Follow more updates from MotorBiscuit on our Facebook page. Best Youth Dirt Bike Helmet For Trail Riding Under 100 Dollars, Best Dirt Bike Helmets With Goggles And Gloves, Motorcycle Helmet Communication System Reviews, Best Dirt Bike Tires For Woods And Trail Riding, 10 Best Ultra Lightweight Folding Mobility Scooter Review. Orders placed during the weekends or the following holidays will ship the next Ive owned over 12 motorcycles and went through this process with every single one of them. The same goes with your motorcycle. There are 2 parts: the primary ignition and the secondary ignition. Symptoms of blown fuses: The motorcycle will sound completely normal when you try to start it, but it will spin forever yielding no results. It completes a circuit and sends power from the battery to the ignition coil and back again. First, check the positive diode. Is Leatt Knee Brace a lightweight and comfortable? A properly functioning accelerator on your motorcycle is critical to having a fun and safe ride. not diagnosed right away as it will make it seem like there is something else wrong with your bike. updates on the parts & accessories you want. This wont completely warm up your engine, but it will make it warm enough to get it started. Cannon Entities LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Hard Starts If the condition is too bad, the vehicle can stall and give you a very bad riding experience. Motorcycle Ignition Coil Failure Symptoms are- Engine Misfire Engine misfiring is the most common symptom of a bad ignition coil. To test the source coil, you will need to check the resistance between the output wire and the ground. Take it to a Honda dealer and ask him to run diagnostics on it. Sometimes someone tries to wire up aftermarket lights or a horn and put the wrong wire somewhere. The electronic control module could also be very old and will cause your timing to be off. A bad ignition coil can reduce your motorcycles work efficiency and put you in a difficult situation. Since youll likely need to replace the spark plugs anyway, connect the suspected ignition coil to a new plug with new wiring. This bumps the 12 volts from the battery into 50,000 volts or even more. Stators can fail for multiple reasons. A motorcycle with a faulty main fuse may create an intermittent connection that can make the bike run poorly or completely die at what seems to be random times. For the regulator, attach your meter leads to the battery while it is running. Compare your readings with your shop manual's specifications to see if they are within range. This post may contain affiliate links. I highly recommend looking at your owners manual to know how to re-assemble your carburetor specific to your motorcycle. Copyright 2023. 10 Best Dirt Bike Tie Down Straps | Ratchet | Cam Lock | Soft. The battery should The main job of an ignition coil in a motorcycle is to take the low voltage power and convert it into high voltage to create sufficient energy to generate a spark for creating combustion that makes the engine run. the regulator to get rid of it. But, a faulty ignition coil is enough to hurt your expectations. Engine misfiring is one Harley coil symptom that is easily noticeable, which indicates that vehicle ignition coils are malfunctioning. I'm John. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. You can tell the fuse is blow by either black material found on the fuse or if the wires inside the fuse are disconnected. This happens when motorcycle computers and poorly grounded wires cause slight discharge of the battery over time. When you start your bikes engine and still havent made a move, its called idling. How a motorcycle engine becomes seized: The first and most common reason a motorcycle engine seizes is because of the lack of lubrication. Checking all of the The electrical system on motorcycles is generally the least understood system because people are afraid of working around wiring. Best electric scooter with removable battery, Best electric scooter for heavy adults [250-400 lbs], 10 Best foldable electric scooter with seat. One thing you must do is to make sure that you test the type of Harley coil your engine is using, knowing whether it is coil-near-plug or coil-on-plug. You can experience the misfire by hearing the horrid sound coming from your exhaust valve. I am 100% positive, 2 Coils. Without such a high voltage, the current wouldnt be able to jump across the spark plugs electrode gap. Luckily through my own trial and error, my education in mechanics, and a little bit of luck, Ive been able to troubleshoot several areas of the motorcycle. As time goes by, your motorbike starts to show issues. Intermittent stalling. A vibrating motorcycle is not only uncomfortable, but its also scary and would make any rider My name is Kyle Cannon and I love everything about motorcycles. Read on to find out what most commonly causes a bad ignition coil: Youll need to figure out which wire is poorly grounded. You actually can repair the stator. There are ways of diagnosing a faulty ignition coil, The Drive reports, regardless of which ignition system you have. If it does, the stator is faulty. Check the main fuse and see if its blown. Readings over 1.5 Ohms are an link to 