Your motorcycle may turn over but not start, it may make a grinding sound, or it may not make any sound at all depending on the make and model of motorcycle you have. Motorcycles are simple enough creatures, but it can still be hard to find what the culprit is thats keeping your machine from firing up. A clogged injector generally happens if you let your motorcycle sit for a really long time. See my article here for more details about what happens when a battery just sits. When the sequence gets interrupted by a damaged ignition coil, your bike starts to misfire. If your plug wires and caps check out, you can now test your ignition coil. Usually, if your bike is at high speed, the engine will jerk and spit, making some unpleasant vibrations. You will need to buy new AWG wire. When you stop, a misfire from a bad ignition coil may cause your vehicle to run roughly, vibrate or shake. 2. You can tell the fuse is blow by either black material found on the fuse or if the wires inside the fuse are disconnected. should be the last thing that you check. Your motorcycle may turn over but will not stay on and will stall out. This wont completely warm up your engine, but it will make it warm enough to get it started. But diagnosing which ones the problem can be tricky. There are 2 parts: the primary ignition and the secondary ignition. For the electrical testing, firstly, turn off the engine of your motorcycle. How to fix it: There is only one fuse that can affect the starting of a motorcycle. If these tests do not check out, you will need a new regulator/rectifier. Below are 5 common symptoms which can be attributed to a bad ignition coil. If this is the case, you may have to Essentially, their Can A Loose Motorcycle Chain Cause Vibration? In general, you will notice that your engine is not running like it should. We will also teach how you can repair your own stator and what to expect to pay if you buy a new one. Used car guide. Ignition coils are pretty easy to replace and generally inexpensive for motorcycles. Knowing where to start is the biggest hurdle. Next, take the multimeter and place it in the ohms position. Engine Misfiring or Stalling. Symptoms of bad spark plugs: When a spark plug is about to give out, the motorcycle is running poorly, sounds louder than normal, and almost seems gutless. Eventually when a spark plug has gone completely out, your motorcycle will attempt to turn over but simply wont fire up. Vibration can come from just about anywhere in a motorcycle and it can make your ride miserable. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Among the first signs of a bad ignition coil is black smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. with no sparks coming from the cylinders. But theyre not the only potential culprits for a lack of sparks. system. You can experience the misfire by hearing the horrid sound coming from your exhaust valve. Lets assume that your stator has just burned itself up. it will kill everything electrical. I give dozens of tips and tricks that you wont find anywhere else online. Cannon Entities LLC is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. J jonnyrotton Registered Joined Aug 17, 2011 8 Posts There are certain functions on your motorcycle that your stator must run, like your spark plugs. link to 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. your bike consumes more fuel than it usually does. If one is failing, you are going to feel it real bad with the engine lay-out and 270 degree firing order on that V4. It should not read higher than Fortunately, they are not that difficult to test. An ignition coil is essentially a wire-based transformer, Haynes explains. If the voltage A blown or faulty main fuse can be a source of frustration for many riders as it will kill everything electrical. "whoops, forgot about those" issues. ignition coil. Replace the fuse if necessary. If the reading says anything close to or slightly below 12 volts, charge your battery and try starting your motorcycle again. all times because they can go at any time. anything goes to the ground. 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. What are the symptoms of a bad motorcycle stator? Everything wears out over time. You can tell if your motorcycle ignition coil is bad just by riding it. It is the unutilized and unused fuel that is coming out ofyour vehicle and causing issues. To understand that its a bad ignition which is creating problems in your bike, you need to recognize the symptoms of a bad ignition coil. If an ignition coil is bad, you will experience rough idling. 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. It will, Be sure to take pictures before you disassemble so you remember how to put it back together. The ignition coil issues can cause different problems in your vehicle. First, check the positive diode. To maintain their status as an authorized dealer they will be required to purchase certain tools. A few things the ST is notorious for that can cause that symptom-. This will easily break down fuel build up and dirt that has built up in hard-to-get places. Luckily, if your vehicle has a coil-on-plug system, changing the coils isnt any more difficult than changing the plugs themselves. Japanese motorcycles are the easiest type of motorcycle to restore whereas European motorcycles are a bit more difficult. Decreased power overall. 