1982 kz1000ltd one coil firing

I have an '82 1000LTD that is only firing on one coil. Checked the coils and they're both fine. I'm guessing it's a corrosion issue in the ignition or something. Any help would be appreciated. This bikes been sitting for awhile but it ran fine when I stored it.

Have you checked to see if the spark plugs are firing from both coils? If it is you might want to to the wg coil mod. to produce a stronger spark.

Also check wiring to the coils.

Are the coils stock or aftermarket?

Using stock ignition or electronic?

Provide more info on your bike.

Any green crud in the electrical contacts (switches in the handle bars, bullet connectors, and harness plugs) means lower current flow through resistance. Go to the nearest welding supply store and buy some tip cleaners(small files that work out great to remove the crud from the female bullet connectors). A small brass bristle brush helps to scrub the male connectors of the green crud.

Follow this up with a spritz of electrical contact cleaner( not WD-40 as this later becomes a non-conductive coating, don't ask me how I know).

The ignition switch contacts wear with time and if they cannot be cleaned than replacement is the other option.

82 has electronic ignition stock.

Both coils (and the igniter) are powered by a red wire that plugs into a connector under the main frame tube, so if one coil is firing then both should be.

I just went through the 82 KZ1000 LTD ignition a couple weeks ago, so it's still fresh in my mind.

How do you know that one coil is not firing? Did you check for spark, and how did you do it??

Thanks for the responses. I checked for spark and was only getting it through one coil. I switched the wires to trouble shoot and the other coil worked. I went through and checked all the connectors,cleaned them accordingly and used die-electric grease on them. The bike has a stock ignition. I also tried another set of oem coils with the same result. I'm still leaning towards the ignition contacts. Where can I find a resonably priced decent aftermarket ignition?

I did have one leg of an old Martek ignition go down. But others seem to be eternal. I would guess that Z1 Enterprises would be a good bet to pick up a Dyna S. GLuck!

If by "ignition contacts" you mean the ignition switch, then, nope, can't happen. Like I said above, there is "one" wire form the ignition switch that powers both coils and the igniter.

Check the resistance on both pickups (behind the little round cover on the right side of the motor) using the test procedure listed in the manual, if both test good then that leaves only the igniter.

And it is possible for only one side of the igniter to go bad, thus firing only one coil.

If it is the igniter, you can pick up another used one, buy a Dyna S ignition for around $150, or make your own igniter following the directions available here . There may be new aftermarket igniters available to replace just your stock igniter, but I haven't checked.

If it's a bad ignition pickup, then I think your only options are replacing it with a used one, or buying a Dyna S.

Dyna S is available for $120 plus shipping at Z1 Enterprises

Also check your ignition advance to see what kind of shape it's in (broke springs, rust and if it has lubrication).