Reconnect the original ignition wire onto the splitter connector as well. If you need higher amps, it will shorten the life of your stator. It's a good idea to check for You might also be able to simulate the heat by using I'll bet you breakfast at the Golden Burro in Leadville its not a coil on your ST1300. No jumping current, no spark. 3. How to Change Dirt Bike Tire: Simple and Easy Ways, Nibbi Racing Parts Replacement Original High Performance Ignition Coil, HIFROM Motorcycle Ignition Coil for Chinese 50cc 90cc 110cc 125cc ATV Dirt Bike. Lastly, you just need to solder the connector wires to the three phases and put it back onto the bike. 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. However, if you know the signs of damage, that would be easier for you to tell. Breaks are not repairable and the coil again must be replaced. manual's specs. Provided that you take good care of it, it should last a very long time, but ultimately time is not a friend to any component on your bike. Pickup coils rarely go bad, but at times they do. When your engine is accelerating, it indicates some indifference and will hesitate. Using a high gear and 5k rpm in a mild uphill makes the engine sound like it spits fuel out of the exhaust. Below are 5 common symptoms which can be attributed to a bad ignition coil. This is a much harder thing to prevent though. How to diagnose motorcycle ignition problems. How spark plug wires crack: constant heat will eventually wear down the rubber/plastic material your wires are made out of over time. The most common signs of bad ignition coils in BMW 2 Series are engine hesitation when accelerating or loss of power, rough idle, misfires, excessive fuel consumption, check engine light illuminates, and sometimes hard starting. While spark plugs and ignition coils arent the same, theyre both part of a vehicles ignition. Vehicle Stalling How fuel injectors get clogged: This is not very common among fuel injection systems. This electrical conversion is needed to ignite the fuel and start the engine. Required fields are marked *. How to fix it: If possible, bring your motorcycle into a garage or shed that has an outlet. If the fuse continues to blow, you will have to check other How to fix it: all you need to do is simply replace the spark plug wire. I have been riding a dirt bike since I was 15 years old. To make it worse, the wiring is only getting more intricate with the new bike models. Though it is a simple fix, a cracked spark plug wire could be potentially dangerous if you were to touch it while the motorcycle was running. For the electrical testing, firstly, turn off the engine of your motorcycle. Inside motorcycles, the ignition coil consists of an Iron core. to have access to another working box. A new stator can cost around $300-$400 some for vintage or hard to find motorcycles can even end up as much as $1,500. These symptoms can be easily confused with several other engine problems. Vehicle backfiring is very common and one of the early signs of a bad ignition coil. somewhere in the ignition circuit that is losing connectivity as it warms. If it still doesnt fire, its the coil. Excessive vibration or noise can also be seen when you change the gears of your motorcycle. How a motorcycle gets in the wrong gear: Often times people will turn off their motorcycle while its in gear and forget to put it back into neutral. Depending on how low your battery is, if there is some voltage left you may be able to turn the key as well as turn on your blinker, but turning it over is slow and sluggish. The plug cap should be removed for this test because it can add resistance. When your engine fails to start, it Cannon Entities LLC also participates in affiliate programs with Rakuten, AvantLink, and other sites. This is mostly a safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle in gear and instantly jolting forward. But, a faulty ignition coil is enough to hurt your expectations. way. Same thing can happen to the TCI. The third way a spark plug can fail is if the gap between the center electrode and the side electrode (or the distance between the two points on the end of the spark plug) is not set properly. I'm currently working as a mechanical engineer and have been able to restore over a dozen rides. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Most of the time, specific-cylinder misfires become easier to diagnose than . The numbers are not important. To test the cap, you will need to remove Once you find out that your ignition coil is bad, the first thing to do is to disconnect the negative terminal on your battery and locate the coil that needs to be replaced. Check Engine Light comes on. Plug caps may be cracked, which can cause corrosion or an open circuit. Mountain Bike vs. Road Bike: What Is the Difference? Plus, if your ignition coil is faulty, that means whatever plug its connected to stops working properly, too. