Pretty Nervous...Top End Disassembly

[motoman]

Again, good on you........and patience thinking before leaping asking here if in question. Will save you from chasing your tail. Lots of knowledgable folks here..........and not just on the XS series either .........several very sharp individuals on other makes and even cages!

[SFerinTEXAS]

The fact that 1 and 4 are out leads me to think that ignition coil died on me, but I hear that these coils are pretty tough. Any other thoughts on that?

Step 1 is pick up coil check. Takes about 10 minutes.First item on the food chain to the coils.

[James England]

Or you could swap the coils round completely (LT and HT leads). If the lack of spark stays on 1 and 4, it's not the coil. If the lack of spark moves to 2 and 3, it's the coil.

[Aaron]

Thats a darn good idea James. I just ran the multimeter out there and got 1.5 ohms resistance on the primary coil wires, so that is in spec. Guess i'll try flipping the wires like you said and see waht there is to see.

[James England]

Thats a darn good idea James. I just ran the multimeter out there and got 1.5 ohms resistance on the primary coil wires, so that is in spec. Guess i'll try flipping the wires like you said and see waht there is to see.

Or, better, if you take the plugs out, you could just swap the LT wires only and watch for sparks at the plugs, remembering of course to put the LT wires back correctly before putting the plugs back in. Otherwise it will put the timing out 180 degrees.

If the fault moves cylinders, then you know it's the coil side of things. If it stays the same, then you know it's the LT wire side of things ie pickups, maybe 'black box', block connector under engine from the pickups etc

[planedick]

Pick up

Pick up coil wires are probably broke, do a search here and you will see what I mean.....

[James England]

The first thing to do, before raving any bits out or taking things apart too much, is to establish whether you have a healthy spark at each plug or not. That's the easiest starting point. Sparks at all plugs and the ignition system is unlikely to be the problem (especially if you've done the pickup wire fix). You can save a lot of messing about by doing that. If you find that you're getting sparks on all four plugs, then I would physically turn the pickup plate anticlockwise and hold it there, then, making sure finger ends out of moving parts, I'd ask someone to turn the engine and check the sparks again. If the sparks disaappear on two plugs, it'll be the pickup wires.

No spark on two of the plugs whatsoever shows it's an ignition problem and you then work your way methodically though the system. Switch coils as per previous post. I'd even switch pickups if needs be. I'd switch the spark plugs themselves too. Switch one component at a time and see the effect on the sparks. If the fault moves, then you've found it.

I would also use De-Oxit spray on all contacts on the bike, especially at the black box end.

[DGXSER]

I am with James, isolate the problem the best you can then you will know where to look instead of chasing gremlins all round the bike.

Swap the plug wires from 1 and 4 to 2 and 3, and then swap the orange and greay connectors to the coils. So now the pickup coil that was firing 1 and 4 will still fire 1 and 4 from the ooposite coil. If the lack of spark moves, its the coils. If not, it is before the coils. If it is not the coils, Now I would focus on the pick up coils. looking at the wires carefully. The TCI is the least likely culprit.

If you find you need a coil, you have several options. I have a good set fo coils I am no longer going to use. You can get the MIKES green coils, you can go Dyna or you can do the VF1000 Honda coils.

[James England]

As a Dyna fan (who has personally experienced a belt of current from one, right through me entire body), I can vouch that that produce great sparks and are well worth the extra money. Mikes XS coils have been the subject of criticism recently, I believe.

[DGXSER]

The Black ones have been an issue for a few years James, the Green ones I have yet to hear bad feedback on. I recently converted to the Honda VF1000 coils. Very Very simple and I like the effect. Got my coils for about $35 IIRC.

[Aaron]

On to step two

Just flipped the wires on the ignition coils and the spark did not change sides. Guess its on to check the pick up coil now. I keep hearing it is an easy quick thing to check, but every time i search for the thread that explains it, it feeds me a bunch of other crap. The search function on here needs a bit of an upgrade. Can anyone point me in the right direction or just explain the procedure? I'll keep looking in the meantime. Thanks guys

[bikerphil]

Here you go...

http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/tech-tips/repairs/battery---electrical/187-the-pickup-coil-wire-repair-pictorial.html

[Aaron]

Thanks Phil. You just saved me 20 more miutes of frustration. Back out to the bike.

[Aaron]

Well crap! All the pick up wires are in great shape. Not a broken wire to be found. So it's not the ignition coils, and not the pick up coil. Least likely is TCI, so... Black Box?

[3Phase]

Well crap! All the pick up wires are in great shape. Not a broken wire to be found. So it's not the ignition coils, and not the pick up coil. Least likely is TCI, so... Black Box?

Aaron, it could be a bad connection under the fuse box where the pickup coil wires and Neutral switch connect to the main wiring harness, or a bad connection at the TCI itself.