pickup air gap?

[88SuzukiKat600]

So the bike is getting spark while cranking but it is weak. Checked the coils and they are reading 3.2 ohms primary resistance on the reader (manual says 2-4 ohms) and on secondary resistance it is reading 25,000 ohms (manual says between 30k-40k ohms) will 5k ohms make the difference between firing and not?

Secondly, what should the pickup air gap be?

[GSXFJim]

Does the bike start?
If not, check the voltage at the coil with the ignition on and while trying to start the bike. anything less than 11v and its a voltage issue. As for the 5k drop, its hard to say, it will probably be a bit harder to start i'd imagine.
The air gap will not have any effect, its set and non adjustable.

[88SuzukiKat600]

No it does not. I'm trying to chase down the issue right now as to why it won't start. Right now I have the coils out for when I tested them. And how exactly do I test the voltage there? One coil at a time?

QUOTE=GSXFJim;2358900]Does the bike start?
If not, check the voltage at the coil with the ignition on and while trying to start the bike. anything less than 11v and its a voltage issue. As for the 5k drop, its hard to say, it will probably be a bit harder to start i'd imagine.
The air gap will not have any effect, its set and non adjustable.[/QUOTE]

[IanDMacDonald]

Howdy- The drop in resistance is more than likely due to a resistor going bad in the plug gap.

Un-twist the caps off the plug wire, cut the plug wire back a half inch, then twist the new caps on. I will bet that may solve your issue. If not, time to source some new coils, i.e. (Dyna or Accel).

[88SuzukiKat600]

I tested the resistors as well and they are reading just above 10 thousand ohms each. So they are all pretty close in comparison. The old plug boots are almost impossible to get back on even after cutting the wires back. What are the best replacement for plug boots. Will ngk's that are nearly the same work alright?

[IanDMacDonald]

I tested the resistors as well and they are reading just above 10 thousand ohms each. So they are all pretty close in comparison. The old plug boots are almost impossible to get back on even after cutting the wires back. What are the best replacement for plug boots. Will ngk's that are nearly the same work alright?

NGK's are all I use now. However, options are endless. I've used MSD plug boots, with some Accel 8mm solid copper core wire.

[88SuzukiKat600]

Okay I'd like to use NGK but the part number isn't listed for me to order them. I'll check another brand

[IanDMacDonald]

Okay I'd like to use NGK but the part number isn't listed for me to order them. I'll check another brand

The problem being the boots on the GSX engines are the deep-well design. You might get-by with the XD05F's, and slide the well boot on them. Not sure if they're long enough.

Option 2 would be some Accel 180's, and you crimp them yourself.

[88SuzukiKat600]

Okay thank you very much! I've also been looking into some coils in case they are bad and came across the "Dyna Ignition Coils 3 ohm Dual Output DC1-1 Wires DW-200 Suzuki Katana 88 89." Would those be better than OEM takeoffs?

[GSXFJim]

Does the bike start?

No it does not.

before you start making wholesale changes to parts...

...lets start at the beginning...

1. are you getting fuel into the cylinder? (pull a plug after trying to start the bike, is the plug wet?
If not, your not getting fuel into the cylinder, this will require a complete carb cleaning.
Make sure the petcock is functioning properly, you should get no flow of fuel when set to ON or RES (no vacuum present to operate the diaphragm) when the engine is not running, you should get flow on PRI (no vacuum required). Make sure the vacuum line is in good shape, no cracks or splits, if you're not sure, replace it.
You can test it by running the fuel lines into a jar, try and start the bike, does fuel flow? if not, check the vacuum line and then the petcock.

2. check the voltage at the coil when trying to start the bike, anything less than 10.5vdc isn't good, clean connections and test again.

3. how old is the battery? a weak battery can cause issues as well. A battery can hold a 12v charge but if the battery is damaged or old it wont carry the Amperage needed.

[92xjunker]

GSXFJim???? I vaguely remember that name, now where was it.. I would have to agree 100%