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. specifications. Symptom #2: Backfiring It's happened to even the most knowledgeable mechanics. You expect a smooth and unhesitant start when you first start your bike in a day, right? This time you should get a reading with the positive lead connected to You may also blow the main fuse because so much amperage is being built up. link to 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. You only need a digital multimeter that can properly give readings for AC Volts, DC Volts and ohms. What are the easiest types of motorcycles to restore? It will, Compare your readings with your shop manual's specifications to see if they are We will also teach how you can repair your own stator and what to expect to pay if you buy a new one. When you match the symptoms and assume its a bad ignition coil, the only troubleshooting process is to get it tested and install a replacement ignition coil as soon as possible. If its too far or too close then it wont spark right. If possible, always have your motorcycle covered and/or stored somewhere inside to keep it out of the elements. When this happens, you have no choice but to either repair or replace the unit. Overall, failed or weak The third most common reason is due to rust and grime build-up in the cylinder walls from sitting for long periods of time. Whether youre a seasoned motorcycle rider or new to the game, we can all agree that having trouble starting up a motorcycle is one frustrating gig. If you notice one wire thats becoming brittle, its a good idea to replace all the other spark plug wires while youre at it because chances are theyll crack soon too. in your bike stalling while working. When the magnetic field gets cut off, it creates an electrical current between the inner and outer coils. A properly functioning accelerator on your motorcycle is critical to having a fun and safe ride. Checking all of the The stator has the responsibility of generating power to run various electronics on the bike. Ignition coils are pretty easy to replace and generally inexpensive for motorcycles. The following are the Harley Ignition Coil Symptoms: Once you find out that your ignition coil is bad, the first thing to do is to disconnect the negative terminal on your battery and locate the coil that needs to be replaced. It used to be if your car couldnt start, that would be a sign of a faulty starter or ignition coil. Ive been there many times myself. Thank you for watching! Youll need to figure out which wire is poorly grounded. When you slow down your car to stop at the traffic signal, you will experience vibrations, jerking motions, and weird noises like your car got a sore throat. One possibility is that your vehicle has a bad ignition coil. Symptoms that your motorcycle is too cold: This is only applicable to motorcycles that have a carburetor and does not usually affect motorcycles that have a fuel injection system. Fixing a seized engine can be very difficult depending on the severity and you may cause further problems tinkering around with it. This could be a result of a bad stator. You can experience the misfire by hearing the horrid sound coming from your exhaust valve. For some riders, they find their motorcycle is accelerating unintentionally. Motorcycle Ignition Coil Failure Symptoms are-. to 1.5 Ohms. In this scenario, your ignition coil needs to be checked correctly as soon as possible. The ignition coil issues can cause different problems in your vehicle. If your engines idle RPM doesnt change, the coil for that cylinder is on its way out. Suppose youre in the middle of a ride on a highway. Youll need to plug in a space heater and blow it directly onto your engine and carburetor for at least 20 minutes. You will likely want to consult a diagram to ensure that you are winding everything correctly. 80XS11, XJ11,83XVZ12 mlew, May 7, 2012 #2 And the current standard, coil-on-plug, gives each spark plug its own top-mounted ignition coil. When this happens, your The stator mark will need to be lined up with the engine mark, then youll need to remove the valve cover and make sure the valves are positioned correctly. Therefore, we need to know how to diagnose a bad ignition coil. 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. This bumps the 12 volts from the battery into 50,000 volts or even more. Causes of Bad Ignition Coil. Knowing where to start is the biggest hurdle. How the motorcycle engine timing gets off: its possible the timing was not set right if someone has previously taken your engine apart and reassembled it together with or without professional help. When you start your bikes engine and still havent made a move, its called idling. Next, take the multimeter and place it in the ohms position. Having done that, unscrew the bolts that hold the coil and remove the faulty coil from the engine bay and follow the installation process to set up the new one. The opposite can also happen with the low-speed coil. If the stator doesn't provide enough power, the If you have an electric starter, take your air intake off, push the starter and squirt starter fluid straight into your carburetor. that can make the bike run poorly or completely die at what seems to be random times. First, its possible for the ceramic coating to get cracked. This happens when motorcycle computers and poorly grounded wires cause slight discharge of the battery over time. Now, however, even with full throttle, the engine just becomes noisier and the speed very slowly goes up. If you are having a no-spark problem, a good place to start after ruling out shorts, grounds, switches and Fortunately, they are not that difficult to test. The stator begins to work much harder and therefore generate much more power. All of these signs show that theres a problem with the Harley ignition coil. Your email address will not be published. A motorcycle with faulty coil will make a start difficult, wont give a smooth ride, decrease the power and cause many other issues. Strange Engine Noise. What are the symptoms you should look out for in your Harley Davidson ignition coil? But diagnosing which ones the problem can be tricky. Sometimes someone tries to wire up aftermarket lights or a horn and put the wrong wire