Coil Mod failure

Coil Mod


After 2 weeks of working on my electrical system, I've got my bike running again.
Just had a great week of weather, and I missed it because of a part that costs less than $10.
Two weeks ago I rode to my buddy Dwayne's place to go out for a ride together.
Time comes to head out and my bike wont start.
Have lights, turns over strong using the electric starter, but she doesn't fire.
Check for spark, nothing, so the rides called off and into Dwaynes garage she goes.

I am running a Kawasaki electronic ignition off of a 650 CSR.
I suspect the IC Igniter, as there is power to the coils.
Try the resistance tests on the Igniter, and one plug doesn't pass.
I have another spare igniter, but it also doesn't read well on the meter.
I try it, and still no spark.

Another buddy, Jeff, suggests I may need another battery, (as the one in there currently is 7 years old, and I've had a few electrical problems this season) and to try boosting it off my van (not running) as he had an igniter fail because of a weak battery.
Try the boost, but no luck.

Next I try the points set up that I have in my basement.
Swap on the points, change the coils, check all connections and still no spark.
All circuits seem fine, even coils test good with 12 volts comming to them and through down towards the points.
Swap the condenser as I have a new one still in a bag. Doesn't help.

I think it over a few days, and think I should check that 12 volts is coming to the coils while I press the electric start button.
I buy another relay, used in the Coil Mod (a Bosch), and do the test tonight.
As I suspected, when I turn on the ignition, there is 12 volts at the coils.
When I hit the starter button, the voltage dropped drastically.
That's not good, and still no spark.
I swap on the new Bosch relay, and check for spark.
And there is. Finally I've got good spark again.

Swap the electronic ignition back on again, as I know it worked, and have spark.
Tank back on and fuel the carbs.
Try to start her and she does.
Takes a while to warm up and idle well as she's sat for a few weeks.
Took her for a short ride to a close gas station to fill up the gas tank, and she ran well.

So the relay, that I've been using for about 4 years malfunctioned in the end.
I'd been meaning to buy a spare to carry with me just in case.

The whole time testing, I was using the electric start as I cannot use the kick starter easily with the rear set pegs I've got on.
I have to remove the foot peg, which is just a clip and pin, and then the kick start lever hits the brake at about 75% of it's travel.
The electric starter was strong enough during tests, so I didn't bother using the kick, but maybe she would have started this way.

Hope this helps someone else using the coil mod with problems some day.

If you got 4 years out of the relay, thats pretty good considering. Ever thought of Fixing the low voltage issue and doing away with the relay?

That's a good lesson for those of us with the coil mod.

:whistle:

Old Man holding his tongue is funny.

Fact is, I've gotta use a relay in my new system, only way to get my RFID ignition to work. But I bought a Bosch one that should be low power and give me long service.

sorry dumb question, what relay are you guys talking about? Im still trying to comprehend this whole coil mod thing.

When you do the coil mod, you circumvent the coil power so that it comes directly off the battery through a relay which is activated by the wire that used to power the coils. It's done as a fix for low coil voltage, since the coils get their power from the kill switch, which is pretty likely to have enough resistance to drop the voltage at your coils significantly.

In my opinion, the only way to truly fix this system is to get a new handlebar control assembly, and replace all the wiring and connectors between your battery and coils. You might be able to replace the wires and connectors and have it all work, but an old kill switch will always be the weak link causing a voltage drop. The ignition switch as well is another thing that will cause a voltage drop.

I swear I missed this Oprah episode...

"You're getting a coil mod, you're getting a coil mod, you're getting a coil mod!"

:evil: :whistle: :S

haha. Does anyone have a link to a page that explains this mod?

cobura wrote: haha. Does anyone have a link to a page that explains this mod?

Was T-Dub typing in heiroglyphics? :whistle:

Its at the top of Rob's original post.

cobura wrote: ...anyone have a link to a page that explains this mod?

Here's the link > www.wgcarbs.com//index.php?option=com_co...view&id=12&Itemid=26

An alternative is to assure the wiring and connectors and switches are conducting efficiently without losing voltage anywhere between the battery and the coils.

Here are the typical check-points:


Good Fortune!