Corrosion on stick coil - 2003 1150GS Adv

MikeO

MikeO

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I checked the valve clearances on the Adv today - part of benchmarking the work on a bike which was effectively stored for the year before I bought it in November. Apart from having to tighten the upper RH inlet a smidge they were in good order.

However, when I removed the LH stick coil, I saw that it was corroded along the metal join on the body (sorry for the poor quality pic - taking it one handed with an iPhone and wearing gloves). The RH one showed no such corrosion.

Being new to world of twinspark, stick coils are foreign territory to me. Is this the harbinger of trouble to come? Is this type of corrosion common?

Any help/advice appreciated...

Mike :cool:
 

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It's how my buggered stick coils looked each time they died a death.
 
I clean mine every few months and wipe down with little acf50, whether it makes any difference I couldn't say but not had one fail since I started doing that a few years ago.
 
They all do that Sir.

The corrosion gets inside and having taken one apart, there is a metal tag which is supposed to earth the metal casing and because of the corrosion the two parts electrically disconnect, leading to failure.

I've just replaced both of mine (expensive). After I wash the bike, if I'm not going to ride it, I pull both the coils off the plugs and let them hang to dry.

The old ones were made by Beru in germany. The new batch are made by Pulse electronics China. One can only hope that the new batch are more resilient . Though I doubt it.
 
How they look is no judge of how they perform.

I've had perfect looking coils fail, and ratty, corroded coils that continue to perform perfectly.
 
Steptoe said:
That only happens after they stop working and people don't realise and carry on riding with only the secondary plug working. . :D
Click to expand...

Do people really do that, carry on riding when they stopped working? I thought it was only car drivers that did stupid things like that? I had many incidents where customers had carried on driving with a dashboard lighting up like Blackpool Illuminations, big red and orange lights on, I was very tempted to tell them that's why they are known as "Idiot Lights"

John
 
The Grey One said:
Do people really do that, carry on riding when they stopped working? I thought it was only car drivers that did stupid things like that? I had many incidents where customers had carried on driving with a dashboard lighting up like Blackpool Illuminations, big red and orange lights on, I was very tempted to tell them that's why they are known as "Idiot Lights"

John
Click to expand...

A failed stick coil might not be obvious to an infrequent rider.

It was a wet day and the bike started ok, bit lumpy idle but pulled away ok. Initially put it down to the rain. After a several miles of motorway riding, I knew there was a problem. Loss of power. A bit hesitant at fixed throttle, and lumpy when pulling away in high gear. After 60 miles I got it home to check the ignition. Right stick coil stuffed.

No idiot warning light.:thumb2
 
Doesn't hurt to pull them out once in a while. I looked at them one time, and although working OK, one had swollen to such an extent that I had a job getting it out.

Hmm, double entendre anyone?:D
 
Stick your finger in the spark plug end and start the bike. If you get thrown across the room they are probably OK.:D

Seriously though I think the GS-911 can download the fault code from the motronic. Well the GS-911 web site demonstates this feature on the R1200GS. The only test is to pull the secondary plugs off one at a time until the bike stops. Though this will only determine a failed stick coil. If it's breaking down and there is no visible arcing to the cylinder head then probably not.
 
I'm familiar with the first method :D

So, is a fault likely to be binary - ie it'll work or it won't - or intermittent?
 
Not as simple as that unfortunately. Remember it is a ignition coil, and all the faults attributed to standard coils apply. If they fail completely fault diagnosis is straight forward, if they start to break down as coils do then difficult to diagnose particularly on this bike where the secondary plugs keep the bike going.

You really have to know the difference between what a good bike feels like so you can use that as a reference.
 
Last edited:
Stujw70 said:
It's how my buggered stick coils looked each time they died a death.
Click to expand...

Just like mine looked a week ago which are now currently being replaced. Mines a twin spark too.

Hopefully not too dear :blast
 
Leaving a bike parked for 12 months can cause all sorts of condensation related issues. This is probably just surface rust. Its also not been used wet so quite likely the coil internals are ok.

Check the resistances. You will need some longer than average prongs on your multimeter or very small insulated croc clips. If the readings are fine clean the coil(s) and use it.

There is no point simply changing the coils. If the bike later develops the symptoms described you know where to start looking.

Question to the real experts (Im just a home mechanic). Are there any other stick coils that will fit the R1200? Maybe a vehicle parts factors would be less costly source of replacements.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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