xj700xnc 1985 maxim x ignition coils

I have a maxim that I purchased a few months back and absolutely loved it. Up until the coils went bad. A motorcycle mechanic told me to replace them as they were too old. I came here and got some aftermarket dyna coils. My question is, wiring. How are they supposed to be wired? I have the coils wired and ready to go but the engine isn't turning over. Is there a wiring diagram or some kind of guide?

In the picture below, I have the left coil attached to cylinder # 2 and #3. The right coil is attached to cylinder # 1 and 4. I am not sure if that's the correct way. Is there anyone who can help?

 

So I switched the coils and now the engine sounds like it wants to start but still won't turn over. Now I'm thinking its another problem. :cry:

 

Facing the coils from the rear of the bike:

Left Coil, left wire, connects to cylinder #1
Left Coil, Right wire, cylinder #4
Right Coil, Left wire, Cylinder #2
Right Coil, Right wire, Cylinder #3

From what I can make of the wiring diagram, mind you, this is guess work, You have a R/W and Gy wire going to the coil on the right and on the left you have a BR and R/W wire.

The brown wire going to the Left coil will be coming from the Tach as I read the diagram.

 

This is the typical ignition circuit wiring for these bikes:

- the ignition coil for the #1/#4 spark plugs is mounted on the left side of the bike, and has the solid orange (ground) wire and the red-with-white-tracer-stripe (hot) wire input leading to it.

- the ignition coil for the #2/#3 spark plugs is mounted on the right side of the bike, and has the solid grey (ground) wire and the red-with-white-tracer-stripe (hot) wire input leading to it.


Note that for each coil, it does not matter which of the two plug wires goes to either of its cylinders, since a signle coil sparks both of its plug wires at the same time. So, for instance, the #1/4 coil fires both the #1 and the #4 plugs at the exact same time, and it does not matter which of the plug wires (from that coil) goes to the #1 or the #4 cylinder.

 

Chacal,

You are right. I see now. It is Br going to the tach and O coming out.

Michael

 

What kind of plug wires are you using? I ask because I got a SuperCoil kit & had to cut & wire them myself. I screwed it up at first & it took awhile to figure out. What the heck-throw in some new plugs too & see what happens. Good luck.

 

Might be a late responce, but seeing as my bike is apart I though I'd shoot my coils and post them up.
Hope it helps:
Front, right side


Front straight on


Front, looking up

 

Thanks guys you have been very helpful! I finally put them on but now I noticed I have valve problems. You guys know where I can get some cheap shimmy s? I have about seven to replace -_-

 

Cheap shims? search eBay perhaps.

I'd be concerned that "cheap" ones may not be of the correct hardness. I would get some from a reputable store, like Chacal, BikeBandit.com, etc ...

 

Ok well has anyone ever seen these kind of shims? They are kinda bucket-style shims I can't seem so find any like these. And as far as i know, this maxim was supposed to be stock. I have no idea if these are oem I'm guessing they aren't

 

Yes, they are stock.
They are "shim under bucket" type and the 5-valve genesis heads mostly take the same shims.

Many of the early year FZRs take the same shims but the rest of the XJs do NOT use them
Only the 85/86 XJ700 are the only ones from the XJ family to use them.
Some of us have a misc collection of extras from scrapped engines BUT they are normally 185-195 size range and most likely you will need 170-180 sizes.

Some dealers will swap you shims but very few have them. There are some "shim pools" where you can send in yours and get smaller ones back. New ones will set you back about $10 each which adds up if you need (20) of them!!
I have gotten lucky with an occasional Ebay find.

Chacal has a good selection.

 

Well thats a relief, except for the fact that they are 10 bucks each! I went to a yamaha dealer and the parts guy had no idea what they were. They showed me the shims and they were completely different. I wonder why they had different shims for the same bike? Thats what confuses me. Also, is there a guide for measuring shims and replacing them with the right ones? I have an idea of how to do it but I'd rather have a guide.


You people have been nothing but help I really appreciate it guys!

 

A guide for replacing them? You measure the current gap and adjust up or down accordingly. Search here and you will find articles on properly measuring and determining the appropriate replacement.

 

What you should have done before taking them out would be to measure all your clearances and write them down in a note book. Then you would have known which ones were tight, which ones were loose and which ones were within spec. From the look of it you have pulled everything apart and will have to reassemble and measure to be sure what shims you need for each valve. Sometimes, if you're lucky one from one valve may be within spec for another valve thus reducing the amount you will need to trade for or buy.
And don't use a magnet to pull them out as this will make small metallic particles stick and cause premature wear.

 

The simple reasoning for the tiny shims is that was the easiest way to squeeze in 5 valves on a relatively small piston.
Also since they are shim under bucket, they don't wear combined with the smaller valves you have a much longer service interval with the X compared to the airheads...but when you do it, the job is much more difficult.

You will need a thin set of feeler gauges (less than 1/2" wide) to measure clearance. The service manual walks you through the steps and it's almost impossible to do without a manual. You also need to go down to about .001" thick....I think spec clearance on intake is .004"-.006" if I remember correct.

As Maxim-X said, you will need to reassemble everything before you worry about the clearances since the clearance will change when you torque the head and cam housing down with new gaskets.
Pretty much have to put the engine back together and then worry about the valve clearances.

 

Yep.
I am doing a top end job for a friend on a dirt bike. Never done it before, I am just following a step-by-step set of instructions from some "pro's" I found on the net. The idiots put the instructions to check the valve clearances about four steps after you have pulled the framework ... is that the Cam? "OK Bud, how am I supposed to check the valve clearances when you have already had me take off the cam assembly?"

I had scanned through the instructions before hand, but I hadn't connected checking valve clearances needing to be performed out of sequence of his steps. He's the "pro", he should know better ...