ignition configuration

I have a 82 xj650 I had taken off my 1-4 coil to replace it because it wasnt firing then i took the other and hooked it up to the other plug just to make sure it wasnt in the wiring and im not entirely sure if I changed the plug back so I need to know what cylinder number one is and what color wires does the coil for 1-4 have pluged into it? Im talking about the wires that have the pig tail on them on the ignition side.... I feel like a dumba$$ asking,but I just want to make sure that I am putting it back on there correctly 8O

 

The number 1 cylinder is the one on the left as you sit on the bike. I think that's what you mean.

The red wire with the white strip is a common wire, and can go to either one. The grey goes to one coil and the orange to the other, but it doesn't say which one is which in the diagram. It doesn't matter which set goes to which coil, as long as in the end they go to the right spark plug.

It was smart to hook up the other set of wires to the known working coil, you did not need to change what plugs the coils went to though. I'm afraid you just confused yourself by changing to many wires. If you changed the wires to the coil then the wires to the spark plugs will go to the plugs that the bad coil were on; 1 and 4 if I understand you correctly.

I don't mean to offend, but if you used some punctuation instead of one run on sentence, your question would be a lot easier to understand.

 

Thanks thats what I needed to know, Sorry about the punctuation, it was late, I worked all day, and im not the best at writing perfect English ha.. Again, Thanks a million!

 

Well maybe thats not what i needed to know, because now i need to know what coil (1-4 or 2-3) does the orange go to, and what one the grey goes to...

 

I dont see how it wouldnt matter because the timing would be off...

 

It is difficult to explain "Wasted Spark"
But, both Coils Fire during the Power Strokes to the opposing Cylinders on the Ignition Stroke.

1, 2, 3 and 4 ALL Fire ... Only 2 Cylinders NEED the Spark the other 2 are exhausting and reloading.

If 1 & 4 Fire and 2 & 3 Dont.
SWAP the two Coil Plug-in to the Wiring Harness.
Leave the Plug Wires attached to the Plugs; don't swap.

IF the Failure to Fire CHANGES to the Cylinders that DID Fire before the Swap, ... the Coil is bad.

If you Swap the Plug-in and the Wires ... you bring the problem with you and cannot isolate the problem from being elsewhere.

 

What rick is saying is that it doesn't matter if the ignition cable from the coil to the plug goes to 1 or to 4, or to 2 or 3. As long as 1-4 and 2-3 go to their own one coil you are good, as 1 and 4 fire at the same time, once per revolution. They might have a different physical reach, though, but in that case they will only go one way.

I just went out to look at my bike. It looks like the orange goes to the left coil and the grey goes to the right coil. If I remember correctly, the left coil goes to 1-4 and the right coil goes to 2-3, but I would have to take my tank off to tell for sure.

It doesn't matter because if you got the grey/orange switched, all you would have to do is switch the set of plugs that coil goes to. If you know you have two good coils, just switch the plug wires and see if its good. That is, take 2-3 and put them on 1-4. Switch 1 and 2; 3 and 4.

If this doesn't help, can you please restate exactly what you did so we can be more clear and help you better? It sounds like you pulled a coil, and then put the other coil in its place. If that is correct, then just put the new coil where the old one used to be. But I don't think that's what you did, because then you probably wouldn't be asking the question.

 

Okay lets start from the top haha, i switched the coils only to check to see if it was a bad coil or not, if they both fired only hooked up to the orange I would then know that i have good coils, and its ignition or wiring or something. I understand it does not matter what coil is on what side, what does matter is that the grey is hooked up to the two cylinders that are firing on the power stroke, I want to know what two cylinders grey is synced to timing wise? I just acquired this bike and I am basically rebuilding the thing so I would like to have it hooked up correctly before I try to fire this beast up with the valves gapped, carbs jetted,.... all that jazz. It is really a simple question....

What two cylinders is the orange wire hooked up to and what two cylinders is the grey wire hooked up to?


Thank you,

Kerst 8O

 

your correct both plugs fire at the same time . thats why you have an orange wire going to 1 coil and grey to the other

 

Obviously, I know this, but I need the answer to my question in bold WHAT TWO CYLINDERS DOES THE ORANGE WIRE GO TO AND WHAT TWO CYLINDERS DOES THE GREY WIRE GO TO?

 

Orange 1-4 Grey 2-3 on my bikes,
I have tried to switched them around to check for spark and they fire either way, but specifically it is as above

 

It does not matter.

On my Bike
Orange feeds the:
Left Coil

Gray w/ stripe
Right Coil

The Wiring diagram is lame.
The Wiring Diagram shows:

The Orange Wire to the TOP Coil
The Gray Wire to the BOTTOM Coil

The Diagram then shows:
The two wires from the TOP Coil outputting to the first two Plugs
And, the wires from the BOTTOM Coil outputting to the other two Plugs.

 

Thanks bro this is what I was looking for!

 

Kind of reminds me of the Whos on first Whats on second and I dont know is on third.