Coil Problems on my 1980 FLT?

[loneman]

I am new to the site, and this is my first post. I keep going through coils on my 1980 FLT. In October, while on vacation I went thru 2 in one week. As I was standing with my broken down bike along the side of I-94 south of Chicago, a fellow biker stopped to help, and suggested that I ditch the Crane Hi-4 single fire, go back to the stock dual fire, and move the coil from up front under the neck (where it requires removing the gas tank to test and replace) and put it on the left side across from the carburetor. He said that he thought that the heat and the vibration were killing the coil in it's current location. Have any of you ever tried this, and even if you haven't does it make sense? It does to me, because I am getting sick of paying $170.00 every time my coil goes bad.  Any advise you have would be greatly appreciated.
Marty

[neten-o]

That could well be a good suggestion to move the coil to its original position..I had a newish coil go out on me last summer for no apparent reason, some are bad from the box.. I would advise to replace the condenser with the coil also... and make sure you get the right rating on the coil.. (you knew this )...Rich 

[pappyfreebird]

 up under tank is the stock location on n 80 rubbarglide...n is a good location above n out front in the air before heat,,i had one go bayud on mine n jus put nuthar used 3 ohmer back on n never had a prolem..but was runnin stock ignition too..like nen mayun said you are runnin a low ohm coi? (although it really doesnt matter on lectrics,,its the points that dont like low ohmers)..on my fxs ive smoked a couple accel coils n there warrenty replaces them ,,but this last time i left n ol stock 4.7 ohmer on it n ain had no trouble.(yet) ..all wires good?..id be baffled too i rekon...you r sure its coils n nawt the igntion?

[stroker800]

  I had the same coil for bout 10 yrs now on my shovel(Dyna), have been runnin single fire ignition and coils on downtube NO problems..Check for a loose or bad wire,correct ohms, solid mounting and proper sparkplug wires.
Dave

[96flhpi]

Ditto Stroker and Pappy about checking for proper ohms and plug wires.  I know when I went to points from Crane Hi-4 (crapped out) had to get a new coil and wires to match - right ohmage for points or something like that.  Elec. ign needs different coil and wire resistance.  I don't know how it works - just followed the advice of the guys on the board.  Good luck

[Old Crow]

Two different FLT's.  An '82 Shovel and an '87 evo.  Shovel has a Dyna-S single fire with Dyna coils in stock mounting position.  6 years without a glitch.
Evo's got an Ultima(Dyna clone)set on single fire with coils mounted in the stock position.  Only had the bike about 9 months, but no problems so far.
I'm with the others on checking for the right coil resistance and bad connections.

[loneman]

  ,,but this last time i left n ol stock 4.7 ohmer on it n ain had no trouble.(yet) ..all wires good?..id be baffled too i rekon...you r sure its coils n nawt the igntion?

Pappy, you and the others really got me thinking. It is possible that it is the ignition. I have no idea how to test that though. Does that require a multi-meter? For that matter, how do you test a coil to see if it is bad. The only thing I know is that the bad coil will sometimes start the engine just fine, and i can be runnin' down the road and it will start to sputter like it's not gettin' enuff gas, and then die. But, if I wait 15 minutes or so, it will start back up again. Someone told me that was because when the coil got hot, the crack or gap got wider, and that's when it started shorting out. Also, I think the wires have to be suppression type for the electronic ignition, and I'm not sure I even have the right wires. How do I tell? Sorry for all these stupid questions, but I'd really like to get this right this time. I really don't have the money to go to the Harley dealer and buy the stock ignition module and pickup, but I will if that's what it takes to do this right. I do have the service manual but a lot of this stuff isn't in there. Thanks for your patience.
Marty

[IBARider]

When the fire starts crapping out after getting warm, I check the ignition in cone first.  After it cools and is running, put a heat gun/hair drier on your crane ign and see if it craps out.  Or, if it is crapped out, tap on ignition module and see if it fires up.  Both are indicators it's your ignition.  you can also put a test light on ground side of coil, which is also the ignition side and crank it over.  If test light is flashing, then you know ignition is signaling it to fire.  If there is no light at all, then maybe your coil is open.  Just some ideas...

[pappyfreebird]

yo loner,,,sarry im so slow ain been round much...ya know yer last post of she dies warm n starts after sits,,,to me ,,is the 1st sign of lectric ignition goin bad,,,specially crane..ive had 3-4 do this,,,start fine cold n after warm n down the road theyed either pop off n quit er start misfirun,,as fer a real test dont know,,i put a points set in n when shes fine i whine at crane,,nuthar way is most all lectrics have a light on them,,,pull yer points cover n run her wid out it,,n when dies see ifn lights lit,,hafta spin her too she ony lites as rotates er on top...coils can react same way,,but in this day of lectric ignitions mo so its ignition,,thats wud ive found anyways..keep us posted when git er done  paps
ps sum cat here were sayun a jireh lectric was cheaper n bout same..dyna s er crane dual fire be way cheaper then hd factory  points be the cheapest way ta go  good luck..iba is right on wid heat gun too,,sum swear by it,,beats standin down the road..have tools in hand fer cone cover er pullin plugs (fast is key) no light - no spark - 10 minutes pass n alls well - then down road same cheeyut..its crane

[loneman]

First I'd like to thank all of you who gave me your advise on this problem. I finally got around to doing the work, and I bought a multimeter and checked every wire, checked every connection, bought new plug wires, checked the coil, made sure the ignition module was firing, replaced some connectors and worn wires, and BINGO - The problem seems to have gone away. I ended up leaving the coil where it was and will keep it there unless I have another problem. I also am carrying the stock ignition module, pickup kit and spare dual fire coil as back-up in case I am far away from home and this monster rears it's ugly head again.

I can't thank you guys enough for all your help. If nothing else, I no longer feel like a victim/hostage of technology.
Thanks,

loneman   

[pappyfreebird]

far out lonemayun..i dig hearin stories like yers...ride safe brutha...i gots me a long awaited putt on my jap chop today (dint wanna git my hogs in the salt n sand) but jap rig is fuggan rad too..springs springin people