No Spark on left side!

[platypus]

Hey all, New to this board and bikes in general.
Bought an '89 as a non runner. Figured it was a sweet deal because its in pretty good shape and the PO was not mechanically inclined.  The bike has sat for a couple of years, so while I remove the rust from the tank, clean out the Carbs, and free up the clutch, I thought I would check the spark.

No spark on the left hand side! (sitting on bike, Port side if you will)
Bad coil was my first thought, so I plugged it into the wires on the right hand side..... sparks perfectly.
The wires were originally connected to the coil backwards. (at least in my opinion) R/Y to the terminal marked -, and green to the terminal marked+. Make any difference?

So I stuck a multimeter in the ends of the wires. LH side shows voltage with key on, switch in run position. No Voltage on right.(the good side)
Unplugged the IC Ignitor unit and the voltage goes away. so it doesn't look like a shorted wire. Although, the main wires from the battery seem to get pretty warm with the key on. (R/W and B/Y.)

So, Bad Ignitor?  Shorted wire past the Ignitor?  Other possibilities?
And what about the wires heating up coming off the battery? is that normal?

Any info on how to test the Ignitor would be very appreciated.
Also I was going off of a wiring diagram someone else had posted but now I see it was for '85 to '87.  Anyone have a diagram for the "89?  It will be awhile before I can get a shop manual. 


Incredible Forum by the way.  I've learned a lot just browsing through.  Glad to join the 454 family and this great board!
Thanks in advance.

[hoosierrick]

Left pickup coil, wiring, or igniter.

[platypus]

Update:
Put most everything back together and rigged a tube for fuel, capped off the vacuum hose on the carb and turned her over just for giggles. She fired right up! Well on full choke anyway. Fiddled with the throttle adjustment knob and was able to take it off choke.
Thought I would do the pull the plug wire test that someone else had posted, by removing the plug wire on the left side, and she kept running, no noticeable difference. Is this normal only at low RPM? Gave me a good shock too so I would imagine the spark should be good. Pulled the wire on the right and she died. Am I running on one cylinder? Was able to ride it around the yard a little stopping every couple hundred feet to refill the fuel tube. Seems to eat up the fuel.
So the question now is how do I tell if I'm running on both or just one cylinder? I haven't gone for a street ride yet. She does bounce pretty well at low RPMs. Doesn't sound half bad though, kinda noisy up near the valves.
I know Eagle, a valve adjustment is next while I clean the rust out of the tank.
Also any thoughts about things I should do or be aware of on an engine that has sat for 2+ years?
I did replace the oil and new air filters are on the way.
And thanks Hoosierrick, I'll be checking the pick up coil if I'm only running on one side. Those igniters look 'spensive.

[zekkfett]

No difference in running by pulling the wire, but you got shocked; change spark plugs.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using the ProBoards Mobile App

[platypus]

Thanks Zekkfett, that was going to be first on my list but the local Autozoners didn't have any.
Pulled the plug and it's black and wet. Looks like some build up where it should seat too. I'll have to figure out how to clean it off without dropping crud into the cylinder. Any suggestions?
Didn't check the output on that coil while it was running. Being pulsed made it hard to hold onto the wire without dancing around like a happy little leprechaun. Now that I think about it I probably shouldn't have been shocked while holding onto the plug boot up near the bend. Bad plug wire too?

[eaglerider]

yep. Replace plug wire, too.....in fact, I would replace both plug wires.

[platypus]

Thanks Eagle.

Does anyone know if coils off of a '94 ex500 Ninja will work on this bike?

[eaglerider]

Not 100% positive, but should.

[platypus]

Still worried about showing a constant voltage on the leads to the left hand coil.(key on switch on) Is this normal or is this a symptom of a bad pick up coil? Or ignitor unit?
Just doesn't seem like there should be any current unless it's firing.

[platypus]

Success!
Changed plugs and wires... Nothing.
Started reading up on ignitor boxes and how to rebuild them, cause I was saving extra money for tires.
Figured I would try to check the pick up coils first. I had been putting it off because I didn't want to wrestle the carbs out again to get to the connections under the airbox.
They were covered in crud. Cleaned them up with contact cleaner and the coil checked out ok on the meter. Put it back together and now have spark on the left side! Looks like all that gunk was grounding out the signal.
Thanks for all the help guys. I'm sure I'll have more questions the further I get into this bike.

Oh and that ignitor box. Popped the cover off and it was fully potted. No chance of rebuilding that one.

Now on to the valve adjustment!