R1100 Ignition Coil measurement, anyone?

herbal thought

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I have been working through a non-start issue with my R1100GS which had sat since October last year. Having replaced the Hall Effect Sensor and checked 1001 things I pulled the Ignition Coil and tested it with a multimeter.

Looking at the specifications in the Haynes manual the R1100GS Coil should register 0.5ohms at the Primary and 13Kohms at the Secondary... whereas the R1150 models should be 0.5ohms at the Primary and 7.5Kohms at the Secondary.... My coil tested at the Primary fluctuated between 0.6-0.9ohms (sometimes much higher if I moved the tip of my multimeter a bit) and at the Secondary 7.6kOhms... so I figured it was bad and ordered a used spare from Motorworks.

The "new" coil arrived (same part number, pulled from a 1996 R1100GS at 41k) tested at the Primary read 0.6ohms and at the Secondary 7.11kOhms.... I put it in the bike anyway and it still wont start up. So i've asked Motorworks if the bike it came from was running, if they tested it etc etc... but i figured i'd ask your good selves if you have any other resource out there to confirm what the R1100GS coil resistance should be, in case Mr Haynes was wrong?
 
Your first mistake was buying a second hand coil. They're only £80 new. A twenty year old one out of a scrapper is not the way to go.

Have you checked the plugs even spark ?

Just rest the metal part of the plug against a clean metal part of the engine and you will see the spark when you crank.

Swap left and right coils to test if you no spark.

Come back when you've checked that...


Resistance check on coils are notoriously unreliable. Unless you get an open circuit.

Pretty much any stick coils out of any bike will create a spark to start a bike. The major difference is if they fit.
 
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Mate my first mistake was back in October. Motorworks usually provide pretty decent used parts.

One one coil on the bike, sparks occasionally. Which is why I suspect the coil.
 
Motorworks buy scrappers and break them. They don't test anything properly.

Hall effect sensor is expensive. But piss easy to test with a £10 LED probe tool. (On, off, on, off, on ,off) Etc etc.

Have you swapped coils left to right? Does the problem migrate with the coil or stay with the cylinder?
 


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