electrical problem

 

Hi all my name is Jay, my son Doug and i are working on an old bike he
acquired from a neighbor just so he could get it out of his barn.

We have a 1978 Kawasaki 650. The problem we are having is the coil on the
right side of the motor melted. We put a new coil on it and it ran for about
20 minutes, would not run over 2000 rpms, then the right side coil melted
again. We made sure that we had spark on all four cylinders but it still
seemed when it was running that it was missing on at least one cylinder.
Also just to let you all know this bike has not run in approximately 2
years.

If anybody has any suggestions we would greatly appreciate it. Please when
replying to me email put "NEWS" in the subject or my spam control will
delete it.

 



What could cause a coil to melt? Too much power through it. Perhaps a short in
the secondary circuit? Check the continuity and insulation of all the spark plug
cables ... it's probably easier and, given the bike's age, worthwhile to just
replace them.

Make sure the points are set correctly and that the condensers are in good
condition.

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq:  http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml

 

Timberwoof wrote:

plug

The only thing I can think to add is to make sure the positive post of
the primary circuit goes to power and the negative side goes to the
points.  Hooking up a coil backwards can cause a meltdown.

Tony

 

wrote:


In inline-four motorcycles, there are frequently two coils, one for cylinders 1
and 4 and one for cylinders 2 and 3. The secondary circuit is ground, one
sparky, the coil, the other sparky, and ground again; both sparkies of a pair
fire together. In one the current flows from ground to the center electrode; in
the other it flows from the center electrode to ground. (This eliminates the
need for a distributor.) So how does the polarity of the primary coil matter?
(And since it's all connected by polarized plugs, how does it get inverted?)

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq:  http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml

 

Timberwoof wrote:


in

You're right.  I was thinking of a single tower coil where the primary
and secondary circuits share a  common ground through the points.  I
need to stop posting late at night...

Tony