armyofda12mnkeys Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 just curious ... i am converting my bike to electric ignition so reading parts of the manual i never explored before ... So i am going to put regular 80/81 xs400 coils in my bike... I saw in the Haynes manual (on page 132) with those stock coils and electronic ignition section: "never run the engine without both spark plugs connected, the high 2ndary voltage could damage the ignition coils" Which got me thinking on a side note... On mikesxs, they dont put this warning except on the most high energy performance coils (I guess the 80/81 electronic ignition coils are way stronger than 78/79 coils as well)... Anyway... My main question is... how do I test the spark plug spark if its dangerous for my bikes parts to start bike without both coils in? Like what id normally do is take one out, and ground it against engine and try to start bike via kick or electric start to try to check spark, but dont want to overvoltage anything? On my 78 xs400 i would do this test alot, and even sometimes the bike would start with just one cylinder hah (which i would immediately turn off, but just saying it is possible the bike would start if testing spark... guess i could unplug both ... but then dunno where that other plug not holding with my hand is sparking to hehe). So how can i test spark with the electronic ignition setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmac Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 There is no problem with grounding the plug on the head while you crank the ignition to test for spark. Just make sure that the plug doesn't lose contact with the head and that both coils have a spark plug in place when you turn it over. Sorry if I caused confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armyofda12mnkeys Posted July 24, 2010 Author Share Posted July 24, 2010 There is no problem with grounding the plug on the head while you crank the ignition to test for spark. Just make sure that the plug doesn't lose contact with the head and that both coils have a spark plug in place when you turn it over. Sorry if I caused confusion. Cool thanks for clarification , Thanks kmac! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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