Motorcycle Coil Testing: The Basics
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
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In this video we dive into some basic tests we can apply to a large amount of the coils used on older or more simplified systems.
I personally think the tips towards the end of the video will really help people understand the bigger picture of how your motorcycle electronic systems live and die by the stuff we do to them.
Enjoy!
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I watch my unfair share of bike repair videos. This guy actually doesn't make me want to poke my cochlea's out with a multimeter probe!!! Informative / pithy/ clear/stayed on topic/ and no bullshit.. light-years better than 99% of repair videos I've seen.. thanks a bunch .
Audi 5000
Krh
I feel as if I'm better prepared to tackle my ignition timing problems on this old Ironhead now. You're the man, brother!
You solved my problem with this training. 1 year! My bike has been dead for one year! I get it now. I needed that base knowledge to eliminate the working from the dead.
It was a bad spark plug cable to the coil…….
Yeahhhhhhhhhh!
This didn’t help me get to the very bottom of my problem (yet), but I learned a lot and I really appreciate you taking the time to be this thorough and share your knowledge. For someone just learning by wrench away in the garage your videos are really helpful! You do a great job sharing your knowledge in a way that is digestible to someone who is learning. Thank you
Thanks for sharing your knowledge of ignition coils, my nearly 50 year old bike thanks you.
Nice one Cody. You've no idea how much great info comes across in these vids. We are like your apprentices soaking up all that knowledge.
Cheers man. Very helpful indeed. In particular I love the 'jumpage' test. Thats a little chestnut of info. 🙂👍😎
Regards..... Steve 🇬🇧🇺🇦
Cody, your videos are base knowledge, and if you are clueless like most people are some information is better than nothing. I'm old now and do homework every time I have to troubleshoot anything I'm working on. I say thanks for your information.
Good job explaining the dark art of testing electrical components of the ignition spark side of most older motorcycles,Thanks for showing the use of a mulitimeter and how to set it, for this application.
Electrical testing isn't a dark art, it's quite straight forward if you have a couple of brain cells that is! 👍
I needed to help a friend fix his bike thanks for giving me the low down and the straight scoop it was informative and concise I totally appreciate it
Thank you very much for your tutorial videos. It helped fix my Honda Jade 250 even when many other technician could not.
Hey Cody , I'm coming under your wing for more tutorials , your last-this one taught me a lot to unravel the mystery of the COIL !!! ...,Thanks
....thank you,....finally someone who explains so I can understand!
Glad it helped!
Just so clear, easy listening.
I love it Cody. Can't wait to do free coarse, I think you make a great teacher. wish i could work for you.
Very informative. I learned a bunch from viewing this. Thank you .
Love the content Cody. Great info. The auto focus on your camera made a little motion sick though. keep the great topics coming!
Always learn so I always watch. Thank you. Scotland.
A coil is a "transformer" It makes a magnetic field with 12V and a couple of amps flow. Then when the voltage is cut off this sudden change creates a much higher voltage, but lower amperage, current potential at the output terminal. This voltage is so high it discharges through the spark plug gap to ground. The resistor caps cut this flow off after a few milliseconds or otherwise the longer pulse would cause a lot of EMF interference, messing up radio, tv and even the sensor readings on newer vehicles.
You did an excellent job here. The really crucial thing you did, as far as I was concerned, was pull the cap off the wire. I just made this discovery on my Suzuki Intruder. There is no way to get the cap through the frame to the plug. As I pulled off the old wire the cap came off. Low and behold there was a copper screw in the cap! This screwed into the coil wire! I never dreamed this was possible. It screwed back on too, Goooooood and tight! WOW!!!
Thanks for the tutorial man! Great video!
@ i little heads-up to share, I took out one my coils on my bike when I didn't see that the little screw-in brass insert inside the cap which locks onto the the plug fallen out when i pulled the cap. When i put the cap back on I was in a hurry and didn't notice that the cap didn't lock on like usual, and when i took off riding after just a couple miles the bike started popping and dropping cylinders then lost both cylinders for that coil, when i tested coil the secondary side was completely open. Moral of the story, when you put the spark plug cap back on the plug i make sure and listen for the metallic clicking of the insert sliding down the threads on the top of the plug !!!
Hi Cody ! Great videos!!, you have helped me a lot, I have a 2004 shadow spirit vt1100. Greetings from Nicaragua.
