81 kz650 igniter bench test

Looking at the manual to test my igniter and the graph that it shows makes no sense to me. Can anyone give me a step-by-step?

I don't know what graph you mean. In the 1981 KZ650 FSM there's an Igniter Resistance chart on pg 5-11 (Table 5-10), so you'd need a multimeter to do the tests.

ellwinger wrote:

Looking at the manual to test my igniter and the graph that it shows makes no sense to me. Can anyone give me a step-by-step?

Maybe you could post a picture of the graph you are referring to and explain what you are trying to achieve

That is the chart I'm talking about!

That's the chart I'm talking about. I just want to know if my igniter is good or not!

No chart attachment here!

That is the chart I'm talking about!  

Maybe post the page number and what manual it is and years covered. In the FSM there's a graph for the timing advance in which you would use a strobe light, something I've never done.  As for checking the ignition system, be sure to clean, inspect, & lubricate the timing advancer >> operate it by hand to make sure the rotor snaps back.  Also, other than an advancer in need of service, I'd say the most common failure would be the stock ignition coils; mine were getting very hot to the touch.

ellwinger,

Why do you suspect the igniter? They are surprisingly robust, and not often a problem.

Assuming (I know) that you are talking about the test procedures on page 5-11 of the service manual, the first things you need are a volt-Ohm meter capable of reading the values specified in the charts, and a fully charged battery.
Chart 5-9, Wiring Inspection is to insure that full battery voltage is going where it is supposed to and not going where it should not. The second set of tests, IC Igniter Resistance, is to asses the health of the circuits inside the igniter. There are two sets of wires coming out of the igniter. Some are solid colored, others have a contrasting stripe. A wire labeled Black /Yellow is a black wire with a yellow stripe. A wire labeled Red (Black) is a solid red wire plugged into a solid black wire.
The first test to make is to determine exact voltage of the battery. Set your meter to 25V DC. At this setting it will measure from 0 to 25 volts of direct current. Put the negative probe of the meter on the negative battery post. Make sure it is on the post, not the cable, a bolt or a clamp. Put the positive probe on the positive battery post and note the reading. A reading of 13.2 would be ideal. Below 12 is a problem. Write down the reading so that it does not get mixed up with all the other numbers that are going to be flying around in your brain.

Looking at the chart for the first two tests, called Wiring Inspection, you will see in the far left column what the meter should be st to. In this case, 25V DC. The negative probe should be to ground. The engine case is usually a good choice if it is not painted. Follow he solid color wires from the igniter to the first connector. Use the positive probe on your meter to make connection with each connector as listed. Yes, the connectors must be connected, the igniter must be in place and you must be able to switch the power on and off as noted on the text. Carefully write down the reading for each test. One decimal place should be fine for this.

The next set of tests are made with the key off and the connectors disconnected. Disconnect ALL of the connectors for the igniter so that you do not get a bogus reading from another component. As you can see in the far left column, you will be testing part of the circuits at 1,000 Ohms (1k), and the rest at 100 Ohms. Pay close attention to which probe from your meter goes to which wire in each test. Carefully write down each meter reading.
Once you have all the readings written down, report them here.

P.S. There appears to be a misprint in the resistance chart. The next to last test shows an acceptable range of 25 - 45k Ohms. This seems highly unlikely since the meter is to be set on 1k Ohms. I bet it should read 25 - 45 Ohms.

I only have one and four firing and  two and three not. The coils and pick-ups check good. The chart just confuses me.

ellwinger wrote:

I only have one and four firing and  two and three not. The coils and pick-ups check good. The chart just confuses me.

I had a igniter on a 650 do something similar, actually there was spark on the one side but so weak you could hardly see it. Ended up putting another spark tester on it that showed it was sparking too weak to light the cylinders on 1/4.
Never resolved the igniter issue because of the same issue you had with the chart, gave up pretty quick.
Yanked that OEM setup off and went to a Dyna S with 3 ohm coils, issue solved.



There are instructions on here to make a igniter substitute but I was too busy at the time to buy the parts and cobble it together.
One day I will make a few of those setups because I have at least 3-4 OEM ignitions with a bunch of untested igniters!

 

Could be a bad secondary wire or a bad plug as well.
Sometimes corrosion forms at the ends of the secondary wires. You can pull the caps off and snip about 1/4 inch off the wire, and then push the cap back on. The coil ends can be snipped as well. When you cut them, look closely at the wire strands. If you see green corrosion after snipping, it is likely time for new wires. The caps can also be checked for proper resistance.
Sparkplugs do go bad, and do not always give an outward sign. If they are recently purchased NGK plugs that did not come from an official NGK dealer, you may have gotten some bad Chinese clones.