BOTH coils melted on my 81' KZ1100 !!

Hey all...

Had a bad motorcycle day yesterday.

Got a new set of Dunlop Elite III's I was gonna have installed today, but instead the following happened:

Needing new tires, I hadn't started my 81' KZ1100 in about 2 mos & had to do a quick jump start to get it going Sat am. Ran fine for about 5 mins & shut it off. Tried starting it again 4 hrs later - again started fine, ran it for about 5 mins & shut it off. Of course the real test was letting it sit overnight. Started it Sun am - again started fine & was gonna let it run for 5 mins tops, but got sidetracked & 2 HOURS LATER remembered I had left it running !!

Actually, it wasn't running anymore - garage was full of exhaust smoke, headlight was still on, hissing sound from gas cap… I thought ok, maybe it's just overheated.

After letting it cool down, I noticed the lower side of each of the factory coils had melted to a point where the lower spark plug wires had melted off and the anode in each coil was melted away ! So gonna need coils & plug wires

From reading a few posts here, I think I have a 3ohm setup, but I'm not sure & don't think I can measure it in it's current condition.


I looked under the classifieds here & found a seller who has a used set of coils & wires that will work, but of course, they are used. Not that he's damaged them in any way, but they are 25 yrs old.

Did a little bit' of searching on denniskirk.com & was wondering if I can use the Accel Super Coil kit in its place?

Thoughts??

Thanks,
Dale

(I'd attach a pic, but it's too depressing & embarassing):ohmy:

DUDE!
You left your bike running for TWO HOURS?!?!
Holy shamolee!
I think you might be able to use just about any coil from an older japenese bike and it should work OK.
If I'm wrong, the KZ Gods will be letting me know soon.
Then there will be the stock vs Dyna discussion.


TWO HOURS?!?
:blink:

Ok, maybe 1 3/4 hours, but still VERY embarassing.

Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have put my real name down either.

I did research on stock & they are about $105 each, IF they can be bought. From reading here, I think I'd like to go with an aftermkt kit - more volts.

I suggest that you should put your bike year/model and probably the location in your signature. I doubt I would want to buy coils without having identified specifically which impedence value was needed. MANY models have varying impedences... some 1.5 Ohms, some 2.5 Ohms and some 3 (actually about 3. Ohms.

Once you have correctly identified what you need, www.z1enterprises.com sells both Accel and Dyna coils for less than denniskirk.com. I would suggest some new wires/caps while you are in the spending mode since these surely were damaged by the coil melt down.

Thank you for the info. I'll update my profile.

Due to the coil meltdown, how do I get the actual impedence of the original coils?

I checked denniskirk when I bought tires & took advantage of their "beat it by a buck" program. I saved about $75 total on my set of Dunlop Elite III's.

I'll check z1enterprises too.

Yeah, that's why I was asking if the Accel Super Coil kit would work - looks like it comes with coils, wires, etc. already pre-cut & ready to go.

Before you go buying coils, I suggest doing a compression check as you seriously overheated that motor.

That's a good Idea. I will look, but do you know what compression I should have & what's acceptable?

I'm hoping the coils went south before any major engine damage was done.

Post edited by: dgiardina, at: 2006/09/18 22:04

I did some checking... how do I do the compression check w/o the coils installed?

Is it as easy as removing all the plugs, installing the gauge in the 1st spark plug hole & pressing the start button?

Yes, but you do each cylinder, not just #1. The choke should be off and the throttle must be wide open.
You crank for at least 5 or so revolutions at which point the needle should stop moving upward. If the needle is still moving upward then allow a few more revolutions. Make sure to count so you do each cylinder the same way. Usually it's more important that each cylinder is within about 10 percent of the others, more so than actual numbers as long as you are up above 120 psi.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/09/19 03:24

Interesting questions, which failed first, the coils, or the motor, and was the coil melting due to self generated heat, or the heat generated by the motor?

I think it was the heat generated by the motor that melted the coils, with no airflow moving across the cooling fins for that amount of time, I bet that motor got "HOT"!!

I also think the hissing sound from the gas cap was due to the gas in the tank boiling, I think you came real close to losing your garage to a fire:woohoo:

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/09/19 08:25

the 81 1100 came with 2.2 ohm coils if you put 3 ohm coils on it they will fry too.

I would get a set of used coils from ebay and maybe a set of new wires from Jeff and give it a try.

the coils you need will have the male spade conectors on the coil and have replaceable wires,they were used on most 4 cylinder Kawasakis from 81-85 and the police bikes from 82-04

if it got to hot, the compression numbers will tell the tale.

the 81 1100 came with 2.2 ohm coils if you put 3 ohm coils on it they will fry too.

Now, hold on a sec. I think that's backwards. Yeah, the kz11 probably used 2.4, but that wouldn't mean that 3.0s would fry. It means that 1.5s might fry. The lower the resistance, the higher the current. If you put a higher resistance coil in, all that would happen is that you would get a weaker spark. When in doubt, go higher. But, I think dgiardina should be worried about is what motor damage he experienced. Two hours of idle would not fry a set of coils. It would, however, totally melt an air-cooled, non-ducted IC engine.