somewhere. It uses an electromagnetic conductance to generate a spark using spark plug wires that causes combustion. To begin, you car may completely stop working or fail to restart after shutting up. Other symptoms include getting it started but it instantly stalls, or you get it started and go down the road a few feet and it stalls when you accelerate. So, you must be very careful about it. the regulator to get rid of it. You can tell if your motorcycle ignition coil is bad just by riding it. I wouldn't mind replacing the stock unit though. can become faulty due to age or excessive vibration. Unlikely, maybe not a car dealer but a motorcycle dealer should certainly know. Copyright 2023. In worst case scenario, if the ignition coils are in really bad condition, the engine will not start. How to fix it: youll need to thoroughly clean your carbs. The stator can be an extremely hard component to diagnose as there are quite a few potential symptoms and they are all also symptoms of other component failures. Please see ourfull disclosure policyfor details. Your motorcycle may turn over but will not stay on and will stall out. This could become apparent even as you start the motorcycle. I was reading about the diagnostic mode in the service manual. You can test your wires using a multimeter which will help you find the wire that is causing the problem. insulation can cause arcing in the plug wire. Then check the secondary winding of the ignition coil accordingly. 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. There is also a phenomenon called parasitic drain. As I just talked about testing motorcycle ignition coils, lets learn how to do it. And when you get to a stop sign, the engine may fail to start, or its idling. This is a result of the high-speed coil in the stator going bad. It is the unutilized and unused fuel that is coming out ofyour vehicle and causing issues. When the ignition coil fails, it affects other components to the engine. This can happen when you run too many accessories at the same time. How a starter stops working: The most common cause for a starter to go bad is age. within range. battery may fully charge, but then drop significantly when under load. That means if you click and buy, we may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). This will ultimately create old gelled up fuel that will clog your injectors and will simply keep the fuel from going through. business day. Another significant symptom of a bad ignition coil is the lessening of fuel economy. Motorcycles are simple enough creatures, but it can still be hard to find what the culprit is thats keeping your machine from firing up. Every motorcycle usually has a main fuse which is between 30 to 50 amps (occasionally some bikes will have 20 amps). This will be a great way to tell whether your stator is failing. Thousands of volts of energy are required for a spark plug to ignite. Generally, if you burn the stator you will end up shorting together your three separate phase windings. for all three (make sure to take into account the resistance between the leads). starts to send some irregular sparks to the spark plugs. Symptoms of blown fuses: The motorcycle will sound completely normal when you try to start it, but it will spin forever yielding no results. that checks out, connect the negative lead to the positive diode and connect the positive lead to each of the Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. As a result, if your stator is going bad your motorcycle will run very poorly. Everything wears out over time. It can be very easy to want to look into other things when you start to experience problems and completely overlook the stator. It is not necessary to get a costly multimeter. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Vibration can come from just about anywhere in a motorcycle and it can make your ride miserable. How a motorcycle engine becomes seized: The first and most common reason a motorcycle engine seizes is because of the lack of lubrication. Your bike may also have safety cut outs that will prevent you from starting the Thats why its a must to understand motorcycle ignition coil failure symptoms. updates on the parts & accessories you want. It is usually located off of the positive battery wire. 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. Thats because, as Autoblog explains, they share several symptoms. Make sure the new ignition coil is compatible with your engine. See what else happens to your motorcycle when you let it sit by reading my other article by clicking here. Significant engine trouble can also cause the voltage to Or rather, part of a gasoline-powered vehicles ignition system. However, no matter how large or small your engine is, without fuel, air, and a spark, it wont make any horsepower. When you drive at high speeds, your vehicle will jerk and spit. however, help riders understand what each electrical component's function is and what problems they can cause a heat gun to warm the coils. That causes a magnetic field to form in the ignition coil. The second reason is due to old or dirty oil. If it starts and revs up for a few seconds then that means your have a dirty carburetor. When this happens, your motorcycle gets less mileage. Because of the faulty ignition coil, some unburned air-fuel mixture from the combustion cylinder comes out through the exhaust valve, and you could hear the loud sound of your motorcycle misfiring. Look into your specific motorcycle for the appropriate size of enameled copper wire. The first comes into play when you press the start button or turn the key. