! 8 # test mono filament through it last time but it must still have a clog somewhere. It would be so much more simple to send it off to get it cleaned and bench synced but where is the fun in that?

[greg78gs750]

incidentally, if you do decide to, you can, in fact, replace the plug wires entirely with the stock coils.

[tlepac]

Could you explain how? I thought you had to replace the coil to get new wires. And then new boots as well, of course.

[ryonker]

Someone correct me if I am wrong. I just replaced my coils and kept my old stock coils and decided to take off the plug wires. First I pulled the wire inner part out. Then I used a slighly curved pick and scraped out the old wire. Inside, there is a wire prong that you can slide a new plug wire on. I haven't done this yet, but I would think you would need to use something to secure the new wire in there so it doesn't just pull out. Like a small amount of epoxy or something less permanent.

Terry, you can look at mine and see what you need to do if you like. I think it would be worth putting new wires on there. Actually, for a couple hundred you could get new wires, coils, and a dyna s ingnition and be done with it !


Rick

[greg78gs750]

if you search, you can find some info on how to do it. i kind of chipped the old glue/sealant off around the wire, then kind of rotated and pulled and the wires broke free and pulled right out. one wire did break off at the coil, so i CAREFULLY drilled into the wire a bit, the rotation of the bit broke the wire free. there is a little spike in the bottom of the hole that inserts into the wire end, not unlike the spike on th eplug cap. i put a little shrink wrap on the new wires to snug the fit up a bit, then glued them in with a dab of high temp silicone. voila.

now, a word of warning.....i tried to do this with an old coil i had laying around for another, older, honda, and the wire was actually attached to the coil, no spike that it pushed into. so, it is a risk. but, i think the suzuk coils are the spike type, as far as i know. if you need any other info, let me know,

greg