I am doing the coil up grade with Mikes coils Quick question

[whoride76]

New issue with the new coils

OK i put on my new coils but now the coil with the ORANGE wire will not produce a spark on either of the wires coming from that coil. I know the coils is good both good because when i hook them up to the GREY wire they both produce a spark.

SO now i am thinking that the problem was not from the coils but one of the coil going to the 1 and 4 cyln. was not getting a signal or power to the coil.

I am going to be checking back to this every minute to get some ideas. I have to get this thing running by 6:00 tonight. So if i have to ride on only one coil so be it.

I was thinking if i could run both coils from the same lead. GREY AND RED??

i know that the timing will be off but will it be better than running only on one coil??

PLEASE HELP ASAP.

I did take off the timing cover and it looked like T.P.O. did do the wire fix to the grey and orange wire. I have seen the pictures of it in these forum some where i do not know what it does.

I am going to look through the manual to see if it talks about the gapping something under the timing cover and how to do that.

Thanks for any help!!!

[renegade_xs11g]

I have a couple of ideas, typing.....

[dbeardslee]

Whoride - If you haven't done it yet, it might be a good idea to clean and dielectric grease every electrical connection you've got. There's a gang of 'em inside the headlight bucket. Check your wires for breaks/bare spots also. Check your gaps on your pickup coils - if one of them is too wide it could also be causing your problem. Randy Rago's web site also has procedures for testing your TCI, which might be a good idea if the above stuff turns up a goose egg.

[renegade_xs11g]

You may need to run down the orange wire,

gap on the p-u coil...do you know how to set POINTS...same thing .07mm

if you have a test light....the wires run from the p/u coils, up behind the fuse panel, you will need to remove the fusebox....from there up to the TCI, then to the coils,
check and clean the connections,
if that doesn't help....you may have the bad solder connections in the TCI itself....do a search for the TCI repair

Good Luck, John

[whoride76]

I just replaced the old fuse panel with the a new one and put in new flat fuse. I have tried to follow the orange wire but it looks like it is goes into the harness.

I have read about about the gap so iam thinking about trying that

I have looking for pictures because the manual doesnt show me how to set it.

DO i just take off the yellowish timing over with the timing marks on it and then just set the gap for both of the pick ups. I really do not want to mess with the one that works.

The top pick up has a orange wire going to it, SO is that the same orange wire leading to my coil that doesnt work???

[whoride76]

I have been working on the bike with my laptop next to it. I have looked for bare wires and can not see any. I even replaced the battery gorund wire just because it looked old. I just put in a new battery last week, new fuese and panel, new coils, and wires.

It is just the dang lack of spark in that coil.

I am going to run down to the auto store and buy a feeler gage. (ok i am driving)

please keep up any ideas. And if you have pictures of the gapping process that would be nice to post.

[DiverRay]

From what you have listed, I think you need the pick-up coil fix once again.
I would go to Radio Shack and get a set of "test leads" for a VOM. They are about 4.99. Use the wire from the test leads to replace BOTH wires going to the pick-up coil. Solder the red wire in place of the orange, and the black in place of the light blue. Just replace about 4" on each wire, from about 1/2" to 1" off the coil.
This is the coil behind the Left Side Cover on the engine. If you are NOT SURE about your ability, ask for some help! There are a few owners in the Valley, and possibly one of them can make it over to give you a hand.
One quick check to make is unplug the two connectors from the TCI box, look for the four wires from the pick-up coils. Put a VOM across the Orange and check it between the two blue wires, It should read about 10 to 15 Ohms. Also check the OTHER pair of wires, as that will give you the "correct" reading. If you have an "open" across the orange and the rest of the wires in the connector, you have a broken wire!

[whoride76]

i am my way to Radio Shack and get a set of "test leads" for a VOM.

[whoride76]

well if anyone is still reading this i redid the coil pick upwire patch and still no spark... Now i am really at a loss...

I gapged and cleaned the coil pick ups.. Replaced the bad wires going to the pick ups.. AND NOTHING!!!!

any other ideas???? anyone?

[DGXSER]

Sounds like you have a short or grounding problem to that coil/wire. Have you checked for voltage coming to the orange wire? I think there is a test for that listed on the site somewhere.

Note that you have to have BOTH plug wires connected and the plugs grounded for EITHER to get a spark IIRC.

BTW, I would ride minus a coil before I would go with the timing off. Predetination in the cylinder would be a bad thing in my opinion.

[whoride76]

i have ran wires right off of the coil pick up directly to the coil and still no spark.

SO now i take it i have a bad coil pick up part??

I put it on a volt meter ohms part to the two wires coming out of the top coil pick up. and it reads .743

so i think it still good but nothing!!

[DGXSER]

My thought, and please wait to try this till someone alot smarter confirms it to be a good idea, would be to check for voltage from the orange wire by hooking the positive of the VOM to it and the negative to ground and crank the engine over to see if you get voltage to it.

I am really not that good at the sparky stuff, so this may be a bad idea and fry something.

[renegade_xs11g]

Well, there will be no voltage to or from the p/u,
but you can use a VOM to test the p/u...red from VOM to orange and black to the other wire (grey IIRC)

I'd do this at the plug behind the fuse box....while cranking the motor, but be careful
if you have continuity there, your p/u is good


quik and dirty way would be to switch the wires at your new coils, basically using the wires on the coil that works the the other coil, crank the motor, if the other coil fires the plug, you have a bad wire, or connection, or even a malfunctioning TCI


DO NOT hook the p/u straight to the coil, it won't work..

[renegade_xs11g]

red from VOM to orange and black to the other wire (grey IIRC)

I looked at my wiring schematic....2 wires from each P/U, cylinders 1&4 use the orange and light blue wires, and 2&3 use grey/light blue

The orange wire is in question, so your engine is running on cylinders 2 & 3
rereading your posts,
If I understand, you've had both coils hooked up to the grey wire, both fired?
is this correct....
there are other ways to check the p/u coils and the rest of the system

[renegade_xs11g]

http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/tech-tips/repairs/battery---electrical/86-ignition-problems-cylinders-misfiring.html