Bad coil????
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,326
Likes: 331
From: Central TX
Bad coil????
If an ignition coil is bad, can you still get a spark at the plug?
My bike acted up on me on my last ride - lights on dash flickered a few times then bike stalled at highway speed. Just filled up tank a few miles before. Bike started up and rode it several miles back into town and had battery charged at Autozone. Rode bike afterwards with no issue. Bike would not start later that week - cranks but will not turn over. Pulled plugs - looked fine. Checked plug wires and connections were clean. Pulled plugs and held to ground while cranking and saw spark front and rear. Ran diagnostic codes (2001 flstfi) and got check engine light codes of 24 and 25, which is high/low front and rear coil. Years ago, I got a couple codes and tried changing the cps with no luck. Turned out to be bad battery. Battery checks indicate battery is good, but I installed new one just to verify - bike still will not start. Pulled pushrod covers just to make sure pushrods did not come loose and collapse - they are tight. Fuel pump is running when hitting the run switch and do not hear any leaks from inside tank. Checked wiring and connections up under tank and not seeing any obvious issues. Vent lines are not pinched.
Guess I will try a new coil - just hate throwing parts at it. Can a coil produce spark at the plugs, but not be within specs to start bike? I have had people tell me if there is spark, the coil is okay. Any ideas are appreciated.
My bike acted up on me on my last ride - lights on dash flickered a few times then bike stalled at highway speed. Just filled up tank a few miles before. Bike started up and rode it several miles back into town and had battery charged at Autozone. Rode bike afterwards with no issue. Bike would not start later that week - cranks but will not turn over. Pulled plugs - looked fine. Checked plug wires and connections were clean. Pulled plugs and held to ground while cranking and saw spark front and rear. Ran diagnostic codes (2001 flstfi) and got check engine light codes of 24 and 25, which is high/low front and rear coil. Years ago, I got a couple codes and tried changing the cps with no luck. Turned out to be bad battery. Battery checks indicate battery is good, but I installed new one just to verify - bike still will not start. Pulled pushrod covers just to make sure pushrods did not come loose and collapse - they are tight. Fuel pump is running when hitting the run switch and do not hear any leaks from inside tank. Checked wiring and connections up under tank and not seeing any obvious issues. Vent lines are not pinched.
Guess I will try a new coil - just hate throwing parts at it. Can a coil produce spark at the plugs, but not be within specs to start bike? I have had people tell me if there is spark, the coil is okay. Any ideas are appreciated.
Last edited by txphatboy; Oct 5, 2015 at 09:46 PM.
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 827
Likes: 3
From: NW Florida
You should be able to do an check on the coil to verify the condition of it before swapping it out. Do you have a multimeter? Also a manual can take you thru the steps, or pull up a You Tube video.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,566
Likes: 55
From: Londonderry, NH
If an ignition coil is bad, can you still get a spark at the plug?
My bike acted up on me on my last ride - lights on dash flickered a few times then bike stalled at highway speed. Just filled up tank a few miles before. Bike started up and rode it several miles back into town and had battery charged at Autozone. Rode bike afterwards with no issue. Bike would not start later that week - cranks but will not turn over. Pulled plugs - looked fine. Checked plug wires and connections were clean. Pulled plugs and held to ground while cranking and saw spark front and rear. Ran diagnostic codes (2001 flstfi) and got check engine light codes of 24 and 25, which is high/low front and rear coil. Years ago, I got a couple codes and tried changing the cps with no luck. Turned out to be bad battery. Battery checks indicate battery is good, but I installed new one just to verify - bike still will not start. Pulled pushrod covers just to make sure pushrods did not come loose and collapse - they are tight. Fuel pump is running when hitting the run switch and do not hear any leaks from inside tank. Checked wiring and connections up under tank and not seeing any obvious issues. Vent lines are not pinched.
Guess I will try a new coil - just hate throwing parts at it. Can a coil produce spark at the plugs, but not be within specs to start bike? I have had people tell me if there is spark, the coil is okay. Any ideas are appreciated.
My bike acted up on me on my last ride - lights on dash flickered a few times then bike stalled at highway speed. Just filled up tank a few miles before. Bike started up and rode it several miles back into town and had battery charged at Autozone. Rode bike afterwards with no issue. Bike would not start later that week - cranks but will not turn over. Pulled plugs - looked fine. Checked plug wires and connections were clean. Pulled plugs and held to ground while cranking and saw spark front and rear. Ran diagnostic codes (2001 flstfi) and got check engine light codes of 24 and 25, which is high/low front and rear coil. Years ago, I got a couple codes and tried changing the cps with no luck. Turned out to be bad battery. Battery checks indicate battery is good, but I installed new one just to verify - bike still will not start. Pulled pushrod covers just to make sure pushrods did not come loose and collapse - they are tight. Fuel pump is running when hitting the run switch and do not hear any leaks from inside tank. Checked wiring and connections up under tank and not seeing any obvious issues. Vent lines are not pinched.
Guess I will try a new coil - just hate throwing parts at it. Can a coil produce spark at the plugs, but not be within specs to start bike? I have had people tell me if there is spark, the coil is okay. Any ideas are appreciated.
I suggest you troubleshoot using the following:
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,326
Likes: 331
From: Central TX
Thanks for the help guys. Funny - called one of the local dealers and asked if they could test coil and they quoted me 1.5 hours. I laughed - a new coil costs around $100. I could just buy a new one for a lot less.
Took coil off in a few minutes at lunch and tested it quick this afternoon. Took about 5 mins. Front and rear primary coils were within spec. Secondary coils were both reading around 3890 ohms, versus the spec of 5500 -7500. Hoping this is the cause of all my problems. Thanks again. Gonna pick up new coil tomorrow and I will update if this fixed the no start.
Took coil off in a few minutes at lunch and tested it quick this afternoon. Took about 5 mins. Front and rear primary coils were within spec. Secondary coils were both reading around 3890 ohms, versus the spec of 5500 -7500. Hoping this is the cause of all my problems. Thanks again. Gonna pick up new coil tomorrow and I will update if this fixed the no start.
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