Coil relay mod end all thread!!!!

[Kcwiro]

If you do this mod you will love it I assure you... I always get a smirk on my face when I flip my run switch and hear the coild get their power. When I switch the bike off with the switch just stops... I should just put a sticker on the kill switch that says loud and silent

I got a 3.0v increase personally... and I can definately tell the different in my start times.

[Blueandorangefish]

Anyone found a need for a tuneup following the mod? My engine seems to be having trouble settling on a good idle point now that the mod has been done. The carbs haven't been re-done in at least 3 years, so they're probably due some maintenance.

[TheCafeKid]

Anyone found a need for a tuneup following the mod? My engine seems to be having trouble settling on a good idle point now that the mod has been done. The carbs haven't been re-done in at least 3 years, so they're probably due some maintenance.

Now that you're getting GREAT spark, you've likely brought to attention a carb issue. Its likely in need of a good cleaning. Wandering idle is generally a sign of this, but it could also simply be a sign of needing a sync. I would suggest, since its been so long since they've been cleaned, and im assuming the bike has sat some if not a good portion of that time, that you clean the carbs properly, then sync and your problem should disappear.

[Blueandorangefish]

Should I adjust valve clearances first before balancing the carbs?

[TheCafeKid]

Should I adjust valve clearances first before balancing the carbs?

Yes, because what you change when you adjust the carbs may likely affect your balance. It may not also, as my last adjustment didnt affect my balance, but i also only had to change out one or two shims if i recal correctly.

[JHawkins]

My relay bit it today after about 600 maybe 700 miles. My uncle had the bike out today and put about 330 miles on. At about 300 it started missing occasionally, then at about 327 it failed completely.

Luckily he was 3 miles from my house and I had read about others having the relay fail. I pretty much knew exactly what the problem was as soon as he called! I just pulled the tank and hotwired the bike and all was well to get it home. Pulled the fuse at home and will fix it up in the morning. I have a real heavy duty GM relay in the garage that I picked up at Princess Auto- the equivalent of harbour freight as I understand it - and it will be going in tomorrow.

I have relays running my headlights directly from battery and they are 2 years old and still fine, I got them from a different source but they look identical. My guess is they are not! I'm thinking cheap chinese crap is what I am dealing with!

[duaneage]

If there is a voltage drop on the coils find out the cause and correct it. Using a relay to work around another problem is not the right way to approach a voltage drop

[posplayr]

duaneage

I agree with you technically, and in fact that was my initial thought when this thread started. However after following the thread and reading some who have taken apart, cleaned and greased all contacts and they still end up with over a volt drop to the coils I guess I have to agree.

I have seen appallingly high resistance in connectors and not where you would think (in the bullet), but rather in the crimp connections. If the connections are not too bad, I soak them in metal etch and then try and get solder to flow into crimp (). Molex connectors with multiple contacts are a little hard to heat up without melting the connector housing. The main reason I bought a new harness for my GS1100ED .

Anyway with the circuitous route the +12V battery takes to get to the coils, this the relay approach for the ignition my be the lesser of two evils. Doing all the others well, I might have to refrain from that.

But hp we gotta make even if the lights are a little dim

Posplayr

[Matchless]

.....I had read about others having the relay fail. I pretty much knew exactly what the problem was as soon as he called! I just pulled the tank and hotwired the bike and all was well to get it home. Pulled the fuse at home and will fix it up in the morning. I have a real heavy duty GM relay in the garage that I picked up at Princess Auto- the equivalent of harbour freight as I understand it - and it will be going in tomorrow.

I have relays running my headlights directly from battery and they are 2 years old and still fine, I got them from a different source but they look identical. My guess is they are not! I'm thinking cheap chinese crap is what I am dealing with!

Just a hint. The method and location of mounting these relays can contribute to early failing of the relays. Have a look at the OEM flasher unit mounting which is just a relay in another cofiguration. It should be mounted with some sort of vibration damper, usually a rubber piece.
If the relay has a tab, just use a small bit of reinforced rubber sheet, bolt it to the tab and bolt the rubber with another bolt to the frame, so that the relay casing does not contact the frame or any bolt to the frame, only the rubber part does.

[JHawkins]

My relay bit it today after about 600 maybe 700 miles. My uncle had the bike out today and put about 330 miles on. At about 300 it started missing occasionally, then at about 327 it failed completely.

Luckily he was 3 miles from my house and I had read about others having the relay fail. I pretty much knew exactly what the problem was as soon as he called! I just pulled the tank and hotwired the bike and all was well to get it home. Pulled the fuse at home and will fix it up in the morning. I have a real heavy duty GM relay in the garage that I picked up at Princess Auto- the equivalent of harbour freight as I understand it - and it will be going in tomorrow.

I have relays running my headlights directly from battery and they are 2 years old and still fine, I got them from a different source but they look identical. My guess is they are not! I'm thinking cheap chinese crap is what I am dealing with!

Well, it's looking like i blamed the relay too quickly! I replaced the relay and all seemed fine - for about 30 miles, then the bike quit again.

I pulled the tank and hotwired the coils and it still didn't work. It looks like the problem is in the inline fuse, or the wiretap that I used. I wiggled the wires and reseated the fuse and it all came back to life. I quickly wired the coils back up the same as stock to get myself home.

Tomorrow I will rewire with a new inline fuse, and a solder in the wires instead of the wiretap. I will also test out the old relay I took out, as it is likely just fine.

[peterpressure]

I was having issues with my Relay Mod a few weeks ago and it was always the wiretap I used. It would get hot and have a momentary disconnection. Replaced the splicer a few times and soldered all connections, no issues since....

[salty_monk]

I am one of the people who has cleaned & greased every connection without getting a huge increase in voltage at the coils... so I did this mod.

The ignitor box on mine was a big source of voltage drop, voltage spiked by 1v when I removed it from the system.... there's no way you can do anything about that so the relay mod is a good, cheap easy fix for me.
I also have voltage drop across the wires themselves probably from age & heat cycling etc, the resistance has gone up.

In short for me the only way to get full voltage otherwise would be to replace the wiring loom, kill switch, ignition switch plus the ignitor box - not exactly easy or cheap.

I have about 2500 miles on my G with this mod now.... (largely thanks to the Rally) anyone got any more than that?

Dan

[NetBSD]

about 350miles since this mod on my 450L and no issues. just alot easier to start in the AM and when it sits for a day or 2.

EDIT: for guys worried about the relay going bad just get a second one and mount it to the frame liek the other right next to it, if one goes bad you just swap the wires over.

[mottyl]

I got my coil voltage up to 11.5 by cleaning and lubing connectors. I also did a mod on the relay thing by running a wire from the battery thru a spare accessory sw to the coil input. That way i can switch it off or on. The spark went from pale yellow to blue.

However after all the rewire work thru the switch it turns out the cleaning had the best effect. Now I leave the switch off so I don't get surprised with a dead battery after a few days.
C