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New Wires in Old Coils
by Bill Kingson, 1/28/00
Photos by Blaine Hoopes
THE LIE
The spark plug wires on the XS 1100 coils are NOT replaceable. The ONLY solution is to replace the entire coil set with a new one from Yamaha or aftermarket sets such as Dyna ($111.99) or Accel ($145.99) (Dennis Kirk catalog prices).
THE TRUTH
All four spark plug wires and caps CAN be replaced for about $20 with a little patience using only simple tools. It's easy.
THE SECRET
As shown in the wire/pin diagram (below), the wires enter the coil housing and continue almost to the other end the housing. Internally they are pushed on to a sturdy, tapered brass pin at about 1" from the far side of the coil housing. All you have to do is cut away some of the plastic around the wire and it can be removed easily. This tech tip explains how.
THE DISCLAIMER
All XS coils are not identical. The coils shown here were from a 1979 XS1100F. The ones on my 1981 XS1100 SH are a little smaller, but similar in appearance. I imagine they're similar internally, but I haven't tried this procedure on the newer ones. (7/22/00 - Shane Thomas has now provided an update for the smaller '81RH coils. There are minor differences which will be noted in the procedure). I wouldn't have tried it if I didn't have spares. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
USE YOUR HEAD
It's hard to describe every nuance of a procedure, but I've done my best. Please read through the entire procedure before beginning to make sure you understand everything. Also, pay attention to the small screws, washers and wires as they come off.
Removal and Testing
by Bill Kingson, 1/28/00
Photos by Blaine Hoopes
THE LIE
The spark plug wires on the XS 1100 coils are NOT replaceable. The ONLY solution is to replace the entire coil set with a new one from Yamaha or aftermarket sets such as Dyna ($111.99) or Accel ($145.99) (Dennis Kirk catalog prices).
THE TRUTH
All four spark plug wires and caps CAN be replaced for about $20 with a little patience using only simple tools. It's easy.
THE SECRET
As shown in the wire/pin diagram (below), the wires enter the coil housing and continue almost to the other end the housing. Internally they are pushed on to a sturdy, tapered brass pin at about 1" from the far side of the coil housing. All you have to do is cut away some of the plastic around the wire and it can be removed easily. This tech tip explains how.
THE DISCLAIMER
All XS coils are not identical. The coils shown here were from a 1979 XS1100F. The ones on my 1981 XS1100 SH are a little smaller, but similar in appearance. I imagine they're similar internally, but I haven't tried this procedure on the newer ones. (7/22/00 - Shane Thomas has now provided an update for the smaller '81RH coils. There are minor differences which will be noted in the procedure). I wouldn't have tried it if I didn't have spares. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
USE YOUR HEAD
It's hard to describe every nuance of a procedure, but I've done my best. Please read through the entire procedure before beginning to make sure you understand everything. Also, pay attention to the small screws, washers and wires as they come off.
Removal and Testing
- Turn BOTH fuel valves off. Note: On Standard models select either ON or RES.
- Remove seat
- Disconnect fuel gauge sending device wire.
- Remove the bolt that secures the tank to the frame
- Remove tank
- Disconnect spark plug wires from spark plugs
- If the spark plug wires are not numbered, tag each one as it is removed
- Remove the bolts holding the coils in place
- Disconnect the small primary wires. These should be color-coded and need not be tagged.
- Remove coils
- After the coils are out, mark the spark plug wire numbers on body of coils.
- Primary (small) windings
Remove Tank
Disconnect Coils
Test Coil Windings and Spark Plug Caps
The Haynes manual (p. 113) states:
“Set the multimeter to the ohms scale, and connect one probe lead to each of the thin low tension wires.
Note that it does not matter which probe is connected to which lead.[LIST=1][*][LIST=1][*]A reading of 1.5 ohms +/- 10% at 20