Wonderful, Useful and helpful tips 🙏
Dude! I was just working on my bike trying to figure out the whole HT debacle, and your video just made it a thousand times more comprehensible. Thanks a bunch!
Another great video.👍
Dude, your videos rock! I would have needed these in 2015 when I refurbished my Bandit 600, but now they come in handy for a XBR500 get-it-to-fire-up job for my girlfriend. thanks for sharing your knowledge
Excellent wide spectrum tutorial!
Thank you for your video. Very helpful and informative
Excellent video
Great info!
Wonderful highly appreciate for helpful and useful information and tips ❤️🙏
Excellent video! Just subscribed
Great video.
Thank you
Helpful. Thank you!
I know very little about electronics, multimeters but I know enough to think you ddi a really good job explaining the subject in a way that someone with the limited knowledge like me could understand and follow along to an extent and I thank you!!! One other thing is the clarity of your voice is great, sounds like U.S.A. without any foreign accent. And yes I’m a little predous!. I was southern born and raised and when I listen to messages/ recordings I wanna hear an American voice I can understand. Thank you sir you.did a wonderful job!!! I don’t normally comment on a video unless I really like it but when I read the only other comment I saw I couldn’t believe or understand it……. Maby he/she is so smart that sence I’m so ignorant is why I don’t understand…..but I don’t think so. Lol
Thanks for the feedback.. and as for the comments.. they are like buttholes.. Everyone’s got one 😂
Insulation resistance testing is something you should consider, it can be a very useful diagnostic tool. Nice series 👍🏼
coil are coated with varnish so they do not short between turns you can not see this with ohms testing a suspect coil quick way i sub with a know good coil .
@@frankdavidson9675 That's exactly what you are testing when you check the resistance (measured in ohms). If the insulation breaks down between windings and shorts out the original path creating a shorter path then the resistance will be lower because the amount of wire the current runs through is less. If the wire is degrading then the resistance is higher.
Thanks for the info
Awesome as alway;s. Thank you.
Cody,
I enjoy any and all of your videos, anyone that does not appreciate them, and all the energy you put into doing them should not even ride a bike, they should just Ride a Bus,
Thanks again,
BJ
Oregon
Thank you for the detailed education on electonics... I always fall short when it gets to the electrics of a vehicle and need to get better as our combustion vintage girls are in much need of TLC at this point.
Nice content liked it a lot there is one other way to test primary, secondary and pulse generator or ECU that's sending the signal to the primary and that's using an ociliscope and you can then see how the coil is performing in the environment it is designed for .
Of course not every person has one but if you do get the chance bloody amazing as I'm finding out .
Cody hearing you talk about coils and resistance is super got . I would love to meet tou
Great video
I think you're pretty good man I like you even though it's really long I learned a lot more than from these other fools this is dank from San Diego watch you're six and just be safe
THANK YOU
Cool. Where else so much about it all. Thanks much!
Hi Cody
Re the plug caps, they have a resistor (rf noise suppressor) in them that fails more often then coils themselves IME as an mc mech.
Noting also that in twin lead coils, since the circuit runs through both caps then if one is open circuit neither lead will have spark leading to 2 cylinders down not just the one. Which can be confusing to some since they might expect that one bad plug cap would only cause the loss of spark only at the cylinder the plug cap runs to not 2 cylinders.
Hence why I test the plug caps first for any issues I suspect is ignition related or even fuel starving that the choke test makes worse, can often be done without removing tank completely.
Thanks for your knowledge bro! Appreciate you!
@@TheMotorcycleMD Could be my issue with the rear cylinder on a 750 shadow with no spark. Already checked the coil. Thanks for the idea!
@@TheMotorcycleMDCody could you or have you already done a video on upgrading to stick coils???
Thanks..
More good info..👍😉👍
Hey Cody thanks for the video I really got a lot of info from it and I have signed up for your free course I am rebuilding a Suzuki bandit 98 model and im not mechanical minded so I will be studying all your videos.
Thanks again
Des from ireland
Thank you
Good video!
Thanks!
I feel like I have your bike. '79 CB750-F Super Sport...with one coil split open down its underside, just like you're showing. Lovely bike otherwise - so comfortable I've done 8 hours without a stop longer than it takes to fill the tank, and still didn't get a sore arse or back. 🙂
Great video. I think you’re likely way over most people’s experience level.
