Misfiring

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:29 am

I have a Goldwing GL1000 that was running fine until two of the cylinders wouldn’t fire (at least not until the engine warmed up and then they’d kick in - but now those two have stopped firing altogether). I’ve tried changing the plugs, caps, HT leads and even the coil but nothing seems to work. Does anyone have any idea what could be the problem? Many thanks!

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 11:59 am

A couple of questions....is there spark on the dead cylinders.?
does the bike have points or electronic ignition.?
Which 2 cylinders do not fire..one side,fronts or rear ones.?

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:44 pm

Thanks so much for the reply! It's only the two rear cylinders. There's no spark at all on those two plugs. Just fitted a brand new coil that serves the rear two so am assuming the coil isn't the culprit.

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:01 pm

Next is what makes the coil spark.Either the points or ignition module if its been converted to electronic ignition.

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 2:04 pm

Pull the cover off the rear of the left head.The stuff is in there.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:29 am

I haven't had a chance to pull off that cover but if I do that will there be components I can test and replace? My bike has electronic ignition rather than a kick-start so I'm thinking it won't have condensers and whatnot (they were always failing on my first bike, which was a kick-start). But as you've probably already figured out I know very little and what I've just said could be completely wrong! Btw, I bought a second-hand engine from a GL1000 years ago and I could see what's under it's rear left left head in case it could be raided for parts (?).

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:59 pm

Even tho your gl1000 has a electric starter,it may have points and condenser under that small cover plate.My 78 had them and a kick start lever stored in the shelter cover.Its adaptor was on the left rear of the engine.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 1:43 pm

Ah, thanks for explaining that. Ok, I guess I won't know if I've got points&condensers or electronic ignition unless I take that cover off. But meanwhile I learned something else... I was talking to a specialist goldwing mechanic who said the coil I bought was probably no good, even though it was new. It wasn't a Honda one and apparently even though they're sold for use on GL1000's these cheapo coils often don't work. I couldn't find a genuine Honda coil in the UK. Now I've ended up buying one in the US - it could be a week or two before I have it but I'll let you know what happens when I fit it. Thanks for all the advice on this!

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 2:36 pm

Ok.and your original coil might be just fine too.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 2:48 pm

Yes good point! Having convincingly eliminated the coil as the problem, I understand that the next thing is to find out if the points/condensers OR electronic ignition are the problem. But I'm still not sure how to determine that or what to do if one of these components, having been tested, turns out to be defective. It would be great to have a record of what to do next even if the coil IS the culprit in this case because maybe others will benefit and/or this problem could return again in the future? If it's easy to explain please do share your thoughts here. And many thanks for taking the time to respond so far!

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:15 pm

I can lead you in finding and fixing the problem as soon as I know if it has points or electronic ignition.
Having a test light is very handy too.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:05 pm

Brilliant - will get back to this asap and let you know what's under the cover on the left rear head. Thanks so much for your advice! There might be a bit of delay my end though as a million things now descending on me at once. This forum is brilliant - so good to discover other people who like GL1000s. More from me soon...

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:18 pm

Ok.keep us posted...take pictures too...we all like to see bikes.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:26 am

It's been a hectic few weeks. The poor old bike had been standing idle but I thought I'd turn her over and amazingly all four cylinders started firing again. I went for a spin in the countryside but then after I'd stopped for an hour and the engine had cooled down, I restarted her and the rear cylinders began misfiring again. I pulled off the side panel on the tank and put my hand in to see if any of the wires to the coil might be loose and got some shocks off the body of the coil. If it's been dark you probably could have seen tracking all over the coils. Is that normal?

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 10:14 am

Nope.There may be fine cracks in the coil casing.Get a spray bottle that will mist water.Wait till dark,Start the bike,Mist(not soak)around the coils and wires.Sparking should not occure.Replace any parts that let the spark out.This includes the wires and connection to the spark plug.

Fred Camper · Post by **Fred Camper** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 1:15 pm

You said above that you replaced the coil with a new one. What did you use, as new ones might not be available so getting more details may help us. Sure sounds like a hairline cracked coil from what you say.

