Ignition Coil Primary And Secondary Wiring
Ignition coils on the 80’s Kz1000,Kz1100’s and Gpz1100’s are wired the same, that is as you sit on the bike, the LEFT ignition coil primary(small wires) are two wires, RED and BLACK. The secondary (or sparkplug wires) go to #1 and #4 sparkplugs(your primary wiring may be different).
Read carefully, as the 550’s, 650’s, 700’s & 750’s are backwards to what is listed for the bigger 4’s.
The cylinders are numbered left to right as you sit on the seat; #1,#2,#3, and #4.
For the RIGHT ignition coil, the primary wires, again are two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary going to #2 and #3.
The RED wire gets it’s voltage from the run/stop switch on the right handlebar switch pod. Your primary wiring may have a different color.
The BLACK and GREEN wires connect to the IC Igniter(if the bike has the Kawasaki supplied electronic ignition) it actually gives the coils their grounds to fire the sparkplugs. The RED wire is common to both ignition coils.
Primary(small wires) side of the coils will read between 1.8 to 3.0 ohms.
Secondary(sparkplug wire ports)side of the coil will read between 10.4K to 15.6K ohms. These ports are wired together, so it makes no difference which is used, as long as the correct coil to sparkplug configuration is followed.
The sparkplug caps should read 5K OHMS(5000), any higher, or a reading of infinity means new caps should be ordered. When re-installing the old or new sparkplug caps, cut about ¼” off the sparkplug wires for a new un-corroded connection.
Never run supression sparkplug wires with sparkplug caps containing the 5000 ohm resistor, as now there will be two (2) resistances in the ignition coil’s secondary circuit, causing weak and intermittent spark.
To stress the ignition coils, take a hair dryer, heat the coils and see if the ohm readings change from cold to hot . If they do, it’s time to buy new coils.
Keep in mind, the wiring is reversed for the 550’s, 650‘s,700’s, and 750‘s, that is the RIGHT coil primary will be two wires, RED and BLACK with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #1 and #4.
The LEFT coils primary wiring would be again two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #2 and #3.
An indication of black and sooty sparkplugs may not mean a carb or carbs are in need of cleaning, but may mean the input voltage is low.
When checking the input voltage to the ignition coils, first have a fully charged battery, and the using a multimeter, set it up to measure VDC(Volts, Direct Current), range of 20.
Put the RED probe from the multimeter on the same terminal that either a RED wire or ones that’s RED with YELLOW stripe, and the BLACK probe on either a good frame/Earth ground or the battery Negative(-) terminal/post.
Depending on the motorcycles current draw( lighting, and other high amp needs) the reading might be 10 volts or more, but if the reading is down around 8 volts or less, this indicates a corrosion or wiring problem needs correcting to improve input voltage to the coils.
These engines have what is known as a “Wasted Spark” that is, a sparkplug will fire during an exhaust stroke. It does no damage and many other motorcycle engines have this design.