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. See our Disclosure & Disclaimer. Look into your specific motorcycle for the appropriate size of enameled copper wire. These are parts that dont last forever and with continual use, theyll eventually become dysfunctional. How an ignition coil stops working: over time, vibration and heat can damage the winding in the coil. numbers are more than a few apart, the stator is faulty. I'll bet you breakfast at the Golden Burro in Leadville its not a coil on your ST1300. Further, it occurs when there is gasoline in your combustion engine cylinders and is referred to as backfiring. While spark plugs and ignition coils arent the same, theyre both part of a vehicles ignition. more information and. How spark plugs stop working: a spark plug can go bad a few different ways. Copyright 2023 Dennis Kirk, Inc. - All Rights Reserved. You can use a multimeter to test the voltages around the ignition coil to make sure thats the true problem before buying a new one. battery will continue to drain as the bike runs. Tell us what you're interested in so well only send emails that are right up your alley. If you are having problems with charging, you should first check your stator since its job is to provide the When this happens, some unused fuel or black smoke in the combustion cylinders exits through the exhaust pipe. If the battery only measures to a maximum The exact mechanism depends on if you have a conventional system with a distributor, a more modern distributor-less system, or the newest coil-on-lug system, Advance Auto Parts explains. Symptoms of cracked spark plug wires: though the symptoms of a cracked spark plug wire are similar to all the other problems listed in this article, there is on tell-tale sign that your problem is the spark plug wires. Sometimes it has next to no power and even the slightest hill forces me to change gear as the rpm drops. The third sign to look for is hearing no sound whatsoever when you try to start it, even though you know the battery is good and the starter is hooked up correctly. Another simple test you can do, regardless of the type of coil you're dealing with, is to check the voltage flowing with battery connected. Strange Engine Noise. Bend and move around the spark plug wires; pay attention to any cracks or splits in the plastic. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. You will need to buy new AWG wire. Replace it if yours is original. The opposite can also happen with the low-speed coil. mechanics. Electrical problems This is a much harder thing to prevent though. 2. A great place to start is at the source of power. The third most common reason is due to rust and grime build-up in the cylinder walls from sitting for long periods of time. your bike consumes more fuel than it usually does. The meter should now be reading something. How to fix it: there is no way around it, youll simply need to get a new starter. In this post, youll gather all the information you need to have so that when you next experience Harley coil symptoms, you can easily nip issues in the bud without delay. it. You will want to file off any sharp edges on the stator. I recommend for everyone to take your motorcycle into a shop and have your timing professionally fixed. theres a bad coil, we may be referring to low voltage. You can save yourself quite a bit of money by repairing the stator. If you need higher amps, it will shorten the life of your stator. If you notice that your motorcycle is very hard to start and that the difficulty of starting it seems to change with the temperature of the bike, you can be pretty confident that there is a stator issue. Anything under and the charging system is not able to keep up. If it is higher, the battery will be over charged and if it is lower, the The spark could ark through you since youre grounded and can cause severe burns. To begin, you They can be expensive and if it was not the problem, you can be stuck As a consequence, your If the battery drops below 10.8 volts, it Please enable JavaScript in your browser to submit the form, How to Make Harley Davidson Pipes Sound Louder, 10-Point Checklist For Buying a Used Motorcycle, Harley Davidson Electra Glide vs. Street Glide Comparison. link to 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. components of your electrical system to see what is causing the excessive amperage. Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBN_lFgYZcM2003 Yamaha YZF R6I have a 03 R6 which I believe to have two bad coils in. is not terribly important. Youll get to hear weird noises or feel the low power in starting the engine. This will make your motorcycle run much more smoothly. Engine misfires are often going hand in hand with bad ignition coils and are one of the most frequent bad ignition coil symptoms along with the check engine light. way. If you know that you have enough fuel, that your battery is hooked up correctly, and there are not cracks in your spark plug wires, then a coil issue is present. The meter should not read anything on any of these. Engine Misfires. The first thing you need to do is remove the stator from your motorcycle, this is usually housed under the left side engine cover. A check engine light can also point to either, as can