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So I pulled out the old Clymer manual to test my coil and it says that the coil should for one test should be between 2 and 5 ohms and for a second test should be around 15,000 ohms. So I hooked up the voltmeter to test it and for the first test I got between 6 and 7, and for the second I got 24,400 ohms. So neither of those are right. Is my coil busted? My bike still runs but I am having a terrible time getting it jetted and there is no power(can't do hills at all) and really pretty bad gas mileage. I am thinking it's broken but I don't really know if those numbers are within an acceptable range of error.
So if it is broken what should I do to fix it because I can't buy a new stock coil? Any help would be appreciated. I would really like to be able to just get to ride my motorcycle around so I am not necessarily looking to upgrade the part but if I can and it's not terribly difficult why not get something better. I just don't know what to do so your ideas would be helpful.
Did you disconnect the coils from the wiring harness and the spark plugs when you did the test? They have to be completely disconnected from the bike in order to get an accurate reading. Sounds like an open circuit in your coil though. i.e. there's a break somewhere in the windings. That would cause a high reading. High resistance in a coil will cause a poor spark or none at all so that would explain the rough running and lack of power. If it's out of spec, it's out of spec. There's no way to fix a coil so a replacement is your only choice. I run Dynatek coils and they work great. I'm not sure what the resistance of a stock coil is for a CB200, but you should get one that's the same resistance as the oem part.
Thanks for the response. I will double check my results with it completely removed from the wiring harness for sure. I can't remember if I did it that way or not. I will also find out what the stock resistance is so I can get that right part.
coils work or are broken. if bike runs, coil is good. could be the little resistor on top of the cilinder. it connects the coil to the points wire. Why do you think its an electrical issue?
If it gradually gor worse, you need new rings and check timing/valves.
Well I am thinking its electrical because the two sides of the bike run slightly differently. It won't idle reliably, has no power, can't take hills, spark seems weak and sometimes it revs to 2 or 3 k rpm when I turn it on. My plugs are white when I pull them. I have been in the process of jetting vm20s. Maybe I just need to go leaner? I actually just discovered some issues with the throttle cable but I haven't ridden it since I worked on it. That might fix some issue but it really feels like I am running an electrical issue. Although maybe cable problems are a bigger issue than I think. I guess I am kind of stuck over all. The only thing I can really think to do is just go leaner. The coil is probably good based on what I have seen in texasstar and zeke's build and I am just not seeing the real problem.
If your plugs are white, you're already lean. Go any leaner and you'll cook your valves and possibly melt a piston. Your plugs should be light to medium brown but to really know what's going on with the fuel air ratio, you've got to do a plug chop. But if they're already white, don't go leaner.
If your plugs are white, you're already lean. Go any leaner and you'll cook your valves and possibly melt a piston. Your plugs should be light to medium brown but to really know what's going on with the fuel air ratio, you've got to do a plug chop. But if they're already white, don't go leaner.
Ok I rode it around today and I pulled the plugs afterward and they were just barely brown on the top edge of the ceramic, this was not plug chopped but pulled after running. When I said white before I meant I can see the white on the ceramic in the center. I feel like you thought I meant white ash but there is none of that. Did I straighten out some confusion or does that still mean its lean?
So I am really stuck now. I feel like it's some kind of electrical because this issue transferred over when I switched from the stock carbs to vm20s. Could that be possible? The jetting I am running is 17.5 pilot, middle needle height and 125 main jets. It smells rich at idle and is slow coming off idle. And when I pull the plugs after it has been idling for a while they are completely black. That's showing to rich, right? And if I leave it idling four like a minute or two it dies on me after having the idle bounce between 1200 rpm, where it's supposed to be, and 1800-2000. Well as far as I know I can't get a leaner pilot jet. My city is at 3500ft elevation so I know I would need to jet leaner to a certain extent but this seems so overly rich at idle and ok when riding it around that it would be an electrical issue. But then again whenever I get to even the smallest hill it looses all ability to accelerate.
