81 kz550 no start

got oem transistor ignition and put dyna 2.2 coils, dyna plug wires, and ngk d8ea plugs. had weak spark with old coils and cant get anything out of the dyna coils. 98% sure i did it all right.....only thing i wasnt sure about when it said to make sure there was clearance between screw head and mounting spacer?

The heads of the screws holding small wires to the ignition coil are very close to the spacers used for mounting the coils.

Be sure the screw heads don't touch and short out against the spacers.

In this photo, I simply used nylon tie wraps around the spacers for insulation.

But any insulation would be okay.

The metal spacers could be replaced with plastic (non-conductive) spacers.


Good Fortune!

[Click on image to enlarge the view.]

I've seen many Dyna coil installs have the screw heads too close to the mounting posts which cause a short.

i dont think my screw heads are touching. i even unmounted it and ran a jumper wire to ground where the screw goes and held it in my hand and didnt get anything. the coil is supposed to ground to the frame by the screws, right? thats what i was thinking and thought maybe it wasnt getting a good ground, but didnt get anything out of the out of it. i know im supposed to get voltage on the primary wires with key on. so i got a black and red/yellow to one coil and a green and red/yellow to other. should 12v be on all 4 or just the green and black, or just the 2 red/yellow??

bigbeardan wrote:

i dont think my screw heads are touching. i even unmounted it and ran a jumper wire to ground where the screw goes and held it in my hand and didnt get anything. the coil is supposed to ground to the frame by the screws, right? thats what i was thinking and thought maybe it wasnt getting a good ground, but didnt get anything out of the out of it. i know im supposed to get voltage on the primary wires with key on. so i got a black and red/yellow to one coil and a green and red/yellow to other. should 12v be on all 4 or just the green and black, or just the 2 red/yellow??

Until the engine is turning, there will be 12v on all four wires. As the engine turns, the igniter will ground either the black wire or the green wire in sequence.

None of the wiring lugs should be wired to ground. These are the screw heads we are concerned with shorting to the frame. They should not ever touch the frame or mounting posts.

The iron core of the coil does not need to be grounded to the frame to work. The coils will work floating in mid air as long as the metal bodies of the spark plugs can touch each other as they are what close the high-tension circuit. (Of course they also work if the spark plug bodies are both touching the same piece of metal... ie the engine.)

When you are checking for spark, the spark plug bodies should both touch the engine or each other.

ok, so......i have battery voltage on both yellow/red wires, but my green wire and black wire only have bout 3.5v on them. so i would guess that might be a small prob then? what would i be looking at for that voltage drop if it should be 12?

bigbeardan wrote:

ok, so......i have battery voltage on both yellow/red wires, but my green wire and black wire only have bout 3.5v on them. so i would guess that might be a small prob then? what would i be looking at for that voltage drop if it should be 12?

This is with the motor NOT turning?

Then the stock igniter is fried, or the black and green wires are somehow shorted, or the coils are shorted internally.

Unplug the big plug at the igniter. If the wiring and coils are good (before the igniter), you will then have battery voltage on all four wires at the coils.

loudhvx wrote:

This is with the motor NOT turning?

Then the stock igniter is fried, or the black and green wires are somehow shorted, or the coils are shorted internally.

Unplug the big plug at the igniter. If the wiring and coils are good (before the igniter), you will then have battery voltage on all four wires at the coils.

yeah i was describing key on...motor not turning. when you say coils u mean pickup or ignition cuz i really hope both brand new ignition coils arent shorted. so i should unplug the connector to the igniter and turn key on and all my wires should then have 12v? and that would mean bad igniter?

bigbeardan wrote:

yeah i was describing key on...motor not turning. when you say coils u mean pickup or ignition cuz i really hope both brand new ignition coils arent shorted. so i should unplug the connector to the igniter and turn key on and all my wires should then have 12v? and that would mean bad igniter?

I meant the new ignition coils. I'm only listing the possible causes of what it would take to get the condition you describe, but I strongly doubt both coils are internally shorted to ground. That's rare even on 30-year old coils. But it's not impossible, so I mentioned it.

It's also strange the igniter would suddenly short out on both ignition channels simultaneously.

If you have no battery voltage on the green and black wires at the coils, then only unplug the igniter, then have battery voltage on the green and black wires, the igniter is likely shorted. There is also a chance the green and black wires are somehow shorted just before they go into the igniter box.

Just curious to know if this was ever solved? I'm planning on getting the grey Dyna coils for my 82 KZ550 LTD and some new plug wires just to replace the old stuff as sort of preventative maintenance.