Okay now how can you test a coil live on the bench to make sure it really Sparks under load? On the Old Automotive coils, you could ground the negative primary and body of the spark plug to negative on a 12-volt battery, then put a jumper lead and touch positive 12-volt to the positive primary terminal, and by touching and releasing it would Spark
Testing resistance is helpful but there's no real load in the coil and sometimes a week winding will open up when a load is actually applied trying to make a spark
So can be motorcycle coils tested this way?
Learned a lot from this bro 💯 and I can't get my bike to start. Has food spark but won't start. I changed the starter coil for a cheap Chinese one from stock coil. And started the bike and reved it and died now can't start it still I think it may be the néw coil 😮as it's a efi scooter and I think I am going to try the old one as it still works so going to try it bk out. 😀
Great show Cody. The coils are tricky and many people frustrated with a non-running bike buy new ones unnecessarily. And ECU's.
Indeed they are!
@@TheMotorcycleMD But please tell me. Why do I get a spark when cap is off sparkplug. It sparks and engine running on all 4 cylinders when cap is about 6mm ...1/4" ...away from sparkplug. This happens when sparkplug is mounted like the other 3 sparkplug and engine running. It starts to spark after a while when cap is connected. All measurement on coils, and between 2 sparkplugs, according to Honda workshop manual. (750cc). No visual damage on coils. I get crazy with this and have asked same question in bike forums but no answer.
@@reioXyhiWas the coils your issue? I’m having the same symptoms as you.
@@Shaw_WithThe750 i bought coil on plugs ....cops .but of some reasons I havnt had the time to do anything on the vf750c.and soon is half of biking season gone ;-(. let me know of your progress .👍
@@reioXyhi I “think” my issue was the wires, the coils was good.
For us in the back. We need a full view of the meter, how you are hooked up. What setting you use
He's using Ohms or resistance.
He also explains what settings he's using by what results he expects to find in the video.
I believe it was 5k for primary and 200k for secondary
So great vid thanks. On the single lead HT coil version I could not see where you were putting the other probe to test the resistance. One end on the HT core but where does one put the other probe please.
Cheers
Damn I'm going to have to have a degree in electronics to understand what you said on the coil.🧑🎓
You don't need a degree, just about a couple of brain cells is all that is required. Perhaps you only have the one brain cell which is where the problem lies! 😁😂
Helpful but I am still a little unclear on how to test the seconfary of a single plug coil. Thanks for uploading Cody.
Many plug caps in the 70's & 80's has suppressors in them so as not to interfere with LW, SW & AM radios ! That is why you may measure high secondary resistances
Beware, if you touch the meter wires when testing secondary in kohm range you may fool your readings. Your fingers resistance is about 10k..
There is a technique known as the "dead man" whereby you use the meter to hold one of the probes for you (some models, not all) thereby eliminating the ohm pickup of one's own skin touching the leads. This is a common occurrence for those without proper training in meter reading and testing. The harder you touch the leads the less ohm's of your skin. NEVER touch the tip leads of a meter, it's a bad habit to get into doing even with just testing ohm's.
@@anonimous24515
In the 70 s I had a Honda with a bad ignition switch. So I bypassed the key switch. It worked for a while then when I tried to kick start it it would not start. I checked the electrical and found the coil had blown it's top and the coils were laying on the motor from being energized all the time .guess I was lucky it didn't short out my battery or start a fire. I replaced ignition switch and the coil and some fuses. Lesson learned don't keep coil energized when motor is off.
I have a Kawasaki 2006 ZX6R 366 are that the charger for my phone was connected to the fuse that idea . My bike won't start now I replaced the stator and rectifier also starter and newly a fuel pump. I benched tested the fuel pump without the holder and the other part it worked but I'm still not getting power to the fuel pump or it's not coming on when the key is turned on please give advice thank you great video thanks a lot this helps me a lot
HOWdy T-M-C-MD, ...
Thanks
COOP
the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA
...
thanks for the vid i just realized my hornet 2004 has broken coils both of them , i accidentally poured diesel into . helped with poor gas station signs and bad customer policy i had to clean the carb . i did it three times already , and today realized coils went wrong while the engine was sputtering . i hope that's all from damaged parts here.
Hay bro Love the way you teach it seems we think similarly. Example: you answer the question I'm asking that most people blow bye because either they aren't informed or lazy or just havent looked at the hole system to find the problem which all of us are more likely to do.
