Of Ignition Coils, Wires, and Caps

2019-08-10 Ignition Coils





published by dcarver on Sun, 08/11/2019 - 09:12


Forums:
KrZy8




2019-08-10 Ignition Coils

KrZy8, 2006 Yamaha FJR 1300 with nearly 250k, had developed a stumble off idle. Problem identified as corroded spark plug wire inside cap. Each cap is $50 so $200 for caps? El Toro Poo-Poo! Additionally, over the years have trimmed the wires to maintain good connection so now too short. eBay to rescue. New-to-Me coils, wires, caps from a 17k mile 2006 FJR delivered to to door, $75.

Coil location. They can be removed with front center cowling in place.



Cruise control signal wire (blue). Audiovox.



The hard part is wiring routing. Tight fit. Caps must come off.



Connector locations.



Pulling old wires out was tough, tight fit. No way to install new wires unless loosen radiator mounts and plastic guard from frame.

Hard to see, but this is radiator mount to frame.



Old and New-to-Me. New wires supple and flexible. Old wires hard and brittle.



Turns out one could remove old wires by breaking the plastic retainer keeper then pulling hard on wire.



Just like a spark plug cap.



Clean everything up, use a little 3M 'Right Stuff' and one could re-use existing coils if $$ supply is short.



Continuity! We have ohmages coming out!



Out of order. Shoot me. Wire routing.



Plastic keeper talked about above.



Used a shortened Allen wrench for lower bolt.



Button hed screw to left of connector has to be removed too.



There it is. You are now certified FJR 1300 Coilologist.

amazing stuff, looks bi-focal challenging.

I retrofitted some plug coils from an R1 (i think) per some post here or the other forum. Works great and cleans up the top of the engine nicely.

Gitbox said:

I retrofitted some plug coils from an R1 (i think) per some post here or the other forum. Works great and cleans up the top of the engine nicely.

Click to expand...

Is there a writeup on this somewhere?

I would be interested for future reference. If I ever run into issues with ignition coils/wires/caps etc, I would rather go this route than replace with stock.

Here you go:

https://www.fjrowners.com/forums/9-fjr-technical/112505-coil-plug-mod.html

Gitbox said:

Here you go:
https://www.fjrowners.com/forums/9-fjr-technical/112505-coil-plug-mod.html

Click to expand...

Gitbox

Did you wire yours series or parallel? The original poster did series because he said the stick coil resistance was lower and he didn't want to overload anything. I assume we still end out with a "wasted spark" because of how power is sent to the pre-2013 coils. Did you choose the new plugs for the 2013+ or stick with the CR8E for Gen I and II?

Any comments on how they work compared to OEM? I have been chasing a "lumpy" idle on my 2011 (was there when I bought it last year). Someone mentioned the COP helped for his VMax with similar symptoms. Other than the variable idle, I don't seem to have issues with power, fuel economy, starting or damp weather conditions so I suspect the reason isn't spark related.

I really have to sign up over there - can't look at the photos otherwise.

Thanks!!

Ross,

I wired them just as his diagram showed and used the stock plugs. As far as improvements go, I would say they are very subtle. Maybe slightly smoother idle, a bit faster starting. No night and day improvements but my bike ran pretty well before the upgrade. I made the same change to my old ZG-1000 and the improvements were a bit more noticeable which I why I gave it a shot on the FJR.

Regarding the lumpy idle, on both my FJR's the best thing I did to improve idle and off idle transition was to remove and thoroughly clean the throttle bodies. They get pretty gunked up around where the plates meed the body. After that and a throttle body sync, it was so much improved I removed the Power Commanders that were on them.

Gitbox said:

Ross,
I wired them just as his diagram showed and used the stock plugs. As far as improvements go, I would say they are very subtle. Maybe slightly smoother idle, a bit faster starting. No night and day improvements but my bike ran pretty well before the upgrade. I made the same change to my old ZG-1000 and the improvements were a bit more noticeable which I why I gave it a shot on the FJR.

Regarding the lumpy idle, on both my FJR's the best thing I did to improve idle and off idle transition was to remove and thoroughly clean the throttle bodies. They get pretty gunked up around where the plates meed the body. After that and a throttle body sync, it was so much improved I removed the Power Commanders that were on them.

Click to expand...

Thanks - I appreciate the info on the possibility of going to the COP.

My TBS is pretty good. I thought I might have found a smoking gun last year when I discovered a cracked TBS rubber cap but the improvement (after replacing it) was marginal if at all. I bought the bike used last year with less than 40,000 miles on it. I think that doing the throttle bodies is next although I might swap out the fuel rail/injectors first. (I got a complete set of injectors and fuel rail cheap on eBay from a low mileage 2012) Previous owner of my bike told me he had an injector issue due to bad gas but had them professionally cleaned and flow checked. Other than the uneven idle, I don't get any other operating issues so I don't really think the injectors are a problem.

Without other symptoms/problems, I wouldn't go to the COP setup but will keep my eyes open for a good deal on a set - just in case. Good to see that you had good success with it!

Link to YouTube video of the idle...

Ross,

After watching your video I noticed your idle issue sounded a lot like mine at one point. In my case it turned out to be the rubber vacuum caps on the TB sync nipples. They were dry, cracked and loose. After replacing all four of them, the idle was much more even. I'd also check the negative pressure hoses and fittings for looseness and the line that goes to the intake air pressure sensor.

Gitbox said:

Ross,
After watching your video I noticed your idle issue sounded a lot like mine at one point. In my case it turned out to be the rubber vacuum caps on the TB sync nipples. They were dry, cracked and loose. After replacing all four of them, the idle was much more even. I'd also check the negative pressure hoses and fittings for looseness and the line that goes to the intake air pressure sensor.

Click to expand...

AS I mentioned, I found one bad rubber TBS cap - others were good. Checked all the obvious stuff as well for leaks. More of an annoyance than a real problem but would like to fix if possible; my '07 never did that. (We should take further discussion (if any) off-line since we have drifted from the original post topic related specifically to coils.) Thanks again.