Points/Coils - GS1000L

[Anonymous]

Bike was working but rough and misfired, now not starting. I Thought it was the cabs so I took them apart and cleaned them and it still did not start. I checked for spark from coils and got nothing from #1 and #4, did a reading on the coil and got 3 ohms. Would the problem be the points or something else?

[AOD]

first off, give us some details about your bike. what year, engine, condition?

if you have points, it is best to check and make sure they are working properly. make sure they aren't 'stuck' together, and that they move freely. set the gap to .014 in. and check it again after you tighten the screws. use sandpaper or a matchbook to clean the points and make sure they are 'square' in shape.

if the points are gapped and look good, and you aren't getting spark, we can go from there.

~Adam

[Anonymous]

Sorry about that, I am a newbie at this. The bike is a 1979 GS1000L with approx. 26,000kms on it. I recently bought it, in June this year. It was working good initially except for a clanking at low rpms. Also I am not getting good gas mileage, about 170kms on a full tank. After about a month, I started getting a hard start and a misfiring feeling in the lower gears.

Thanks for the info on the gap setting as I wasn't too sure about that, I will check that tomorrow after work and let you know how that goes.

Dave

[earlfor]

Re: Points/Coils - GS1000L

If you measure 3 ohms across the secondary terminals and 30K to 40K ohms on the primary (spark plug cap contact to spark plug contact in the 1 and 4 boots) then your coil is fine. The problem is the 1-4 pointset (left set). The left set adjustment and timing is accomplished by rotation of the complete breaker plate, so adjusting the 1-4 side requires that you also do the 2-3 side by movement of its 1/2 breaker plate.

Here is a copy of my previous post on this.

The round 6" plate that both sets of points are mounted on (breaker plate) is held in place by three screws located at 12, 4 and 8 oclock.
Loosen the 3 screws on the breaker plate. Note that the screw at 12 oclock is in a slot. Rotate the breaker plate until the 12 oclock screw is centered in the slot. Tighten the three screws.

We will replace the left side set of points first (located at 9 oclock position) These are the points for cylinders 1 and 4.

IMPORTANT....rotate crankshaft clockwise ONLY. Do not back up.

Take a 19 mm wrench and rotate crankshaft until points are at widest gap. Unscrew hold down screw on pointset and remove points. Note the white wire that goes to the pointset and the placement of the insulator. The insulator must be correct or the points will be grounded out and will not work. Put the new points onto the breaker plate, set the gap to 14 thousandths, and lightly tighten the hold down screw. Install white wire.
Rotate crankshaft once again with 19mm wrench until points are at widest gap. Check that widest gap remains at 14 thousandths. Adjust and retighten holddown screw if needed.

Rotate crankshaft until rightside points are at widest gap (for cylinders 2 and 3) Remove old points and install new points and set gap at 14 thousandths. Note insulators on black wire installation. Rotate crankshaft with 19 mm wrench again stopping at widest gap. Recheck gap as you did with the left pointset. Adjust and retighten hold down screw on points if needed.

THE ABOVE COVERS SETTING THE POINTS GAPS




Next is the timing:

Timing for cylinders 1 and 4 (the left set of points)....................
With 19 mm wrench, rotate crankshaft while looking through the timing window and align the mark that looks like F1| with the timing mark on the engine case.
(the line following F1 is the mark (|) NOTE: on my bike, the mark is F1|.
I have been told that on some bikes the sequence can be |F1. In any event, align with the "|" mark.

note: some bikes will have a stationary timing mark on the engine case and some will have a mark on a stationary timing plate that can be seen through the timing window)

Connect a continuity lights wire lead/clip to the white wire clip on the left pointset. Clamp continuity light probe tip to ground on the bike or battery negative terminal.

Turn ignition switch to on (do not attempt to start bike, just switch ignition to on)

The continuity light should be on.

Loosen the three screws on the breaker plate located at 12, 4 and 8 oclock. Rotate breaker plate until continuity light just flickers out.
Retighten the 12, 4, and 8 oclock screws on the breaker plate.

