Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C10, aka Kawasaki Concours - The Original => The Bike - C10 => Topic started by: Jet86 on September 01, 2016, 05:22:27 PM
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Started bike up this morning like always and after 15 seconds of idle it all the sudden dropped a cylinder maybe 2 i don't now.
i been riding this bike 8 years now year round its my only transportation, i never had any issues like this, i suspect the CDI Box because of the way it just dropped the cylinder while running without warning. could i be right??
I am not allowed to work on my bike where i live, for 8 years i been doing all basic maintenance myself by just riding out in the country and finding shade trees and for valve adjustments i take to my friends house but with this problem i cant ride it any where as it has no power to pull itself.
Could the stick coils cause this? i bought them from T crow years ago.
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Yes it could... Just as losing a coil on the stock system would drop two cylinders....
The Stick Coils are wired in series so if in the unlikely event one failed "open" it would drop the 2nd coil too... To check this you will need a MultiMeter set of read ohms (resistance) from the harness that I provided you with take a reading between Green and Red (cylinders 2 & 3) and look for a reading in the range of 2.6 to 3.0 Ohms and the same between Black & Red (cylinders 1 & 4)
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ok in the morning i will test them, i have a multimeter but i don't know what to set it to.
this is my meter
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The funny looking symbol 4th from the right....
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Ω
That one..... Good luck in solving the problem... :thumbs:
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Thanks guys
befor i did anything today i put the meter on the battery and it read 12.17 and 11 something with key on and 10 to 11 when trying to start bike
Coils are both reading 2.9 to 3.0 Ohms
Cylinders 2-3 are dead, i was able to start the bike and sprayed water on the pipe 1-4 water sizzled off immediately but 2-3 not even any steam or anything, however i did not run the bike very long.
the battery has me wondering, 12.17 volts seems low and i dont ride every day but the battery is less than a year old. but i had one fail befor that was less than year but when it failed it died without warning, went to start it and nothing but a one time click and it was over.
Can a weak battery cause 2 cylinders to stop working? it was hard to start on 2 cylinders but the battery sounded strong while turning over the engine but maybe not enough juice to keep all 4 cylinders firing.
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Yeah 12.2 is almost dead @ 60 % state of charge... The Connie is indeed very dependent on a strong battery to provide enough juice to crank her over AND provide enough voltage both the CDI and fire the coils.... When you did get her running even if only on 2 cylinders did ya happen to see what your battery voltage was while running? You may have some questionable connections robbing you of needed voltage...
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she wont idle on 2 cylinders so i needed a third hand, i will try that tomorrow.
the battery is an Interstate AGM Sealed and Maintenance free i just installed 10 months ago.
the box said it was fully charged and ready to go but when i got it home it only had about a 65-70% charge so it first went on my charger til the green full charge light came on, this battery may have sat too long on shelf, im gonna bring it in and charge it overnight and see what happens tomrrow. also i may not be riding enough to keep it charged.
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Well it may not be the issue but it surely is not right... Sadly Interstate batteries are not always Interstate batteries anymore and may not be what they once were.... Interstate has a fairly poor rep in the Golf Cart battery realm...
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Well the battery took a full charge and was just over 13v on the bike was above 12.8 key on 12.5 running over 14v but still 2 dead cylinders.
i hope i don't lose my bike but where i live i have to fix it soon or it will be towed away.
i haven't checked the spark plugs but i just installed new ones 8k ago and i don't think 2 plugs would go bad at the exact same time.
when i started it up that morning (cold start) it started right up and then 15 seconds later it was like a switch was flipped turning off both cylinders.
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Today i used the meter to test pickup coils (on the bike) and first coil read was .195 second one was 0
i have the old service manual in front of me and it says they should be 390 - 590
but I'm not to smart and have a hard time understanding these service manuals but if my meter is right then i need to replace the pickups.
i have the cdi in the house with me but i'm not sure how to test it but anyways it seems to be pickup coil
can anyone suggest next steps?
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If you can spend the money, I have a set of pic-up coils AND CDI box that came off of a running engine (same bike) I will send to you for $20.00 + shipping. Pretty sure it will all fit into a priority mail 2-day flat rate box ($6.80). You can wait to pay until after you receive the parts if you want.
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That's a very good deal (SOLD) i have paypal, pm me with details
I am still not 100% sure this is my problem but for that price its worth a try.
i will be hanging out on this forum for all the help i can get. Thanks
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PM sent
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isn't there a newer version metal pulsing gasket? i don't like the paper ones and i thought i read some where about a new metal gasket.
i am gonna have to buy one either way but if there is a newer version i want it..