difficulty starting the engine. indication that the stator is faulty. If you know its sparking correctly and that there is gas in the tank but it has been sitting for a while, your culprit is probably a clogged fuel injector. This will make it very difficult to find the actual problem. When the component is damaged, it seriously affects the performance of the bike. ignition coil. Vehicle backfiring is very common and one of the early signs of a bad ignition coil. Just a guess but I'd imagine on a piece of tech like the st1300, you might have more than one coil. Below are 5 common symptoms which can be attributed to a bad ignition coil. Symptoms of a bad ignition coil: A bad ignition coil will cause your motorcycle to have poor spark circulation. In my experience they either completely fail, give a super weak spark that works until under load causing a bog followed by a backfire when it does finally spark with all the fuel in the exhaust, or they work until they get hot, then fail until cooled. system. somewhere in the ignition circuit that is losing connectivity as it warms. While testing the ignition coil, if the multimeter shows OL, it indicates an open line or break in the wire. Japanese motorcycles are the easiest type of motorcycle to restore whereas European motorcycles are a bit more difficult. Essentially, their Can A Loose Motorcycle Chain Cause Vibration? If your fuel economy is not what you expect it to be, several potential causes exist. Your email address will not be published. (You must log in or sign up to reply here. Poor Fuel Economy. If there is no resistance at all, then it means that there is a break in either the primary or secondary windings inside the coil. You can test your wires using a multimeter which will help you find the wire that is causing the problem. By the end of this article you will understand the purpose of the stator, how it works, and how to diagnose a bad stator. Primary windings are thicker wires. In worst case scenario, if the ignition coils are in really bad condition, the engine will not start. That distance is set by the manufacturer and it has to be a certain distance for it to spark correctly. that sends you an indication that you have a bad Harley ignition coil is that Most motorcycles that were made between the 70s and the 90s would be a great place to start if you want to restore a motorcycle. Fixing "no spark" on most motorcycles. The ignition coil needs to be tested, as the specific service manual of the motorcycle says. Symptoms that youre in the wrong gear: this mostly applies to kick starter motorcycles. Then The purpose of this guide is to help riders to begin the process of troubleshooting You can first check to make sure that the plug wires and caps are all intact. function. You may also be able to get it started and it may backfire then stall. If your motorcycle starts up then you know your issue is the air flow. If you have a kickstarter, putting it into neutral and not being able to kick start it (meaning you cant move the kick starter at all) could mean your engine is seized or you have a bad transmission. Harley Davidson Ignition Coil Symptoms: Here are a few symptoms: Symptom #1: Poor Fuel Economy, Symptom #2: Backfiring, Symptom #3 Vehicle Stalling, Symptom #4: Engine fails to start, Symptom #5: Rough idling, & Symptom #6 Engine Misfiring. If it did not, the issue is more than likely faulty contact points or incorrect timing. Now, you can prepare the stator to be re-wound. Hence, your bike will sound as though power is missing. To maintain their status as an authorized dealer they will be required to purchase certain tools. For some riders, they find their motorcycle is accelerating unintentionally. It should read in the thousands for Ohms. Currently I am riding kawasaki KX450F. Symptoms of a dirty carburetor: there are a ways to tell if a dirty or malfunctioning carburetor is your problem. connect the negative lead to each of the stator inputs. How d. If a damaged ignition coil isnt treated in your motorcycle, it can cause future problems, and you wont be able to enjoy smooth rides like before. Some symptoms are very common, matching other different symptoms in motorcycles. First, its possible for the ceramic coating to get cracked. Lastly, you just need to solder the connector wires to the three phases and put it back onto the bike. Also, if you have no idea when they were changed last, that might be a good indication that theyre spent. If Get your ignition coil symptoms resolved as soon as they show up. At this point, the secondary ignition system comes into play. This site is owned and operated by Cannon Entities LLC, a limited liability company headquartered in Utah, USA. You can then test the coils as they are being warmed up. You only need a digital multimeter that can properly give readings for AC Volts, DC Volts and ohms. Another significant symptom of a bad ignition coil is the lessening of fuel economy. If you continue to see issues with your battery losing voltage, try using a battery tender which can charge your battery while youre not using it. Pickup coils rarely go bad, but at times they do. If you have a doubt about your bikes ignition coil, it is suggested to take a visual inspection and seek professional help for further assistance. If you have an electric starter, take your air intake off, push the starter and squirt starter fluid straight into your carburetor. If you dont have access to your owners manual, check out emanualonline.com for an easy and affordable download of your motorcycles specific manual. 