TOPIC:

wrote:

It would be good to trace the fault as it may be affecting other items if it's on the battery side of the ignition switch.

So I traced the wiring from the battery through the 20amp fuse and up to the ignition switch and all was ok.
With the kill switch in the off position I then traced the ignition circuit from the ignition switch up to the kill switch and all ok.
Once the kill switch was made the voltage dropped a couple of volts. Thinking that the culprit was the kill switch contacts I shorted out the wires but the result was still the same.
Just to make sure and eliminate the switchgear completely I disconnected the 4 wire connecter to the kill switch and shorted across the terminals that would go to the kill switch, there was still a couple of volts drop.
To eliminate as much circuitry as possible I then disconnected the wire that comes from the kill switch to the coils thus leaving just the two positive wires leading to the coils and the ground wires from the coils to the dyna s. I then introduced a seperate 12volt battery to these positive leads and checked the auxilliary battery voltage before and after connecting and there was still a big voltage drop.
If I check the resistance from the negative side of the coils to the battery it gives a reading of 7.7 ohms presumably going through both coils to ground?
One thing I have noticed that I wanted to check with you is that the previous owner who installed the coils ran a ground wire from the battery to the mounting bars running through both coils. Is this correct as I cant find any instructions or diagrams that mention this at all.
 

You are in danger of going down a rabbit hole, I would suggest you follow the resistance fault diagnosis section of the guide I posted and forget using an ohmmeter to diag this fault. If you follow the process in the guide you would have probably found the source of your problem in the time you have spent on it so far. All measurements should be taken with a voltmeter with everything connected and the ign switched on. The earth to the coil mount serves no purpose as there is no connection from the coils to the mounting bar. You need to check

1. voltage at the coils - 9.3v
2. voltage out of the kill switch
3. voltage into the kill switch
4. voltage out of the ign switch
5. voltage into the ign switch
6. voltage out of the fuse
7. voltage into the fuse

all measurements to be taken without disconnecting anything and with the ign and kill switch turned on

you started on the right path "​​​​​​​Once the kill switch was made the voltage dropped a couple of volts. Thinking that the culprit was the kill switch contacts I shorted out the wires but the result was still the same" ​​​​​​​ You where already at step 4

Wookie is correct in the tests you need to do.

Do one test for me.
make sure everything is connected (coils, dyna..everything)
turn on the key switch
turn the kill switch to run

meter on DC V

black probe on the POSITIVE battery post (post is the metal part of the battery)
red probe on the POSITIVE battery terminal (this is the connector attached to the positive battery cable)
Give us the voltage to the hundredth decimal place (ex 1.02v)
The voltage will be very low.
make note if you see the MV symbol instead of V symbol with this reading.

Do the same with the negative side of the battery.
one probe on the negative post
one probe on the negative terminal
what is your voltage?

Don't use the resistance setting(that setting can be deceiving with these tests)

turn bike off


photo: www.motorcycleid.com/battery-cables-connectors.html
 

wrote:

You are in danger of going down a rabbit hole, I would suggest you follow the resistance fault diagnosis section of the guide I posted and forget using an ohmmeter to diag this fault. If you follow the process in the guide you would have probably found the source of your problem in the time you have spent on it so far. All measurements should be taken with a voltmeter with everything connected and the ign switched on. The earth to the coil mount serves no purpose as there is no connection from the coils to the mounting bar. You need to check
Wookie and F64. In bold are the measurements as requested

1. voltage at the coils  9.59v  and 9.58v
2. voltage out of the kill switch  10.44v
3. voltage into the kill switch  10.48v
4. voltage out of the ign switch  11.02v
5. voltage into the ign switch   11.45v
6. voltage out of the fuse  11.82v
7. voltage into the fuse   11.87v

Also checked battery voltage with ignition on 12.1v

Positive battery post to positive terminal 0.000v
Negative battery post to negative terminal 0.001v


all measurements to be taken without disconne
cting anything and with the ign and kill switch turned on

you started on the right path "Once the kill switch was made the voltage dropped a couple of volts. Thinking that the culprit was the kill switch contacts I shorted out the wires but the result was still the same" ​​​​​​​ You where already at step 4

wrote:

