Testing my coils - Need help

[Zen Dragon]

OK i got the fuse problem under control as far as I can tell.

Now it is time to check my coils.

here are the instructions that I was told

(Test your caps and plug wires which can get worse with heat. Pull the Nos 1 and 4 plug caps and test the resistance from one end, through the coil, to the other (coil still installed, this is easy). There should be 15,000 ohm for the coil plus something like 5,000 ohm for each plug cap +/- 10% Do the other the same way.)

Now my question is.....

How do I do this on my multi meter?
which setting do I put it on to test?
Can anyone help?
I have only used a multi meter once before so im not sure hopw to do it.

Thanks.

[Mike Hart]

resistance test with multimeter

Is your meter analog or digital?

If digital and auto-ranging, just set the selector to the Ohms position, put one lead on one cap, the other lead on the other cap, voila.

If analog, set the range for K (kilohms, 1000's) in Resistance mode (Ohms), there should be a roller to adjust the meter to read zero when you short your test leads together. Then, same as above with leads.

You know what the symbol for Ohms looks like, right? The black lead usually stays on the Common or '-' hole, the red lead may have 3 places to put it - V, A, Ohms. Or, the meter may handle that, having only one place for each lead. Depends on the meter.

You can ruin the Ohms portion of some meters by putting the leads across a voltage while in the Ohms position, so... don't

If you get strange (high) readings, take the plug caps off and try again.

[Zen Dragon]

the multi meter that I have is as described below.
what setting do I put it on?

Model GDT-190A
it has a digital read out.
then a big circle nob with all the settings.
in the OHM settings are
.2000K
.200K
.20K
.2000
.200

Which setting?
Thanks again.

[nashville_bill]

The settings on your meter should be for the maximum of the scale. I belive you are attempting to measure 2,500 ohms(1500 + 500 + 500). You should try the 20K(20,000) setting first because the next smaller is only 2000.

While measuring resistance, ohms, you should not touch BOTH of the leads with your fingers because it will measure your body's resistance. That is, it will read through your fingers and arms, etc.. I just tried it and measured about 68,000 ohms through me.

[Zen Dragon]

OK just went out and tested them.
Remember this is like one of the first times I have tried to use a multi meter.

I put it to 20k.
the digital readout would show a 1 .
when i touched the ends together it would go to 0.00

I pulled plug 1 and 4
(tried my best to get a good connection with each side)
the numbers jumped arround then went back to 1 .

Am I doing something wrong?
Should the number stay steady?
What number am I looking for?

Thanks again.

[skids]

You got a "1" because you were not in the proper range. Lets see, 15000 + 8000 + 8000 = about 31000 ohms. Youe 20K setting is therefore to low. Set it to 200K and give it another shot. Remember that "normal" depends on your plug caps which can differ on who made them. If you have excessive ohms, like when you set the meter to 200K and you get something like "50" for a reading (read it as 50,000 ohms) then it is more than the limits given in the manual. If it still reads a "1" when on 200K, then you probably have an "open" circuit. This means one or 2 bad caps, or at least a corroded connection from wire to cap, or a bad coil (more rare). The next step if it reads as an "open" is to unscrew the individual caps and test them (set meter on 20K), and if they are good, test the coil from wire to wire (caps off) for the 15000 ohm spec. If the individually test OK but test bad when assembled, you might want to snip about 1/2 inch off the wire end, apply dielectric grease to the cap's screws and put the caps back together.

Make sense?

Sid the kid (I wish)

Originally posted by Zen Dragon
OK just went out and tested them.
Remember this is like one of the first times I have tried to use a multi meter.

I put it to 20k.
the digital readout would show a 1 .
when i touched the ends together it would go to 0.00

I pulled plug 1 and 4
(tried my best to get a good connection with each side)
the numbers jumped arround then went back to 1 .

Am I doing something wrong?
Should the number stay steady?
What number am I looking for?

Thanks again.

[Zen Dragon]

OK.
Went back out.
set ohm to 200k.

Put the probes in cap 1 and cap 4 - got reading of 30.2
put the probes in cap 2 and cap 3 - got reading of 25.1

Now the problem i have is I dont know what the heck that means.

Anyone?

Thanks...

[Mike Hart]

It means you're probably looking at good coils

15k + 16k for two 8k caps = 31k
15k + 10k for two 5k caps = 25k

What symptom are you trying to troubleshoot?

[Zen Dragon]

The bike is not running properly.
I cant get her to start at the moment.

but here is what happened.
(clip fron another post)
I got about 4 hours away from my home, and about 1.5 miles from my destination - Lucky Me.
here is what she is doing.
She was runnin well most of the day, I passed a couple cars on the freeway and then she started making a low loud
blah blah blah sound from the bike (thats the best i can describe it as). and then she lost power it seemed like when i
would pull the throttle it would bogg down like it was getting flooded. so I down shifted and floored it and it started
acting normal, for a few miles anyways.

then it did the same thing, bogged down and lost power, this time down shifting just made it worse, lost more power
and stopped. I couldnt get it to stay running after that. so I let it sit and picked some black berries on the side of the
road. after about 30 min i tried to start it again and it seemed ok. this time i got a lot further, about 50 miles and it
started again and now I cant get it to start again.
I got it started once by taking off the bottom of the air filter housing and spraying some starter fluid in there. then it ran for about 10 min and started doing the same thing.

So i messed with it for a while but I can not figure out what it is, I have to choke it to start and then when it starts
(which is not very often i got it running 2 times but when i try to run it down the drive it starts to do the same thing) I was thinking it might be fule related, I took off all the gas lines and the tank (found my gas leak finaly) and made sure
they are all clear and connected properly and there is good gas flow. I am wondering if it could be carb related, also i was thinking that it may be electrical (something with the coils) when i
started messing with the electrical I found that there is one fuse that is getting hot - so hot that it has melted the fuse
block.

