Pipes 1 and 4 cold.

Okay so how to troubleshoot here?

1. can probably skip the plugs and wires and go straight to the coil I'm thinking.
(bought new last year) What am I looking for for coil specs on a good coil? Guess I could pull the good one and compare, but that makes for more work .

2. Not sure what is in between the coil and the battery to test. Guessing maybe a fuse or something.

bike is an '86 xj700x

thanks for any suggestions

 

I'm not sure if there is a reason you're jumping right to the coil...

I'd start by pulling the plugs on 1 & 4. Are they wet?

With the plug out, and with the wire attached and resting on the block, check for spark.

 

I should have mentioned that, sorry. I cleaned the plugs and was able to get the bike to start okay but it wouldn't run without a little help. On a whim I touched one of the pipes. It was cold the next was hot and so was the 3rd and then cold again. Both cold pipes are fired by the same coil so that's why I made that leap. Seems to coincidental to be the plugs or wires although not impossible. Any idea how to test the coil or anything down the line?

thx

 

Might want to swap coils. That will tell you if the pickups are working. That is: no change = bad pickup or associated wires. Also make sure you got a good ground on both coils.