-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
ignition coil
- Thread starter pahako
- Start date
-
- Tags
- electrical
jayel
#9 Guru 74 TX650A
no... however if you tune your bike using this magic screwdriver.................
Stock coil with what ignition? We can't see your bike from here!
Thanks for that JL......I needed a chuckle this morn.
CoastsideXS650
Princeton Motor Works
Im curious too. Does the green monster coil give any significant gains over the stock coil?
Are the gains on these kits Mikes sells from the electronic ignition or do the coils play a significant role?
PamcoPete would know I bet ...
Are the gains on these kits Mikes sells from the electronic ignition or do the coils play a significant role?
PamcoPete would know I bet ...
A stronger coil will improve any ignition, stock or aftermarket, but the difference won't be like "night and day". The bike will start a little easier, idle a little smoother, and just overall perform a bit better. I've read for years that a new stronger coil is a good mod but I could never bring myself to spring the $80 or $90 to replace a perfectly good working stocker. Well, with the advent of eBay, I don't have to anymore. I've gotten 2 so far from there for my 650, nice aftermarket brand new Harley coils. I paid about $15 for one, about $25 for the other. To me, the small performance gain is worth that. I don't think it's worth paying retail for though.
ontherocks
XS650 Addict
- Messages
- 106
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 18
Test your spark. If its yellow, then upgrade.
You have the winning answer 5twins. I really don't want to fix something if it is not broke, or I don't want to spend money if it is not necessary. I am happy with the way the bike runs, but was just curious. I am willing to spend a little money if the difference is noticeable.
Thanks
5twins I think maybe things have gone up a little (from the $15)
but there are still 3 ohm harley coils to be had for around $30 shipped from what I am seeing. And some of the DynaTek dual fire for 4 cylinders for around $60.
but there are still 3 ohm harley coils to be had for around $30 shipped from what I am seeing. And some of the DynaTek dual fire for 4 cylinders for around $60.
Yes, everything is going up. eBay seems to be all about timing. If you watch long enough, deals pop up. Maybe I got lucky but both times, I found the coil on my 1st attempt. My first ignition "upgrade" was to the single points set-up. For that, I needed a 4 to 5 ohm points type single coil with the dual outputs. I found the Accel Power Pulse for like $8 plus shipping (so around $15 total). Nobody bid on it but me. I'm sure the guy hoped to get more for it. It's like an $80 retail coil. My next upgrade was to a Pamco and while Pete told me my Accel would work, he said a lower ohm coil would be better. So, back to eBay I went and scored my 2.8 ohm red Andrews Supervolt. This one cost me more, about $17 or $18 plus shipping, but still a very good deal .....
Your original may work fine at the moment but remember, it's 30 or more years old. If you can score a newer high output coil for $20 or $30, I think it's worth it.
Your original may work fine at the moment but remember, it's 30 or more years old. If you can score a newer high output coil for $20 or $30, I think it's worth it.
The stock TCI coils put out around 10-15kv at about 4000 rpms with 14.5 volts. That's enough to run the engine fairly well as long as the battery/charging system are doing thier job.
But if the battery voltage drops very much then the coil output drops accordingly.
If say during cranking the engine the battery volts drop to 9 volts. That's about a 35 percent drop. The coil drops about 35 percent too, At 15kv at full volts -35% is around 9.7kv. It takes some where around 6-8kv just to fire a plug.
Lets say you swap the stock coil to a 25kv the drop will be 25kv-35% = 16.2kv. Still better than the stock at full voltage.
As others said this extra voltage will improve starting as well as overall running. Pamcopete did some testing on his bikes. On his ignition website he lists these tests. The hotter coil improved the performance enough so he got noticably better gas milage.
Coastside, the type of ignition has little to do with how hot the spark is. It controls the time the spark occurs. The coil is what determines how hot the spark is.
A hotter coil makes a hotter spark.
Leo
But if the battery voltage drops very much then the coil output drops accordingly.
If say during cranking the engine the battery volts drop to 9 volts. That's about a 35 percent drop. The coil drops about 35 percent too, At 15kv at full volts -35% is around 9.7kv. It takes some where around 6-8kv just to fire a plug.
Lets say you swap the stock coil to a 25kv the drop will be 25kv-35% = 16.2kv. Still better than the stock at full voltage.
As others said this extra voltage will improve starting as well as overall running. Pamcopete did some testing on his bikes. On his ignition website he lists these tests. The hotter coil improved the performance enough so he got noticably better gas milage.
Coastside, the type of ignition has little to do with how hot the spark is. It controls the time the spark occurs. The coil is what determines how hot the spark is.
A hotter coil makes a hotter spark.
Leo
Take a look at the coils in my pic. You want the "electronic" type with the lower ohm rating, probably something in the 2 to 3 ohm range. 4 to 5 ohm coils are for points ignitions. I don't know the ohm rating on your stock coil but if you can find out what that is, that's what you want to match up to (or at least be close). That's pretty much the only thing you need to match when looking for a new coil. Physical size and shape mean nothing but can be considered if you have a specific place and/or limited space for mounting.
The stock TCI coils use a 2.5 ohm primary. The older points use a 3.9 ohm primary. On either one you can be off by around 10% on the ohms and be ok.
The lower the ohms the more current that the coil draws. Some electronic ignition and CDI use coils in the .5 ohm range.
Using one of these coils will give a much hotter spark but put to much load on the ignition, burning them out.
Leo
The lower the ohms the more current that the coil draws. Some electronic ignition and CDI use coils in the .5 ohm range.
Using one of these coils will give a much hotter spark but put to much load on the ignition, burning them out.
Leo
No. On a dual output coil the primary side is not polarity sensitive, or it don't matter.
Leo
Leo