Im not sure what to do or where to start.

I just sat here trying to think how to describe what it was acting like. It kinda felt like someone just pulled out the choke when i was going 70. its sputters and sounds and feels like it is
getting flooded.
(end clip from another post)

So I first started with the fuses, One was getting very hot, almost melting the fuse box.
I got that fixed. it was my fault i had crossed some wires.

still cant get it started.
so I figured mabey something with the coils (other people recomended i check them out)
but they seem to be ok.

I guess now I start with the fuel.
I have already taken off all the fule lines and made sure there were no cloggs. they are clear.
I need to rebuild the petcocks (they leak slowly anyways)

And I dont know if I want to touch the carbs.. Last time I tried to rebuild a carb on a car it never ran again.

Any recomendations on what to try next.

And im still out of work after the motorcycle wreck so this is all being done on limited budget
But at least im almost all healed, just some shoulder issues to tend to.

[strom]

Originally posted by nashville_bill
The settings on your meter should be for the maximum of the scale. I belive you are attempting to measure 2,500 ohms(1500 + 500 + 500). You should try the 20K(20,000) setting first because the next smaller is only 2000.

While measuring resistance, ohms, you should not touch BOTH of the leads with your fingers because it will measure your body's resistance. That is, it will read through your fingers and arms, etc.. I just tried it and measured about 68,000 ohms through me.

Hmmm... I got one coil at 22-23k with caps on, the other one is in 68k range... every time. The coils were good when the bike last ran 6 years ago, I changed the cables to some silicone stuff with "plugs" alredy on them. Cabled read bout 6k, so I didn't change the plugs. I think the 68kOhm is for 2&3.

I'm gonna leave it at that and see if it starts OK. If not, I'll know where the problem is.

LP

[Madness]

Reuben,

Have you checked your pick-up coil wires yet? The bogging symptoms and then shifting down to get rid of it, for a short time anyway, sounds a lot like what happened to Twisted a couple of yrs ago. I did the fix you can find here:http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...=&threadid=543

A year after that repair, while on a long trip, I loaded Twisted up in the morning for the days ride and could not get her to start. No spark. After just about tearing the bike down to the frame in the parking lot, I finally found one of the repaired pick-up wires had rebroken and had come out of the shrink tubing. Stuck it back in with some super glue for a quick temporary repair and she fired right up.

The pick-up coils are an easy check. If they're bad they'll cause the symptoms you describe. If not then you will have to start digging a little deeper. There are a lot of experts on this forum who can help guide you through getting you bike running again.

[Zen Dragon]

Well I looked at the pickuyp coils.
Looks like someone already did the fix once.

I can not get the bike to start, so I can not pull on the wires to see which one makes it happen.

Seems like it isnt getting fuel.

It just turns over and over and over.
even when I choke it. and pump the throtle

[TopCatGr58]

Sounds like fuel to me

Originally posted by Zen Dragon
Well I looked at the pickuyp coils.
Looks like someone already did the fix once.

I can not get the bike to start, so I can not pull on the wires to see which one makes it happen.

Seems like it isnt getting fuel.

It just turns over and over and over.
even when I choke it. and pump the throtle

Hey there Zen,

Don't be afraid of the carbs, and besides, it ain't running now, you can't make it much worse!!!! But, after checking your profile, I see you've got a special. Does it still have the Octopus?? If so, then first test is to turn the petcocks to PRIME, and let it sit a few moments, even tap on the carb bodies/bowls with something like a piece of wood, rubber mallot, then try to start the bike. If it starts, then your Octopus is messed up, because you're getting fuel from the PRIME circuit which bypasses the Octo.

Now, if it still won't start, yet you said you were able to start it with spraying starter fluid into the carbs, then it still sounds like fuel. Another test is to have the petcocks set to ON, find the vacuum hose that goes from the Octo to the #2 carb, pull the fuel hose off of where it attaches to the carbs, and pull the vacuum hose off of the intake. Apply a suction to that vacuum hose and see if fuel flows from the disconnected hose that went to the carbs. If fuel is flowing to the carbs, then the carbs are really messed up/clogged, etc..

Take them off of the bike, leave them bolted to each other, but you can remove the bowls, and caps to get at most of the innards for cleaning/inspection, etc. Do you have a repair manual?? If not, I think there are some tech tips, links with info about what the carbs look like on the inside, do one at a time so you have one already assembled as a guide. You will probably find a bunch of sludge in the bowls, the filter screens where the needle valve seat is may also be quite grunged up, the floats may be stuck, the needle valves messed up, etc. You can do a decent job with a can of carb spray cleaner and an old toothbrush.

If you don't have a manual, and can't find any info in the tech tips and links, write back , and I'm sure someone wouldn't mind copyinga few pages from their Clymers and sending it to you!!

[TopCatGr58]

Pumping the throttle??

Just a P.S. note,

When you turn the hand throttle, all you are doing is opening up the butterflies on the carbs which allows more vacuum and air flow which sucks more fuel thru the carbs(when the bike is running!), they do not have any "pump" in them like a car carb has, so you can't push any fuel thru the carbs just by turning the throttle handle, FYI!

T.C.

[Mike Hart]

You can still check the pickup coils (see tech forums). It sounds like either (or both) pickup coils and/or fuel delivery. Check for kinks, or bends that could become kinks when hot.

Also see Troubleshooting a bike that will crank but won't start