***NEW TWIST!*** No spark after coils replaced

I realized this has been covered before, but I am stumped...

Left the ignition key turned "on" on my 78 points ignition kz650... after that, no spark, coil packs were extremely hot. Was told I most likely burned 'em up. So, I replaced them, and I still have NO spark. I have 12V at the positive terminal of both coils when the key is turned on. I checked the points, cleaned and gapped them, and they are working properly. I have power coming off of them (intermittently) as they open and close, and also have pulsating power up in the wire harness at the coil. This is correct, yes?

Bike ran fine before, cannot for the life of me figure out what is going on. I cannot get a spark at any of the plugs, yet the coils have juice. Help!

Check the sparkplug caps. They have a 5000 ohm, non replaceable resistor, that may have failed. New ones can be bought at www.z1enterprises.com or most Japanese motorcycle shops.

Odd, if you have input voltage to the coils, but no spark at the plugs. Tried grounding a plug attached to a sparkplug wire for spark to a cooling fin?

I use these to check spark:

Ignition Spark Testers
www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?pr...ivision=1&category=8
www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?pr...ivision=1&category=8

Yes, I pulled out the number 1 (far left cylinder head as sitting on the bike) and the number 4 (far right cylinder), attached them to the cap, and grounded them on the cooling fins...not even a faint spark. I am beyond stumped. Ugh...

Usually that fries the points.

You can test the coils easily using a DMM. But anytime anyone left the key "on" with a points ignition they fried the points/condensor.

I didn't replace the points or condensers, but they are cleaned, gapped, sparking, and giving off current from the condensors... No need to replace, right?

I've had weak spark with bad coils. Visually looks good, but won't run the engine. The only way to check them is to check the primary/secondary windings with an ohm meter. Your service manual will outline the procedure. Testing the points should be in the manual, if not there are many websites show you how to do it.

If the coils got hot, you may have a wiring issue somewhere, bad connection, etc.

A couple thoughts...

If you left he key on long enough to fry the coils you should charge your battery as it must have run down quite a bit. Be sure to use a low amp charger (less than 2 amps) and let it fully charge.

Also, once you charge the battery you may want to try kick starting the bike. That will provide more power to the coils than using the electric starter.

If none of that works, try removing one of the spark plug caps from the spark plug wire then see if you can get a spark to jump from the conductor in the spark plug wire to ground (the engine) when cranking the starter. Ed

***NEW TWIST!*** Ok, so something is definitely NOT right. I went out to the garage this evening and turned out the lights to see if there was even a faint spark from one of the two coils. When I pulled in the clutch and pushed on the electric start switch, I got a mild shock on the outside palm of my hand where it was touching the outboard mounted mirrors. Tried it again, and sure enough there is electricity pulsing through the handlebars when I push the starter button. WTH? Any ideas here? I am lost now. Thanks in advance for your replies!!

sounds like your grounding to the handle bars i would take apart your control and see if there are any busted wires or bad contections. did your bike stop after a rain storm maybe things got a little wet