Plug Wire Caps

[kstrip]

OK, here is the problem. I've a 1980 Special. When it gets good and warm I loose 2 cylinders. For a while I thought I might be having some strange carb problem. But I've gone through everything there and there is nothing worong I can detect. So I pulled my coils and tested them. With the caps off they tested to spec. So I tested the caps. Two of them test to 5K Ohms and two test to 8.5 - 9.0 KOhms. I checked Bike bandit to see if there were supposed to be two different caps and if so how they were installed. I indeed found two different part numbers and what appears to be two different physical sizes. But of course no mention of any electrical differences. Further, the diagram showed one of each size per coil. Maybe its me but that makes no sense. One coil fires the 2 outside and the other fires the 2 inside. I would think that all 4 would have to be the same electrically. So am I nuts? Should they not all be 5KOhms? I'm not at all sure this is the problem but as you all know I'll need to clear this matter before I can continue.

[DiverRay]

Thje caps SHOULD be 5K, all 4 of them. The two inside caps are longer, so you can fit them easier. The end caps are still available from NGK, and can be ordered from almost any auto parts store.
You may want to check the "Tech Tips" on the left. Look for the "pickup coil" problems.
Ray

[GNEPIG]

.. hello kstrip, sounds like you are going in the right direction.
in answer to your first question, yes, all 4 plug caps should read 5 ohms.
now did you try your test of the coils when they were cold or hot?
after you change your plug caps, take your bike for a ride until it starts to not act right again, then take it home and pull all of your plug wires and put four plugs in them, then turn the motor over, look at how hot the fire is. this is an easy way to tell which coil is the problem, or just take the tank off and retest your coils with the meter. when some coils go bad, they wont show improper resistance until they are hot.
..hope this helps

[kstrip]

Thanks guys, I had an extra pair of caps from a Virago restoration I'm doing and I've put those on. I'll be able to test drive it ion about 2 hours to see if everything works well. And thanks for the additional advice concerning heated coils. I'll try that this morning as well.