coil problems

hi there, i'm new to the board, and i'm also new to the kawasaki scene. i just bought a 77 kz200 a few weeks ago and i'm having a small problem. i think i've narrowed it down to the coil because the coil is getting really hot. basically the problem starts a few minutes after i start riding. the bike starts up first kick or 2, and runs smooth. then after it gets a little warmed up i guess it cuts out and usually goes dead leaving me stranded. i let it cool down a little and it starts right back up again. now at first i thought it was fuel, but it's definitely getting plenty of fuel. i had the bike sitting for about 10 minutes earlier today with the key in start position and the coil got really hot and started smoking. i quickly turned the key to off position and it stopped, but the terminals were so hot it melted the plastic on the coil a little bit. i tried cleaning the terminals because i thought maybe it was a bad connection, but it didn't help. should i just replace the coil? or what else could it be?

Post edited by: coreylol, at: 2007/05/07 21:46

If you are sure the coils are smoking they just may have a short and may need replacing

it's a single cylinder. and i'm pretty sure its the coil . it's the big plastic cylindrical thing the sparkplug wire comes out of. and it's melted on both sides. and gets very hot

Do you have a manual and a multimeter? It may be a good idea to check the voltage to the coils and make shure there isnt another problem before you fry a new set of coils.

Welcome to KZr coreylol.

The first thing I'd suggest is checking all of the electrical components (reg/rec, battery, igniter, points/condensor, etc.) and the entire wiring harness including all connectors for any signs of problems.

It just might be as simple as the wiring shorting out somewhere - where the wires gather in (and behind) the headlight bucket are notorious areas for electrical problems and shorts on older bikes like ours.

so you guys think it's probably a short and not a bad coil?

When a coil shorts, it gets REALLY hot. To check for shorts, get a multimeter. Put the meter in OHMS scale. With key OFF, put the POS probe on the wire where the ignition connects to the coil. Put the NEG probe on the lug where the power connects to the coil. There are two lugs on the coil end where two small wires connect... these are the lugs where you need to put your probes.

Not sure what type ignition you have on your bike but if it is a points or IC Igniter type ignition, the impedence should be between ~ 3 and 4.5 Ohms. If you have signifcantly different, the primary windings may be shorting... these windings are copper and coated with plastic. If the plastic melts and the wire touches, they short... and get hot.

To test the secondary windings, I am not sure how to test a single cylinder as you will only have one spark plug but if you have a manual, you might want to give this a look. On a multi-cylinder, you test between two of the plug wires and the impedence will be between ~ 12K and 20K Ohms.

The KZ200A is a single cylinder engine with points ignition and a single ignition coil.
The problem you describe is most likely caused by a bad coil.
If it's difficult to find a KZ200 coil, you can use one of the single coils from a 1981-1982 KZ305 twin on your bike, it's the same parts number.

I'm pretty sure you can use this one as well:

www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c...NTRY_ID:100000143876

ok so i finally got around to replacing the coil. it did not solve the problem. so i was tinkering one day and i left the key in the ON position for about 20 minutes. the coil started smoking and it split. needless to say it no longer works. so i put my old coil on and now the bike runs even worse than before. so it must not be the coil thats the problem, probably a short in the wiring?

i also recently noticed that the tank is full of rust. so i replaced the fuel filter which seemed to be completely full of rust as well. so next step will be cleaning the main jet

but first things first...what would be the best way to find the short in the wiring?