Unclip continuity lead from left pointset.



For the Right pointset
Rotate crankshaft with wrench until you see the timing mark F2| become aligned with the stationary timing mark on the engine case.
Connect continuity light lead to black wire on right pointset.
The ignition should be switched on and the continuity light should be on.

The right pointset is mounted to a breaker half plate.
You will see that you can loosen the mounting screws on this breaker half plate and this will allow you to move the right pointset. This will adjust the timing without changing the points gap. When you rotated the complete breaker plate for the left pointset to get the continuity light to flicker out, thats what you did. You adjusted the timing on cylinders 1 and 4 without changing the gap on their pointset.
Unfortunately, the whole breaker plate being rotated moves BOTH sets of points, so that is why you must set the left side first and that is why the right side is mounted on its own independent half breaker plate.
SOoooooo.... Loosen the breaker half plate on the right side and rotate as needed to cause the continuity light to just flicker out.
Tighten the half plate back down when satisfied with the adjustment.

Remove continuity light and HOPEFULLY, start bike. :-)

Earl

Bike was working but rough and misfired, now not starting. I Thought it was the cabs so I took them apart and cleaned them and it still did not start. I checked for spark from coils and got nothing from #1 and #4, did a reading on the coil and got 3 ohms. Would the problem be the points or something else?

[AOD]

an easy check to do as well is take off the timing cover, and start the bike up. its easier to see this at night, but do you see any sparks coming from the points area? do this AFTER you set the gap and adjust the points. i wouldn't mess with the timing until after you verify you have NO sparks. if you have sparks, its a condensor issue.

if adjusting and cleaning the points doesn't cure the situation, Earls walk-through on timing is good.

[earlfor]

When the points close, current goes to ground and when they open the circuit is broken. The points will always spark.
Earl

an easy check to do as well is take off the timing cover, and start the bike up. its easier to see this at night, but do you see any sparks coming from the points area? do this AFTER you set the gap and adjust the points. i wouldn't mess with the timing until after you verify you have NO sparks. if you have sparks, its a condensor issue.

if adjusting and cleaning the points doesn't cure the situation, Earls walk-through on timing is good.

[AOD]

i was told they shouldn't and sparks meant a bad condensor.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info guys, very informative and useful.

I cleaned and set the gap to .014 on the left side points and got spark from 1 and 4 plugs. However I was unable to gap the right side points as the previous owner seemed to have done some work on it and damaged the head of the screw and I am yet to get it off. The bike is still not starting because I guess the timing is off now. Before I attempt that, I need some help with the continuity light, what is it and what does it look like :? You are talking to a rookie with bikes here.

Will work on it tomorrow or over the weekend when I have more time.

Dave

[SqDancerLynn1]

Swap the coils side to side and see if you still have the problem or if it moves to 3&2 It's probably time for new coils. My 78GS850 started to get hard to start and would backfire at low speeds. New /used coils fixed the problem. For a continiuity light just use a 12v bulb. The engines are normally noisey on idle, I would check the cam tensioner if it is too noisey or the clutch if the noise changes with clutch pulled in

[saaz]

The points will always spark a little, the condensors stops it being too bad. I used to have 3 sets of points on the GT750 and 2 sets on the GS1000. I must say I never replaced a condensor on the bike. The points do wear, both the friction material where they rub on the cam and the points surface. keep that cam greased. The points do pit and become eratic, so replace them. CB 750 ones work, as may other generic points.

[earlfor]

A small spark is normal when the points break, a big blue mutha of a spark is not normal. :-)

Earl

i was told they shouldn't and sparks meant a bad condensor.

[AOD]

okay Earl, so doing the check at night for sparks is still a good idea. you dont want a lot of spark loss...

~Adam

[Anonymous]

Okay guys, got a continuity light, connected it as Earl said to. The problem though is that it lit up while the bike was off and as soon as I turned the bike on, the continuity light went out and never lit again after that. Help!!!