I have a MAJOR ❓❓❓❓❓
I in patiently wired a USB charger for my phone mont to my ignition fuse my thinking was I didn't want it to drain the battery and leave me stranded.I didn't realize how much a USB cord could use and how much New phones demand power and how fast ect ect. So it burned one stator wire I think it's the ground,one wire in the rectifier I don't remember which one that wire connectors plug was melted going to the wiring harness. Could all of that damage cause the coils to be damaged. I replaced stator and starter rectifier,starter, fuel pump and now I can't get the start button and the blinker switch box that's I the plastic holder there's a plate that goes between the start button and the blinker box I don't want to break it but I can't get it in that was the two questions I have it so important and I would appreciate your advice I desperately ne your help because we think similarly and I'm sure you're explanation is thoroughly sound I respect what and how your doing your TH-cam Page I have some Ideas about starting my own page but I could use some ad vice maybe we can share ideas and help each other make it in this business it's my passion I'm working on this as I working on the bike oops it a 06 Kawasak zx636r. I'm trying to do all the checks before I button it back up and force my self not to be lazy and check relays of all kinds before I try to start it . I learned the hard way to not through new parts at problems this is my first motorcycle but went to school for car's same difference but smaller ple get back to me ASAP just need a guide so I stay on the right path and I'll take it from there good luck 🤞 thanks for your channel.
Im struggling here with a DR800..
The pickup coil seems ok (at the resistance test)
The positive wire at the starter coils are receiving a good amount of volts..
But the sparks is to tiny.. sometimes nothing at all
When I unplug the coils from both plugs on front cylinder..
Nothing happens..
but I still have air pressure at both exhaust pipes???
Hi, Cody. Thank you very much for your videos that have helped me a lot. I have a 1986 Honda Nighthawk 450 and there are many electrical parts that are discontinued like the IGNITION CONTROL MODULE (CDI), IGNITION COIL, and STATOR. Do you know a way to get them new or used but in very good shape?
Great tutorial! I am currently working on a 2002 Honda Shadow 750. It has no spark on the rear cylinder. Swapped the coil from another bike, still the same. Each cylinder has 2 spark plugs and each run off one coil, so I think I have eliminated the coils. Any other ideas? One of the comments gave me a clue, and I will check for resistance in the plug caps.
check the magnet in the flywheel do you have condensers they are known to give major tbl swap condensers if you have rear spark now get a condenser
I've been keeping a log on my 99 Shadow and have been noticing the days we have chillier mornings and there's dew on my bike that it hesitates at higher RPM, but seems to run fine at lower RPM. Starting to wonder if I could have a cracked coil.
I don't love or even like working on my own motorcycle but I like being able to if needed (so I don't have to pay beaucoup bucks to someone else). I much rather be riding my bike!
I have an old '81 Kawasaki KZ305 that I'm trying to get running and I'm not getting any spark. Battery replaced, reg/rec replaced (it was faulty and sending positive charge through the negative lines), starter solenoid replaced, new wiring, new lights, new switches...the only things I haven't replaced are the points, coils, plug wires, and plugs. As far as I can tell, the plug wires are permanently fused to the coils (2 single-output coils). Not getting any spark at all. Put the multimeter to the plug and cranked it and I'm showing voltage but it seems pretty low.
TL;DR This vid taught me that I was testing the coils wrong. They are, indeed, bad but with the way I was testing I would have thought they were bad even if they weren't.
There is a tool that is adjustable that measures the distance of the spark .
The coils on my '80 Wing cracked. Resistance was OK. I had spares so I changed them. Later I found one of the points inside the coil where the wire went in had corroded away. Eventually put an automotive coil in.
Its the voltage that makes the spark. Not the Amps
Dude my bike is 2cylinder i've always got busted coil this type coil on plug. Maybe low quality of coil. Im planing to replace old school coil like single cylinder bikes (fuel injected also) . Do u think it will work?
Hi mate, how is the cdi configuration for a kawasaki rouser 180 with a single cyl- twin spark plug ignition coils? I could not see of it is AC or DC. It also has diff looking rectifyer/regulator.
Dirt Bike Coil:
I have a new coil, it is perfect,
so is my old coil, I A/B'd them for
spark, installed on bike,
both great.