OverSire · Post by **OverSire** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:35 pm

Had the exact same issue with my 78 gl1000 the electronic ignition module was the culprit,,,, put points back in and that fixed her nicely.
Points are easier to diagnose and repair on the road, and she runs like she was built.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:08 pm

Thanks for all the posts on this! I did the spray bottle test last night in the dark and there were sparks tracking all over the coil. It's a bit of spaghetti junction of wires in there but when I increased the gap between HT leads and coil the tracking reduced and the engine was firing more normally -even to the extent that I went out for a pretty smooth ride (though both rear cylinders tended to misfire at low revs). The new coil in there isn't a proper Honda one and that might be the problem. I've now managed to get ahold of a set of genuine honda coils- they're secondhand but have been tested positive. The trouble is I can't see how to wire in just one of them - the wires don't go in and out like they do on the ones currently installed. Should I try attaching photos? If so how do you do it in this forum??

virgilmobile · Post by **virgilmobile** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:41 pm

When you post again,below the subject window is a tab.."attachments".click on it and "add files"..
Select your picture and select "place inline" to put the picture in the text area where you want it to appear.

I always hit "preview" to see what it's gonna look like before "submit"

YouTube · Post by **WingAdmin** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:39 pm

GoldieII wrote:Thanks for all the posts on this! I did the spray bottle test last night in the dark and there were sparks tracking all over the coil. It's a bit of spaghetti junction of wires in there but when I increased the gap between HT leads and coil the tracking reduced and the engine was firing more normally -even to the extent that I went out for a pretty smooth ride (though both rear cylinders tended to misfire at low revs). The new coil in there isn't a proper Honda one and that might be the problem. I've now managed to get ahold of a set of genuine honda coils- they're secondhand but have been tested positive. The trouble is I can't see how to wire in just one of them - the wires don't go in and out like they do on the ones currently installed. Should I try attaching photos? If so how do you do it in this forum??

Adding pictures to your message

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Tue Jun 16, 2015 5:29 am

Two months have passed and I've only made a little progress! A local motorcycle mechanic has eliminated coil problems and isolated the problem to the ignition - apparently what I need is a piranha electronic ignition kit. The trouble is I can't get hold of one anywhere in the UK, have rung every potential supplier I can find. What I do have is another GL1000 engine in my garage - maybe I could take the ignition kit out of it and use that? The trouble is I'm not very mechanical (as you guys have probably noticed) - but how complicated would it be to remove the ignition set so I can pass this on to the mechanic? Thanks for any advice you can give.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:06 am

... a bit more news. So I got the cover off the rear left head of the spare engine and it was an electronic ignition, just like mine. Took I this round to the mechanic but he said he didn't think this was the bit that was faulty - it's the bit that it plugs into that's the problem. Don't know what you call this faulty component - basically there's a lead running from the rear left head up to a box (it says 'piranha' on the box) that's affixed to the inside of the left tank cover. Apparently the box is the problem and the mechanic can't find anyone to supply a replacement. He says this box is integral to the electronic ignition system. Maybe it doesn't have to be the 'piranha' make but if it's not he says he'd have to do a lot of rewiring. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement?

redbug · Post by **redbug** » Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:22 am

I typed in piranha ignition on the net and they are made in Australia. Nice web site and lots of stuff. Hope that helps.

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Thu Jun 18, 2015 4:19 am

Hi again - so I had a chat with the Piranha people and they charge $420 for this piece of kit and that's before all the shipping charges from Australia! Maybe I should just try to convert back to points and condensers...

GoldieII · Post by **GoldieII** » Thu Jun 18, 2015 9:42 am

Just spoke with some GL1000 enthusiasts in Yorkshire and they told me that the Piranha ignitions were among the first to be used to replace points and condensers. But apparently they no longer make 'em (if so, I don't know really who that company was I spoke to in Australia). Anyway, apparently I shouldn't go back to points because they constantly need readjusting which is why almost everyone converted to electronic ignition systems as soon as they became available. Instead I should try to find another system - if not piranha then something else. Does anyone know what the best system is that's currently on the market?

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