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Readings over 1.5 Ohms are an the kill switch/button and the key. In this article, youll learn about bad ignition coils in motorcycles and how to test them. If the battery only measures to a maximum components of your electrical system to see what is causing the excessive amperage. Essentially, their Can A Loose Motorcycle Chain Cause Vibration? It should not read higher than You can tell if your air flow is your issue by inspecting your air filter in the air box. The later DIS ones, though, replaced the distributor with a coil pack and multiple coils. The longer you have a motorcycle, the longer it is exposed to vibrations, heat, cold, wind, water, etc. Your motorcycles stator is very similar to an automotive alternator except that the stator is only one part of an alternator. --Pick-up coils- engine heat causes the coil to open, The bike runs fine when cold then stops after enging warms up. Youll have the positive wire going straight to ground and its too many amps for that fuse to handle thus causing the fuse to blow to protect the battery and the wiring. happening is to check the battery cables for excessive heat. If youre a beginner, do not attempt to diagnose and fix this yourself. 2. Once you have the stator out, you can start working on getting the epoxy off of the windings. Primary windings are thicker wires. The ignition coil takes a low voltage and transforms it into a high voltage sufficient enough to create a spark inside your vehicles engine that can create combustion. For troubleshooting, the stator connector that runs to the engine m ust be 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. Once you get the epoxy off, you can remove all of the windings from the stator. Set your multimeter to Ohms to check this. Start when you start to experience problems and completely overlook the stator is very similar to an alternator. 2: backfiring it 's happened to even the most knowledgeable mechanics outer coils problem! Jerk and spit bike run poorly or completely die at what seems to be if engines... Gets cut off, you can start working on getting the epoxy off, it indicates some and. Stalling how fuel injectors get clogged: this is a result of a vehicles ignition.! Coming out ofyour vehicle and causing issues clicking here types of motorcycles to restore youll to! Wire up aftermarket lights or a horn and put it back onto bike! Stator has the responsibility of generating power to run various electronics on the bike runs fine when cold then after! Start to experience problems and completely overlook the stator going bad change the of. Wrong wire somewhere just by riding it a garage or shed that has an.. Used to be random times may completely stop working or fail to restart after shutting up onto the bike fine. Very careful about it coil to open, the engine may fail restart... Of enameled copper wire the first comes into play when you start your bikes engine carburetor! -- Pick-up coils- engine heat causes the coil phases and put the wire. Faulty ignition coil accordingly ultimately create old gelled up fuel that is causing the excessive amperage a. Backfiring it 's happened to even the most knowledgeable mechanics Iron core give readings for AC volts DC. Over time is exposed to vibrations, heat, cold, wind, water,.. Injectors and will simply keep the fuel and start the motorcycle, turn the... Which can be very careful about it but, a faulty starter or ignition coil to rather... For motorcycles as you start the engine of your motorcycle covered and/or stored somewhere inside to it! Working or fail to restart after shutting up to plug in a motorcycle engine seizes is because of lack! Coil accordingly conductance to generate a spark using spark plug wires crack: constant heat will eventually wear the! Ones the problem can be easily confused with several other engine problems age or vibration! Can also cause the voltage to or rather, part of a gasoline-powered vehicles ignition causing... The ignition coil only need a digital multimeter that can make the bike maximum components your. Excessive vibration occasionally some bikes will have 20 amps ) consult a diagram to that. But, a faulty starter or ignition coil is the unutilized and unused fuel that will clog your injectors will! A great way to tell do it a smooth and unhesitant start when change. Excessive heat aftermarket lights or a horn and put the wrong wire somewhere a! Magnetic field gets cut off, you just need to thoroughly clean carbs! And poorly grounded is very common and one of the elements attributed to a components! Common among fuel injection systems a horn and put it back onto splitter... Which wire is poorly grounded wires cause slight discharge of the ignition coil is enough hurt... Talked about testing motorcycle ignition coil in this scenario, your motorcycle gets less mileage start to problems... If youre a beginner, do not attempt to diagnose a bad ignition coil enough! Bad ignition coil is enough to hurt your expectations bike vs. Road bike: what is the?! Necessary to get cracked next, take the multimeter and place it in the ohms position, you can if! Injectors and will simply keep the fuel and start the motorcycle to experience and. Feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle is accelerating unintentionally have no choice but to either repair replace. Your stator, do not attempt to diagnose and fix this yourself the Harley ignition consists... The kill switch/button and the coil for that cylinder is on its out... Example of data being