Dyna Coils for FJs .....

[DreadRock]

Well think one of my coils is going bad or is bad ! Need lil help as i dont have any info on the Dyna 2000 ignition set up and coils . Took the bike out and seemed to run fine then after 25 miles stopped for a smoke . Tried to fire it back up and seemed to drop 2 cyls think the right 2 but not sure . So limped it home and once it cooled down seemed to run OK not great ! Going to clean the wires and see what happens i dont know anything about this set up ! I have the RPM set at 9-9 1/2 but the tard not sure where a good starting point is ? If im to replace the coils can someone tell me what a good replacement would be ? Theres dyna coils on it and grey if that matters , will also pick up new plugs, wires, caps!
Any help would be great thanks guys !
O and there on a 1985 FJ1100 !

[Pat Conlon]

Dyna grey coils are 2.2ohm and are fine with the Dyna 2000 ignition...
,,,, but before you buy new coils, switch the coils and see if the problem still exists.

A few FJ folks have had some problems with the Dyna ignition module dropping signal to a coil. New coils won't help that.

David or Randy will chime in here....

[FJmonkey]

When you say RPM is set at 9 to 9.5, do you mean idle? If so you should be at around 1100 ish.

[DreadRock]

No that setting of 9- 9.5 is what the Dyna box is set at for i believe the red line( again not sure how the settings on the dyna box works ) and the bike wants to idel at 1200 to 1500 sitting there. Thought it might have been the throttle cable binding or routed wrong but seems to be right . So i should pull the coils and switch which side there on and clean and see if that helps ?

[Pat Conlon]

It's important to know exactly which cylinders are dropping out.. Don't guess.

That way when you switch the coils, you will know if the problem is in the coil.

  Sitting on the bike the left coil fires cylinders #1 and #4   and the right coil fires cylinders #2 and #3... follow the plug wires to confirm

(the cylinders are numbered 1 to 4 starting on the left)

[DreadRock]

Thanks for that info will take my time and see what i come up with ! Whats the best way to see which are running and which are dead ?

[Pat Conlon]

Well, seeing as though it happens on the road, a IR thermometer reading on the head pipes can tell which tubes are colder than the others. They will be to hot to tell by feel.
Either cylinders 1 and 4 will be cooler or cylinders 2 and 3.

[DreadRock]

Will see if i can pick one up and give it a go ! If one is shot and need to pick a new one up will go ahead and replace both to be safe . If i have to go that way which would be a good choice to replace them ? The Elec stuff has always gave me problems on bikes and sometime my own wiring gets messed up lol 

[SlowOldGuy]

A small spray bottle with water is also a good way to tell if any header pipes are cooler than others.

When I first installed my Dyna system, I had one of their coils go bad.  It shut the WHOLE system down.  The ignition box would not spark ANY of the coils.  Also, the red LED was staying on.  It's supposed to blink initially as it's programming the ignition when you turn on the key, then go out.

Dyna confirmed that the ignition shuts down everything when it senses a dead coil.  They sent me a new one, which has worked well for the last 5 years.  My latest problem, like yours, is dropping 2 cylinders (one coil) and continuing to run on the others.  This leads me to believe it's not a coil, but something in the ignition box itself.

Can't confirm anything right now, but I'm (slowly) working on it.

DavidR.

[Pat Conlon]

I would be surprised if the problem was with the Dyna coil.  The Dyna coils are very robust.

That's why you should verify the problem before you drop $$ on new coils, and yes, you buy them in pairs.

FJ Electrical 101: Electrical gremlins can turn very expensive if you blindly throw parts at them.

In the mean time, you can bench test the coils. This is discussed on page 246 in the Clymer manual and/or page 4-2 in the Haynes manual.
Also, check your engine ground wire. Get a multitester and do a ohm reading while you wiggle the ground connectors.
Goofy things happen with a intermittent ground.

The coil relay mod. is also worth considering. It will enhance the performance to your bike regardless of the origin of the problem.
By doing this mod. you can rule out low or intermittent voltage issues to the coils.... it will assure you that you are getting full available voltage to the primary side of your coils.

As I've said before, problems have been reported in the past with Dyna 2000 ignition module and/or pickups.

[SlowOldGuy]

Not sure what the manual says, but do NOT try to ohm the coils when there are any wires connected to them.  You will get screwy readings.  I couldn't tell my coil was bad until I had it totally unhooked and off the bike.

DavidR.

[DreadRock]

Thank you guys very much with all the great info . My plan as of now is to change filter and oil, clean the K@Ns ( which im not a fan ) , and go over all the wiring to make sure nothing else is grounding out . Then pick up a thermameter and take it with me and see if i can get it to have the problem so i can take a reading . Right now i should have my manual today or tommrow and have next week off work to spend some time working on it . I will start with testing the coils to see which one is cutting out and if thats the problem will replace both and keep good one as a spare . I learned my lesson on my XS build to not just throw a buck or two at it and still not take care of the problem . So i take way more time when looking  and finding the problem . Is there a way to see if its the box and not the coils ?

[Pat Conlon]

Is there a way to see if its the box and not the coils ?

According to David's findings, if it were a bad coil, the whole Dyna system would shut down.

 

[DreadRock]

Would make sense ! Think i need to head to Dynas site and see if i can download a manual for it or find some info so im not in the dark as bad ! Picked up a small thermometer to carry in my tank bad and see whats what !

[cyclenutk75]

DR - Not sure what you've got for a thermometer, but I've got a digital contact thermocouple and an infra red thermometer.  Either would do the job if needed.  I could ride to Canal Fulton sometime this weekend if you need the tools.  Let me know.

GT