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. You might be served by such an effort though. Check the main fuse and see if its blown. motorcycle electrical problems. Inside motorcycles, the ignition coil consists of an Iron core. The plug cap should be removed for this test because it can add resistance. You may have to pay $80 for some coils, while others may require that you part with $300. 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. You will want to file off any sharp edges on the stator. 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. Same thing can happen to the TCI. Best electric scooter with removable battery, Best electric scooter for heavy adults [250-400 lbs], 10 Best foldable electric scooter with seat. It should read in the thousands for Ohms. 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. Generally, you can get a reading of 0.2 ohms all the way up to 5 ohms. A check engine light can also point to either, as can difficulty starting the engine. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. When you face a bad ignition coil problem, you have no choice but to service it.Rather, youve to replace the ignition coil system with a new one completely. There are so many different signs pointing towards a failing stator. This amperage is absolute and cannot be decreased. This post may contain affiliate links. Spark plugs are usually only a few dollars each and can be found at any auto store. A breakdown in the Your Motorcycle Ignition Coil Failure Symptoms are-. Fixing "no spark" on most motorcycles. ignition coil symptoms vary depending on the extent of the damage of the One sign Now, lets learn motorcycle ignition coil failure symptoms in detail. Your stator will wear out over time. I'm too lazy to go looking for code readers for YOUR bike. motorcycle gets less mileage. unplugged. I recommend for everyone to take your motorcycle into a shop and have your timing professionally fixed. 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. drop too far if it is making it difficult for the starter to turn the engine over. If that checks out, you can then measure the resistance between the secondary wire (plug wire), w hich First measure the resistance between This happens when motorcycle computers and poorly grounded wires cause slight discharge of the battery over time. As a consequence, your I have used this method hundreds of times and it has worked great. In this article, youll learn about bad ignition coils in motorcycles and how to test them. Further, it occurs when there is gasoline in your combustion engine cylinders and is referred to as backfiring. Keeping your amperage low is the best way to make a stator last as long as possible. How to fix it: put your motorcycle into neutral and try starting it again. lead to the negative terminal of the battery. Motorcycles are a lot more simple to repair compared to cars. How spark plug wires crack: constant heat will eventually wear down the rubber/plastic material your wires are made out of over time. What are the easiest types of motorcycles to restore? Other extreme weather conditions will speed up this process. And when you get to a stop sign, the engine may fail to start, or its idling. Shorts also ruin your stator pretty quickly. 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. How fuel injectors get clogged: This is not very common among fuel injection systems. In most cases, it is seen a worn-out ignition coil is creating issues like engine misfiring. 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Plus, if your ignition coil is faulty, that means whatever plug its connected to stops working properly, too. This will help the stator to last a long time again. But, a faulty ignition coil is enough to hurt your expectations. And you decided to accelerate your bike a bit to go faster. The first comes into play when you press the start button or turn the key. Thats why check on the ignition coil whenever you feel your bike is having issues. 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. Some bikes will not start with the side stand down, if the bike is in gear or if the clutch lever is not Troubleshooting electrical problems is simply understanding what each component's function is and then If you'd like us to follow up with you, enter the details below. You wont be getting smoother rides like before and feel loss of power with an ineffective ignition coil. The simplest ones are made out of 2 coils of wire around an iron core. The ignition coil has a very important role in the processes of the internal combustion engine. While spark plugs and ignition coils arent the same, theyre both part of a vehicles ignition. 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. is not terribly important. It will also vibrate when you are running idle at a stop sign or intersection. The spark could ark through you since youre grounded and can cause severe burns. What are the symptoms you should look out for in your Harley Davidson ignition coil? The following are several of the most common symptoms associated with a failed ignition coil. Your stator will last quite a long time if you take proper care of it. The opposite can also happen with the low-speed coil. 04. faulty grounds early in the troubleshooting process. Other causes of ignition failure: --Bad fuse box- Our old OEM fuses are prone to corrosion and weak connections. This electrical conversion is needed to ignite the fuel and start the engine. It is important to equip yourself with all Your motorcycle stator performs a critical function on your motorcycle. Compare your readings with your shop manual's specifications to see if they are I highly recommend looking at your owners manual to know how to re-assemble your carburetor specific to your motorcycle. If you ride your motorcycle fairly often, then you constantly have fuel going through your inject which ultimately cleans it as it goes. These symptoms can be easily confused with several other engine problems. Here at Gear Sustain we recommend and review different products and services in the Automotive, Dirt Bike, and Motorcycle industries. 