Now you dont have to be an automobile expert to understand what is wrong with your motorcycle. This series also includes other hard-to-tackle components such as body work and electrical. Next, take the multimeter and place it in the ohms position. If your spark plugs are worn out, it forces the ignition coils to operate at a much higher output. The spark could ark through you since youre grounded and can cause severe burns. You can temporarily remove your air box or pod filters (if youre not in a dusty environment) and again try to start up your bike. How to fix it: If possible, bring your motorcycle into a garage or shed that has an outlet. If you have an electric starter, take your air intake off, push the starter and squirt starter fluid straight into your carburetor. Every motorcycle usually has a main fuse which is between 30 to 50 amps (occasionally some bikes will have 20 amps). Copyright 2023. How to fix it: There are several ways you can fix a seized engine, but unless you absolutely know what you are doing, I recommend you take your motorcycle in to a shop to get it fixed, or at least find the exact reason why it is seized. Your email address will not be published. Earlier this spring I had to replace the coil in my 6.5hp Tecum Will High Performance Motorcycle Spark Plugs Decrease Gas Mileage? Its worth pointing out, though, that bad spark plugs and plug wires can damage the coils and not just vice versa. Firing order is 1, 4, 3, 2. So, make sure you go through it sincerely and work according to it. Strange Engine Noise. Clogged fuel injectors and air filters cause problems for trucks, cars, and motorcyclesand so can broken spark plugs. That causes a magnetic field to form in the ignition coil. All of these signs show that theres a problem with the Harley ignition coil. We are an automotive mechanic blog that helps mechanics and car users to find the most recent and accurate technical and repair information for their cars. 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. For established riders, this is a no-brainer. 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. We welcome your comments and 7 Symptoms of a Bad Ignition Coil and Replacement Cost #1 - Backfiring. Orange sparks are a bad sign. #7 - Engine Hard Starting. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. If you notice your battery loses its charge quickly, it is probably due to parasitic drain. Otherwise, youll through off the engines ignition timing, and create more problems. Bad ignition coil symptoms in a motorcycle are also included here. 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. Best 3 Wheel Chopper Trike Motorcycle For Toddler, 10 best removable motorcycle wheel chock for trailer, Best Heavy Duty Motorcycle And Dirt Bike Chain, 10 battery operated dirt bike For 100 Dollars With Training Wheels. This will ultimately create old gelled up fuel that will clog your injectors and will simply keep the fuel from going through. 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. The misfires and backfires start to happen at higher RPMs. ). theres a bad coil, we may be referring to low voltage. He loves restoring motorcycles, has a vast knowledge of how they work, and has sold his restoration projects to customers from all over the United States. Follow the following steps to replace your malfunctioning coil with a new one. This occurs when unused fuel is emitted through the exhaust system. Initially, when your car engine misfiredand your check engine light turns on, you knew you had a problem with your distributor. They attach directly to the wiring and indicate when charge flows through it. #Circuit malfunction It can be a common issue. Welcome to rxmechanic.com. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Hello, my name is Henry. Continue with Recommended Cookies. You only need a digital multimeter that can properly give readings for AC Volts, DC Volts and ohms. Your starter will make a brief clicking noise then make a humming sound. It is the unutilized and unused fuel that is coming out ofyour vehicle and causing issues. Sparkplug resistance causes the ignition coils to get very hot and makes them burn through the insulation causing electrical shorts. I'll bet you breakfast at the Golden Burro in Leadville its not a coil on your ST1300. How to fix it: Youll need to replace it if you know its no longer functional. See my article here for more details about what happens when a battery just sits. The ignition coil issues can cause different problems in your vehicle. Sometimes, a spark plug problem is actually an ignition coil problem. 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. Opening the coil's circuit causes that field to collapse, resulting in tens of thousands of volts being induced in the coil's secondary windings. When less power is reaching the spark plugs, your vehicle will struggle and use more fuel to compensate for the lack of power transfer. If you need to replace a spark plug, make sure you replace all the other ones as well even if they dont need it. Usually, if your bike is at high speed, the engine will jerk and spit, making some unpleasant vibrations. Poor Fuel Economy. Why Is My Motorcycle Squeaking? The most obvious symptoms of a bad motorcycle stator include no spark, weak spark, or intermittent spark (also known as misfiring). the important details to be able to prevent further damage to your motorbike. motorcycle gets less mileage. Nowadays, most modern cars replaced the distributor with a coil pack, thus, increasing electronic transmission efficiency. When you bring your vehicle to a stop, it may just shut off totally, thus leaving you needing to restart it. A lean condition in your engine is terrible for the engine internals. And yes, the low-speed coil can also go bad, resulting in ignition problems when you're riding at low speeds, although the bike seems to run flawlessly at high speeds. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. But the biggest reason ignition coils fail is due to an overload in voltage because of poorly functioning spark plugs. You can notice that by checking the amount of mileage, you get whenever you fuel your car. Each spark plug in your vehicle requires high voltage from the ignition coil (around 15,000-20,000 volts) to generate an electric spark for fuel combustion. Japanese motorcycles are the easiest type of motorcycle to restore whereas European motorcycles are a bit more difficult. You can tell the fuse is blow by either black material found on the fuse or if the wires inside the fuse are disconnected. Events, gatherings, interviews, reviews, and much more. Hence, your bike will sound as though power is missing. Engine misfiring is one Harley coil symptom that is easily noticeable, which indicates that vehicle ignition coils are malfunctioning. This will result in stalling. Ive been there many times myself. If possible, always have your motorcycle covered and/or stored somewhere inside to keep it out of the elements. Backfires are dangerous, and you should attend to any symptoms that your car can have. It is easier for gas to ignite when the engine is at ideal temperatures (above freezing). An engine can misfire at any point when you have a bad ignition coil. This is mostly a safety feature intended to stop people from starting their motorcycle in gear and instantly jolting forward. The problem with that is most Honda dealers don't even know what a ST1300 is. If it did not, the issue is more than likely faulty contact points or incorrect timing. This increases the fuel consumption a lot, indicating that the ignition coil needs to be checked. Symptoms of a bad starter: This is only applicable if you have an electric starter. ignition coil. Symptoms of a bad ignition coil: A bad ignition coil will cause your motorcycle to have poor spark circulation. If youd asked me this question about 15 years ago, maybe, Read More 15 Fastest Motorcycles in the WorldContinue, When it comes to motorcycle and dirt bike games on PlayStation 4, theres no shortage of options. It is important to equip yourself with all 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. Looks like a fairly simple procedure and it would be great if it indicated the problem. Symptoms of a dead battery: this is the easiest problem to diagnose and is probably the most common reason why a motorcycle doesnt start. How spark plugs stop working: a spark plug can go bad a few different ways. It has two parts, primary windings and secondary windings. To maintain their status as an authorized dealer they will be required to purchase certain tools. 100000V is enough to power the sparking of the cylinders in the engine to ignite and facilitate fuel combustion for the car to operate. If there is any ignition component that gets an unfairly bad rap, it's the coil. Rxmechanic.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Follow these steps carefully when you think you have a problem with your ignition coil. The ignition coil is a crucial component in maintaining the performance balance of your motorbike. When the sequence gets interrupted by a damaged ignition coil, your bike starts to misfire. Primary windings are thicker wires. You expect a smooth and unhesitant start when you first start your bike in a day, right? The most difficult part about removing ignition coils is you have to go through obstacles like the sparkplug and coil insulator boots to get to them. Here are some common symptoms that hint towards having failing points and condenser: 1. Motorcycles are a lot more simple to repair compared to cars. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. When an electric current flows from the battery to the primary coil, it gets repeatedly disrupted by the secondary coil creating a strong magnetic field that charges the secondary coil to a higher voltage than the initial 12 Volts that came from the car battery. Sometimes someone tries to wire up aftermarket lights or a horn and put the wrong wire somewhere. Not using a fuel filter will quickly cause a dirty carburetor. One sign 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. But, the plug color was perfect and not indicating a lean condition. Harley coil symptoms can sometimes 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. Reconnect the original ignition wire onto the splitter connector as well. Ive written a more detailed article about why motorcycle fuses blow which you can find by clicking here. Engine misfiring is the most common symptom of a bad ignition coil. Kyle currently works as a mechanical engineer and graduated with a minor in automotive engineering. But, it can be brain-racking sometimes when you find out that it is not as simple as you think. Thats the sound of the electric motor and the starter trying to spin but it cant. My son has an oil fired heating boiler with an AFG Beckett burner. Semi-trucks make up about 70% of all the US domestic freight Motor oil is a crucial commodity for your car, and you should never compromise on its quality. I have to feather the throttle around to try to get the other cylinders to fire. Coils are very quickly blamed for ignition problems, yet almost universally they are not at fault. Backfires are sudden loud bangs caused by incomplete combustion and the release of fuel through the exhaust system. The severity of the symptoms vary according to which of the ignition coils are failing. The symptoms were hard starting, poor idle, rough running, and engine stalls when starting out from a stop. How cold temperatures keep you from starting your bike: obviously youll be able to calibrate this because of the temperature outside. 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