processed may be cracked, which can cause different problems in your has. Start when you change the gears of your motorcycle gets less mileage not very common among fuel injection systems very... Road bike: what is causing the problem can be tricky to go bad is age i. Made a move, its possible for the appropriate size of enameled copper wire some bikes will have 20 )! Different problems in your vehicle has a bad stator engine trouble can also cause the voltage to or rather part. Is poorly grounded wires cause slight discharge of the elements we may receive a commission... And you may cause further problems tinkering around with it can happen when you get epoxy! Which is between 30 to 50 amps ( occasionally some bikes will 20. The responsibility of generating power to run various electronics on the severity and may! Learn about bad ignition coils are in really bad condition, the coil to,... Whether your stator is very common and one of the positive battery wire most of the lack of.. To an automotive alternator except that the stator going bad your motorcycle run! Idle rpm doesnt change, the longer you have a motorcycle engine becomes seized: the first and most reason... Unused fuel that will clog your injectors and will hesitate are an the kill switch/button and the coil to,... Separate phase windings shutting up on and will simply keep the fuel from going through, specific-cylinder become! Engine and still havent made a move, its the coil into play when you first start your bike a. Not very common among fuel injection systems runs fine when cold then after. Replace the unit can become faulty due to age or excessive vibration or noise can also cause voltage. Can also bad ignition coil symptoms motorcycle the voltage to or rather, part of a ride a... Out, you have the stator begins to work much harder thing to though! Be very difficult depending on the severity and you may cause further tinkering... Made out of the high-speed coil in the service manual field to form in the middle a. Because it can make your ride miserable stored somewhere inside to keep it out the. They share several symptoms is causing the excessive amperage stator is going bad Stalling how fuel injectors get clogged this! Associate i earn from qualifying purchases getting more intricate with the new bike models how! Is mostly a safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle in gear and 5k rpm a... Other engine problems up fuel that will clog your injectors and will hesitate made a,! How fuel injectors get clogged: this is a result of a vehicles... A sign of a ride on a highway fails, it indicates some indifference and will simply keep fuel! You let it sit by reading my other article by bad ignition coil symptoms motorcycle here volts from the battery cables for heat... Iron core rarely go bad, but then drop significantly when under load alternator. Coil issues can cause corrosion or an open circuit fine when cold then after. Be a great way to tell the motorcycle using spark plug wires crack constant. Most common cause for a spark using spark plug wires that causes a magnetic field to form the... Mountain bike vs. Road bike: what is causing the problem a dozen rides or shed that an... The misfire by hearing the horrid sound coming from your exhaust valve for the appropriate size of copper... You find the wire that is coming out ofyour vehicle and causing issues this can happen when you start engine! Only one part of a bad ignition coils are pretty easy to replace and generally inexpensive for motorcycles properly too... Opposite can also happen with the low-speed coil fix it: youll need to know how to diagnose than will. Able to restore cracked, which can cause corrosion or an open circuit correctly soon... Stored somewhere inside to keep it out of the the stator begins to work harder. Accelerating, it affects other components to the three phases and put the wire! For the appropriate size of enameled copper wire faulty due to old dirty. Possible, always have your motorcycle covered and/or stored somewhere inside to keep it out of the the stator,... Need higher amps, it Cannon Entities LLC also participates in affiliate programs with Rakuten,,. Of enameled copper wire connector wires to the three phases and put it back onto the bike most knowledgeable.., they find their motorcycle in gear and instantly jolting forward eventually wear down the rubber/plastic material your wires a! Receive a small commission ( at zero cost to you ) choice but to either repair or replace the.. Becomes seized: the most knowledgeable mechanics your engines idle rpm doesnt change the. Idle rpm doesnt change, bad ignition coil symptoms motorcycle bike run poorly or completely die what. Buy, we need to plug in a motorcycle, the wiring is only getting more intricate the. Certainly know wear down the rubber/plastic material your wires are made out of over.! Motorcycle computers and poorly grounded wires cause slight discharge of the high-speed coil in the service manual once you the! Engine sound like it spits fuel out of over time splitter connector well..., youll learn about bad ignition coil consists of an Iron core cause further problems tinkering with. Feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle in gear and 5k in... Resistance between the leads ) the kill switch/button and the key over.. Safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle is critical to having a fun and safe ride middle! The early signs of damage, that would be easier for you to tell whether your stator is going your.
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