 
Wookie and F64. In bold are the measurements as requested

1. voltage at the coils  9.59v  and 9.58v
2. voltage out of the kill switch  10.44v
3. voltage into the kill switch  10.48v
4. voltage out of the ign switch  11.02v
5. voltage into the ign switch   11.45v
6. voltage out of the fuse  11.82v
7. voltage into the fuse   11.87v

Also checked battery voltage with ignition on 12.1v

Positive battery post to positive terminal 0.000v
Negative battery post to negative terminal 0.001v

 

Ok, so what you have here ( not sure if you read the post regarding why guys fit by-pass relays) is lots of small loses at every connection and switch (this will be due to corrosion and loss of tension in connectors) this is basically the aging process. When the engine is running system voltage will be around 13 - 13.5v ish so your ignition out voltage will be around 12.5v which will be fine for all the other systems on the bike. The problem comes with the ignition as during cranking (battery voltage around 9.5 - 10v) your ignition voltage will be around 7 - 7.5v. If you carry out the by-pass relay mod you will have very close to battery voltage at the coils and Dyna (10v cranking - 13v engine running) which should give better starting and smoother running. The alternative is to address each of the resistance issues along the circuit but this will be time consuming, costly and not needed.
Also without the coils and Dyna on the circuit the current draw will be much smaller and consequently the voltage losses will be much smaller so the output from the kill switch will be adequate to power the switched side of the by-pass relay

Wookie and F64. In bold are the measurements as requested

1. voltage at the coils 9.59v  and 9.58v 
losing almost 1 volt in wiring from kill switch to coils -.86v
2. voltage out of the kill switch 10.44v
kill switch is good electrically  -.04v
3.voltage into the kill switch 10.48v
losing almost half a volt in wiring from ignition switch to kill switch) -.54v
4.voltage out of the ign switch  11.02v
losing half a volt in the ignition switch--may need to clean switch or switch terminals -.43v
5.voltage into the ign switch   11.45v
losing half a volt in wiring from fuse to ignition switch) -.37v
6.voltage out of the fuse  11.82v
fuse -.03
7.voltage into the fuse   11.87v
wiring from battery to fuse is ok but clean fuse clips just in case -.23v
8.Also checked battery voltage with ignition on 12.1v

Positive battery post to positive terminal 0.000v(battery connection good)
Negative battery post to negative terminal 0.001v(battery connection good)

Wookie and F64. In bold are the measurements as requested

If you add up all of the voltage drops in green and red you will total 2.5v.
2.5-12.1=9.6v at the coil.
 

Thanks Wookie and F64 for your help and persistance.
I think I will do the relay mod and be done with it.
I believe it said a 10amp fuse???

wrote:

Thanks Wookie and F64 for your help and persistance.
I think I will do the relay mod and be done with it.
I believe it said a 10amp fuse???

If you are going to power the Dyna as well I would suggest 15a and suitable gauge cables

Well I fitted the relay mod and now there is just 0.1 volt difference between the battery voltage and coil voltage when all switched on.
When the weather allows I will see how much difference it makes. Hopefully sooty plugs will be a thing of the past.
Thanks Wookie and F64 for your help.

wrote:

Well I fitted the relay mod and now there is just 0.1 volt difference between the battery voltage and coil voltage when all switched on.
When the weather allows I will see how much difference it makes. Hopefully sooty plugs will be a thing of the past.
Thanks Wookie and F64 for your help.

You are welcome, and thanks for closing the loop on this one.
Be well

Bad news is that despite doing this the plugs are still just as sooty after a test ride

wrote:

Bad news is that despite doing this the plugs are still just as sooty after a test ride

Well on the "up side" you know what isn't causing the fouling now ( ign voltage is good) try taking a look at the below thread

www.kzrider.com/forum/3-carburetor/61831...lug-fouling?start=36