The new coil does not
read when testing the cap terminal
(secondary) to ground, I've
tested it with several diff meters lol, nothing,
grrr. When I took the cap off thinking maybe
the secondary coil lead to spark plug might
be some carbon powder style, nope, just common
strand wire, testing that exposed wire to grd
without cap, reads about 3000 ohms,
with cap on it reads absolutely
nothing, but again, it works fine.. any ideas
as to why I'm not getting a reading via
the cap's spark plug terminal?
Cool video, I was kinda hoping that you were going to cut a coil in half so we can see inside.
Haha!! Maybe another day
What do you do to find new replacements for an 81-82 bike?
hello, I have a 1996 Honda CB400SF and I have some problems, my spark plugs keep breaking, could it be the problem with the coils and if I find Honda Hornet 600 coils, can I use them on my CB400SF? Thank you
I have a tm 300 2022 , the thing is a beast I love it but by all my electrical except electric start and fan are all out ???
So, what's the difference in the blue and yellow wires for the primary? My old coil has the blue wire coming from the "front" of the coil (where the two secondary wires come from) where as the yellow wire comes from the "back" of the coil.
On my *new* coil, the primary wires are not preinstalled and instead, the blade connectors are unmarked and look to be the same. I'm uncertain of what wire to put to one or the other.
Does it matter?
(ain't trying to burn out a new coil)
I was told a pickup coil forva Yamaha SR250 was good. It shows 207 ohms when I tested it not fitted to a motorcycle. Could this be right? A client asked me to sell it for him, so I am not fitting it myself.
Good morning
How to check the brain or modual on a Yamaha 2005vstar classic. Rear coil is not gettingspark to plug changed the rear coil with front and it worked in the front and the front one didn't work in the rear hook up and the pick up coil is good so I'm thinking its the brain or plug coming off brain because front ones working so I don't no if its the brain or the plug to coil from brain
Hello cody......
I need your help
Do u think a universal coil with HONDA CB350 spacifications is compatible with HONDA CM200T TWINSTAR 1980 in case the original is faulty?????
very informative....but you didnt mention how that coil gets energized in the first place...sure it gets source voltage and a ground...that ground comes from the points breaking ground just when they start opening. The electronic ig does this through its circuitry. That can all be tested with contiunity and a wiggle wire test. also with a test light with battery conection....also the britt bikes are positve ground just to keep things intresting.
How does the different amount of coil ohm effect the battery, 1.5 ohm compared to a 4 ohm coils.
Can i connect quick shifter with this type of coils?? If yes please show me how
Dual secondary coil has two coils on the secondary they're separate from each other
What is happening if I switch the ignition on & it starts sparking without me even cranking. Just a steady rhythm of sparking & it's not starting as I'm guessing it's not sparking at the right time while I'm cranking the engine
You should ohm your leads and subtract that # from your reading.
My bike is a 4pins CDI idk if it is a battery operated so the problem is the power went out from the spark plug
I have a 82 Honda cx 500c it has 2 coils and I believe at least one of them is bad I've seen other bikes only have one with 2 plug wires what's the difference
Hi Cody. Can a coil work fine when cold but break down when hot. My bike starts first time but after riding anything over 5 miles if I stop and try turn it on again it's like there is not enough power to start again. I have to wait until bike cools down to start again. Charging system is all good...i s there any way to test hot coils. Cheers.
Sure can!
Total novice here. Is there a difference in a coil in a 12V system vs a 6V system? If so is there a way to tell them apart? 60's & 70's small Honda's.
Can you measure the voltage coming into the primary while cranking? Wondering if the spike will be too fast to be picked up by a multimeter
You would need a peak voltage adapter and the spec is commonly 100+ pkv minimum
should be battery voltage with switch on it runs thru the condenser as points go open creating a magnetic effect and due to turns ratio a high voltage in secondary coil this is conn to spark plug wire and arcs on the spark plug
the voltage coming into primary winding is only 12 volts from key switchthe fact that the points are open allows current to flow thru primary into the condenser to gd this flow in primary makes a magnetic effect in secdonary coil as very high voltage due to turns ratio in secondary (like a step up transformer)this is conn. to dist and spark plug wire as point close this flow stops i happens very fast because points are grounded when they open the gd is lifted
You're mixing up amps (current) with voltage (electrical pressure). It is the high voltage which causes the spark to jump the plug gap not the "amps".