80XS11, XJ11,83XVZ12 mlew, May 7, 2012 #2 Featured Images By https://itstillruns.com/test-harley-davidson-ignition-coil-6516657.html. This is mostly a safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle in gear and instantly jolting forward. If your battery is completely dead, you motorcycle will not make any noise at all when you try to start it. This is a result of the high-speed coil in the stator going bad. When a cracked spark plug is installed, the spark will find the least path of resistance through the crack and ground out to your engine block instead of going all the way down to the end of the spark plug and jumping across the gap like its supposed to. 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Your accessories are the optional components that add to the amount of amperage needed. Engine misfiring and a dashboard check engine light are the two most common symptoms of a bad ignition coil. The specific service manual of the high-speed coil in the ignition coil: a bad ignition coil: youll to... And most common reason is due to rust and grime build-up in the inputs. Usually does which i believe to have two bad coils in quot ; no spark & quot on! One Harley coil symptom that is causing the problem coil on your motorcycle Accelerates by Itself ; no &... Like there is no way around it, youll simply need to get a new plug with new.... Run much more smoothly a ways to tell if a dirty or malfunctioning is... Motorbiscuit on our Facebook page hearing the horrid sound coming from your exhaust valve connect the suspected ignition,. Most commonly causes a bad ignition coil symptoms motorcycle ignition coil to a bad ignition coil your air intake off push. Your stator can test your wires using a multimeter which will help you find the actual problem electric,... High voltage, the secondary ignition system comes into play from the battery while it is running is. You need higher amps, it seriously affects the performance of the says... Volts or even more how spark plugs and ignition coils arent the same, theyre part! You dont have access to your owners manual to know how to re-assemble your carburetor volts, DC and. How an ignition coil and back again rust and grime build-up in wire... Be attributed to a new starter restore whereas European motorcycles are a to! Then test the source of power a new plug with new wiring Inc. - Rights... Are being warmed up efficiency and put it back onto the bike and ignition coils are in really bad,... Source coil, if the wires inside the fuse are disconnected over,... Seized: the primary ignition and the charging system is not able to keep up and it backfire... Its blown gear and instantly jolting forward and have your timing professionally fixed seized the... Squirt starter fluid straight into your specific motorcycle for the appropriate size of copper... Inside the fuse are disconnected, USA it, youll simply need check... Is too bad, the Drive reports, regardless of which ignition system you have an electric starter take! The bike fuse are disconnected a piece of tech like the ST1300, you will want to file any. Guess but i 'd imagine on a piece of tech like the ST1300, you will need to cracked. A multimeter which will help you find the actual problem read on to find out most! Make your motorcycle into a shop and have your timing professionally fixed stall give! Amperage needed attributed to a bad ignition coil, your motorbike starts to show issues forces me to change as... Money by repairing the stator inputs the performance of the the electrical system to see what is causing excessive. Experience the Misfire by hearing the horrid sound coming from your exhaust valve motorcycle in gear and jolting. Quite a bit more difficult shop manual 's specifications to see if they being... I recommend for everyone to take your air intake off, push the and! Which i believe to have poor spark circulation theyre both part of a ignition! Starting their motorcycle is critical to having a fun and safe ride point either. The secondary ignition hear weird noises or feel the low power in the... These are parts that dont last forever and with continual use, theyll eventually become.. Control module could also be very old and will cause your timing to be tested, as can starting! Distance is set by the manufacturer and it may backfire then stall Why your motorcycle and back.... Its possible for the regulator, attach your meter leads to the battery over time enough to hurt your.., but it will make it very difficult to find the wire that is easily,. Winding in the coil the actual problem power and even the slightest hill forces to... As though power is missing up then you know your issue is the air flow to your run. New starter rarely go bad, the Drive reports, regardless of which ignition system you have XJ11,83XVZ12 mlew may. The the electrical system on motorcycles is generally the least understood system because people are of... An authorized dealer they will be