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I used permatex blue silicone for years. Only down side was the cure time so couldnt ride right away.
Now I am back to using the paper gasket but with one side smeared with a thin layer of grease so the cover comes off and gasket does not stick to it. Not sure how many uses I will get. Would be interested in metal or better yet a rubber gasket like my gmc truck transmission pan.
T-cro, thans for the ohm info to troubleshoot stic coils.
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isn't there a newer version metal pulsing gasket? i don't like the paper ones and i thought i read some where about a new metal gasket.
i am gonna have to buy one either way but if there is a newer version i want it..
I think you have that confused with the metal gasket used on the bevel drive housing; early units were paper later units were thin metal... I'd clean both metal surface and glue the gasket to the cover and grease the motor side of the gasket so you can remove without destroying it. Very happy that Tex was able to send you some parts.... I've left parts in a flower planter when I couldn't be there to meet the buyer...
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right i knew there was a metal gasket used some where. it is txfatboy sending me the parts and summit good info about the grease and gasket, i guess any krazy glue will work in small amount, i dont want anything clogging up the oil.
off to murph's for pulsing gasket
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right i knew there was a metal gasket used some where. it is txfatboy sending me the parts and summit good info about the grease and gasket, i guess any krazy glue will work in small amount, i dont want anything clogging up the oil.
off to murph's for pulsing gasket
Hats off to Tex....
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isn't there a newer version metal pulsing gasket? i don't like the paper ones and i thought i read some where about a new metal gasket.
i am gonna have to buy one either way but if there is a newer version i want it..
I've always used no gasket when going back together. Put a little Yamabond on each surface and bolt it back together. You can get it at any motorcycle shop (or at least a similar brand by Honda etc.). It quickly dries like gray butyl rubber.
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But will it stick to the cover? that's the goal because i may have to take the cover a few times.
Also how do you set the pickups air gap? the book tells me what they need to be set to but not really how to do it.
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The sealant is like tough RTV and you would need to redo it each time. If you buy some, the tube is the size of a medium tooth paste tube so you have plenty. As for setting the gap, I've not done it. However, I think you rotate the engine until the tab is at the sensor to set or check the gap. If they need adjusting (in your case replacing), you loosen slightly the two mounting bolts, insert something of the correct thickness (feeler gauge or correct thickness of cardboard), push it lightly up against it, then tighten the bolts back up. Check again for follow-up (after tightening).
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This may help for the gap adjustment.....
If you need to turn the crank shaft, rotate/rock the rear wheel while shifting up to 6th gear then rotate/bounce the wheel until you get things lined up (it will take some force to do this with the plugs installed, or use the starter which is probably the easiest way to do it. I believe there is a possibility of damaging a shear pin if you try to turn the crank with the nut pictured. That's a pretty wide range for the gap, .0197 - .0354 inches, so it should be pretty easy to come close just as long as both coils have equal gaps.
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got my pickup coils in today and they read .453 & .452 is this good?
my old coils was .195 & .0
book says 390 - 590
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That sounds good. I never tested them, but the engine they came out of ran fine except for having a bent rod. If one of your pick-up coils read 0 ohm's, it is bad. As far as setting the air gap, take a regular business card and fold it in half. Put it between the pick-up and the ignition rotor, tighten the screws and forget about it.
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Thanks, gonna work on it tomorrow and will report back how it goes. 8)
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Very easy to set gaps.
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I am back on the road, Thanks to all of you and a Special thanks to txfatboy for sending the parts...
First i installed the pickup coils and put it back together and started it up, still running on 2 cylinders so i swapped the CDI Box and it fired up on all cylinders and ran fine, i have not went for a test ride yet but i am going riding now to have some fun.
Oh the cover gasket came off clean and went back on clean, but if it starts leaking i have 2 new gaskets in my tool box
So i think when the CDI box went bad it took out the pickup coils with it, is that possible, has it happen befor? because the old pickups had bad readings, one tested .0 and other was .195
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More likely it was vice versa... the bad coils roached the cdi box... which came first, the chicken or the egg scenario...
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ah ok 8) i just got back from a 25 mile ride and its all good now 8) :banana
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Sweet. Glad all is well.
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Sweet. Glad all is well.
+1, glad you are sorted