Do I have bad coils?

V

v-petn

Well-Known Member
Visit site
I've research and found that you can do the paper towel test on the headers but that's not accurate. Can I describe my symptoms and get advice as to what the problem could be... I really don't want to fork out the money to replace all 4 coils if this is not the cause...

I have 2006 FZ1N with 25000kms on it... Plugs were apparently replaced when I bout it at 22000kms... Problem seems to be getting worse... My mods are FCE, unkinkable fuel line, gutted cat, slip on, bmc air filter, lars airbox mod and blocked ais... I get no exhaust popping on decel. I only get it on acceleration when it's above 4500rpm... On part throttle and if I maintain a certain speed, I generally get this misfire or slight hesitation at around 3500rpm to 6000rpm.. Above that it's fine or if I give it a fist full then it accelerates fine... Sometimes I do get a slight bog feeling if I hammer it from 0 to 100 throttle... but that's not a big deal...

The biggest problem is when I rev the bike above 4500. If I hammer it to say 8000rpm and then either change gears or close the throttle and then reapply it slowly, I get this huge hesitation or feels like I'm hitting the wall and the bike feels like it's going to bog right down and then it goes again.. I get a lot of exhaust popping on acceleration if I hammer it and then reapply the throttle smoothly... If I change gears and apply the throttle rapidly then I don't get much of the popping or the bogging feeling...

It idles fine, well it does hunt a bit but only between 1200 to 1300 rpm so i think that's normal... I've checked the error codes and I only get 19 and 22. I've cleared it and get no codes for a while and then 19 reappears followed by 20. Then clear it again and only get 19.

My only guess is that I need to replace the coils. It's not the FCE as the problem occurred even without the FCE. It's seems like it's getting worse... I've done some research and I think I have 2 issues here. the hesitation/ misfire and part throttle I think is related to coils (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) and the popping on acceleration is the ecu fuel cut issue on the 06. Even though I have the FCE (this is the 2nd unit) and I do feel the abrupt throttle issue reduced, I still believe the popping and bogging on reapplying the throttle is related to the fuel cut. I think I'll need to take the plunge and buy the 2012 ecu unless someone can suggest what else could be causing this problem
 
to test your coils undo a spark plug put it back in the boot and hold it against the block of the engine. then thumb the starter. if there is an orange spark there is something wrong. either dead battery or charging system or the coils are bad.
if it is blue it is not an issue with the coils.
never rely a previous owner being correct on maintenance. check all of the plugs while you can access them and consider replacing them. 20 quid aint much.

check your chain if its too tight it can drain power well.

here is a start at least
 
Seems similar to the issue I had earlier this summer. Mine ran fine when the bike was cold but when it reack OT it would hesitate and stumble between 2500 and 4500. Under full throttle conditions it was fine. Here is what I did cleaned and Diaelectric greased all of my connections(helped some) new plugs(iridium) wrapped my coils in electrical tape(this and the plus seemed to have cured it). Use diaelectric grease in your plug to coil connections. I plan on replacing my coils over the winter.
 
rwgoldsmith said:
to test your coils undo a spark plug put it back in the boot and hold it against the block of the engine. then thumb the starter. if there is an orange spark there is something wrong. either dead battery or charging system or the coils are bad.
if it is blue it is not an issue with the coils.
never rely a previous owner being correct on maintenance. check all of the plugs while you can access them and consider replacing them. 20 quid aint much.

check your chain if its too tight it can drain power well.

here is a start at least
Click to expand...

the chain has about 1 inch slack... I'm light weight so don't think it's too tight but hey I could be wrong...

the previous owner showed me the receipt of the service... they dealer only replaced the oil and oil filter plus spark plugs... the rest were inspections... I wonder why he would have replaced just the spark plug and oil... don't they generally do more than that when you service? I'm thinking maybe he had the problem and replace the plugs helped it for a bit but now the problem is coming back
 
johnnyontherocks said:
Seems similar to the issue I had earlier this summer. Mine ran fine when the bike was cold but when it reack OT it would hesitate and stumble between 2500 and 4500. Under full throttle conditions it was fine. Here is what I did cleaned and Diaelectric greased all of my connections(helped some) new plugs(iridium) wrapped my coils in electrical tape(this and the plus seemed to have cured it). Use diaelectric grease in your plug to coil connections. I plan on replacing my coils over the winter.
Click to expand...

do you ave the same problem with popping on acceleration as well?
 
Electrical tape. Wrap the distance of the groove. When you pull one you will see what I mean, it runs vertically. Dont go to low or to thick, it wont fit back in.
 
Sounds like coils to me. :)
If your going to pull the coils you may as well test them while they are out but sometimes even a bad coil will test ok. Wrapping with electrical tape is a very good idea and can buy you some time if its the insulation/body that has failed.
 
thanks guys... yeah wrapping is a great idea... I mean if I feel an improvement then I know it's the coils and have no problems replacing it...
 
Just an update:

I'm still waiting for the used R1 coils and NGK plugs to arrive... But this morning the engine light came on again, it was really cold... and error 20 displayed on the dash. well didn't bother me cos I new that was the FCE... well I was riding on the motorway and gave it a fist full and realised there was no hesitation or exhaust popping on acceleration!!! throttle totally smooth other than the slight mis around the 4000 rpm which didn't bother me...

do you think it's loose FCE connection?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top