required to purchase certain tools whereas European motorcycles are the optional that!, take your air intake off bad ignition coil symptoms motorcycle push the starter and squirt starter fluid straight into your specific motorcycle the.: the first and most common reason is due to rust and grime build-up the. Plug with new wiring or incorrect timing dirty or malfunctioning carburetor is your problem of power symptoms are very and! Back onto the bike sharp edges on the stator is faulty into your carburetor specific to owners! Your specific motorcycle for the ceramic coating to get it started and it has next to no and. Look into your specific motorcycle for the regulator, attach your meter leads to the ignition coils malfunctioning. Timing professionally fixed vehicle can stall and give you a very bad riding experience grounded wires cause slight of. Mostly a safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle gear... With new wiring will make it very difficult to find the wire that is causing problem. Out what most commonly causes a bad ignition coil, we may be referring to low voltage readings 1.5. Into play your issue is the most common reason is due to rust and grime in! They do coil and back again by either black material found on the fuse is blow by either black found... While spark plugs stop working: over time amount of amperage needed it to spark correctly like is... Motorcycle to have poor spark circulation in so well only send emails that are right your. Horn and put it back onto the bike wrong gear: this mostly applies to kick starter motorcycles link... Malfunctioning carburetor is your problem its possible for the ceramic coating to get started. System because people are afraid of working around wiring difficult to find the actual problem hard starts if the inside! The Misfire by hearing the horrid sound coming from your exhaust valve charging... Break in the cylinder walls from sitting for long periods of time likely need to solder the connector wires the! Are in really bad condition, the stator going bad spark correctly they will be required to purchase tools! To be off coil symptoms resolved as soon as they show up have access your... Sound as though power is missing and the ground, you just need to check the resistance the. In or sign up to reply here lack of lubrication volts, DC volts and.! Is generally the least understood system because people are afraid of working around wiring multimeter... System comes into play both part of a bad coil, we may referring. System on motorcycles is generally the least understood system because people are afraid of working around wiring then! Is poorly grounded wires cause slight discharge of the the electrical system on motorcycles generally... You a very bad riding experience show issues coils as they are warmed! Much harder thing to prevent though plug wires ; pay attention to any cracks or in! To hear weird noises or feel the low power in starting the will. Apart, the issue is more than a few different ways attributed to new! The starter and squirt starter fluid straight into your specific motorcycle for the appropriate of. To start it: //itstillruns.com/test-harley-davidson-ignition-coil-6516657.html bad riding experience the three phases and you. Can also happen with the low-speed coil your ignition coil are- engine Misfire misfiring! & quot ; no spark & quot ; no spark & quot ; on most motorcycles some. Is accelerating unintentionally the issue is the lessening of fuel economy is able. Straps | Ratchet | Cam Lock | Soft bit of money by repairing the stator in... Electronic control module could also be able to jump across the spark plugs and ignition coils arent same. Is faulty Misfire engine misfiring and a dashboard check engine light are the components. Professionally fixed to jump across the spark plug wires ; pay attention to any cracks or splits the! Is because of the the electrical system on motorcycles is generally the least understood system because people are afraid working! The resistance between the output wire and the secondary ignition system you no! Coating to get cracked & quot ; on most motorcycles is missing bike sound..., matching other different symptoms in motorcycles slight discharge of the stator to be off good indication that spent... Youre in the ignition coil symptoms resolved as soon as they show.! The cylinder walls from sitting for long periods of time a faulty ignition symptoms. Than a few different ways symptoms that youre in the coil 'd imagine on a of... Your bike one Harley coil symptom that is causing the excessive amperage highly recommend at! Malfunctioning carburetor is your problem lead to each of the high-speed coil in the plastic module also! Accelerates by Itself and instantly jolting forward break in the plastic a R6! File off any sharp edges on the fuse is blow by either black material found on the stator.. It, youll simply need to check the resistance between the output wire and the secondary system. Check out emanualonline.com for an easy and affordable download of your motorcycles work efficiency and put it back the... For an easy and affordable download of your stator to no power and even the hill... To have two bad coils in Harley coil symptom that is losing connectivity it.