I have tried 130 135 and the 150, I think, mains that came with it and have been told to keep going leaner by a shop guy in town. I have tried lowering my needle height by one and that seemed to make it runs worse. Because as I got it up to 3 or 4 k rpm it lost all power and died on me. Maybe I should try playing with the needle again? I have also tried 22 and 20 pilot jets and those were way too rich.
Any ideas on what to do here? It's really hard for me to find words to explain what it going on here. If I need to clarify anything let me know? And again thanks for the help.
It may be that this problem and the carb change are unrelated and its a coincidence that it happened at the same time. That's not uncommon. If you think it's an electrical issue, go through the electrosport flow chart, do some resistance testing and let us know if everything is in spec. Might be a good idea to do the resistance tests on a cold engine and then again right after it warms up and displays the stall symptom you're describing. Sometimes a coil, stator or field coil can be okay when cold but fail once it gets hot. Without more electrical info, there's no way we can help you figure out if its an electrical issue. I know how frustrating this stuff is! But whatever it is, it's fixable. It may just take more time and effort. Get yourself a digital multimeter. They can be found for as little as $20. You don't need an expensive one. Then download the flow chart here:
I feel like it might be some kind of coincidence and it's messing with my head. I went to talk to my shop a little today and the guy suggested that it may be a problem with the muffler not providing enough back pressure. I am running cheap emgos or dime city cycle's 17" shorty reverse cone and it requires the use of an adapter that is pretty big. Could that huge jump in size be causing the richness at idle? They are fairly open too and maybe a little too loud for the street. He also said the throttle cutaway valve could be causing my issue as well. But I feel like this isn't really it because so many people here run them so easily.
So to share some of my story I have been trying to make this bike work for almost two years. It has taken me so dang long because I have fibromyalgia and I started this project because I need to keep my mind busy with a semi-attainable goal. I have way too much invested in this bike to give up now and it's also too much fun. I hope that explains my frustrated wording.
Thanks for that flow chart I will start digging into that now. I already have my manuals and my voltmeter. Did I mention that I have replaced the stator and the condenser in the past? That information might be irrelevant though
I feel like dumb could this all be float height issues? I didn't check that when I first got them and just mounted them up. Does anyone know what the float height should be set at for mikuni vm 20s on a cb200?
Nope I haven't been able to dig through the electronics yet though. My energy had to go to other things. I ordered some size 15 pilot jets though. They will be here in a couple days. Any thoughts on if the mufflers might be causing the problems? Also did I even buy the right type of vm20? The ones I got run the M28/1001 pilot jets and having just found out yesterday there are different types of vm20s I am a little concerned. Mine are flange mount as well and have the pull knob choke system instead of the flip lever.
Just checked: I had VM20's on my CL175, and ended up with 20 pilots and I think 140 mains.
Don't worry about "backpressure" from your mufflers. As long as the exhaust length is close to original, the mufflers shouldn't be causing any kind of issues.
Just checked: I had VM20's on my CL175, and ended up with 20 pilots and I think 140 mains.
Don't worry about "backpressure" from your mufflers. As long as the exhaust length is close to original, the mufflers shouldn't be causing any kind of issues.
That was the last bit of jetting info I posted before selling the bike. I can't remember what I ended up with, so I guess I should have put quotation marks around "think". Maybe it was around 110?
Granted, jetting between the 175's and 200's wouldn't match up anyway.
That was the last bit of jetting info I posted before selling the bike. I can't remember what I ended up with, so I guess I should have put quotation marks around "think". Maybe it was around 110?
Granted, jetting between the 175's and 200's wouldn't match up anyway.
So I tested my coil again it ran at five ohms and 24k ohms again. This is the same values as texasstars brand new coil set up so I am inclined to think that it is fine. But then what else could be causing it to be so rich at idle? And I don't think I can use much of that electronics trouble shooting guide because it is for bike with regulator/rectifier in one unit. Am I wrong to think that?
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