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. Symptoms of a bad Thats the sound of the electric motor and the starter trying to spin but it cant. When your engine is accelerating, it indicates some indifference and will hesitate. You can find more detailed information about this in my guide to long term storage. Unfortunately, testing cannot be done on a CDI box with just a multimeter. Step 6 - Test the Coil. But it doesn't have to be that have 12 volts or higher with no load on it (ignition and lights off). Fixing a seized engine can be very difficult depending on the severity and you may cause further problems tinkering around with it. 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. A check engine light can also point to either, as can difficulty starting the engine. Theyre connected to the electrical components. There are other contributions, too, such as poor wire connections and the starter becoming overheated. Firing order is 1, 4, 3, 2. 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. somewhere in the ignition circuit that is losing connectivity as it warms. I Accidentally Crossed the Jumper Cables, This Is What Happened. The numbers are not important. Pickup coils rarely go bad, but at times they do. Thousands of volts of energy are required for a spark plug to ignite. This is mostly a safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle in gear and instantly jolting forward. Hello, my name is Henry. Depending on the model and make of your motorcycle or bike, the cost of an ignition coil varies. How a fuse gets blown: a blown fuse generally means there is a bad grounding wire somewhere, especially if you have to keep replacing the same fuse. ground can range from a completely dead bike to electrical components working intermittently. On average, prepare something in the region of $150. When this happens, some unused fuel or black smoke in the combustion cylinders exits through the exhaust pipe. link to Can A Loose Motorcycle Chain Cause Vibration. signs you see on your motorcycle. A main fuse When your engine fails to start, it Bend and move around the spark plug wires; pay attention to any cracks or splits in the plastic. It's also important to make sure that the battery that You can find that by clicking here. Vibration can begin to rub the varnish that serves as an insulator on your stator windings off. Sometimes there is ice build up withing the carburetor, making it impossible for fuel and air mixture to get through some of its parts. within range. It's possible for your motorcycle to start and run with a bad battery, but that can create even more Learn more about Dennis Kirk. Connect your multimeter leads to the connector and check for resistance by Therefore, we need to know how to diagnose a bad ignition coil. The latest articles and guides delivered to your inbox. The actual number of the voltage Move on if you are still having problems while doing the proper starting sequence. Sometimes this will happen while you're already stopped and other times it will happen as you're moving. specifications. The regulator ensures that the This can make it very hard to diagnose the bike as many of these same symptoms appear when things like the battery, spark plug, or ignition are having problems. pulled in. This bumps the 12 volts from the battery into 50,000 volts or even more. The winding can be very tricky as you must wind three separate phases. create and share wish lists, view your order history and get Poor idling and stalling will lead up to this problem. 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. needs to be fixed. Excessive vibration or noise can also be seen when you change the gears of your motorcycle. The most obvious symptoms of a bad motorcycle stator include no spark, weak spark, or intermittent spark (also known as misfiring). Suppose youre in the middle of a ride on a highway. While testing the ignition coil, if the multimeter shows OL, it indicates an open line or break in the wire. I have been riding a dirt bike since I was 15 years old. (If your bike does not have a battery, you There have been entire books written on this subject and this guide is not meant to replace them. To test the ignition coil, youll require a digital multimeter. It uses an electromagnetic conductance to generate a spark using spark plug wires that causes combustion. Finally, never underestimate the implication of that popular saying: procrastination is the thief of time. Delay is dangerous. So, you must be very careful about it. components of your electrical system to see what is causing the excessive amperage. You may also be able to get it started and it may backfire then stall. The gasoline doesnt entirely evaporate when it is mixed with air during cold temperatures and therefore combustion doesnt occur correctly. When the ignition coil fails, it affects other components to the engine. 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.