Still not firing on one cylinder, what to look for?

[Tonyvdb]

Been away for a bit but now I'm ready to try and figure this out.
After replacing all plugs with new plugs and finding one of the wires separated from the plug cap I was sure that was the problem but now that I have managed to put it back together but it still won't run all 4 cylinders. I'm not sure what cylinder is missing either now that I've changed the plugs. Because of the lack of accessibility of getting at the 2 plugs I'm unsure what is the best method to test what if any are not getting spark?

I'm not ready to tackle the carbs just yet as I don't think that's the issue, or is it?
Is getting at the coils that difficult? I'm hearing that it is very hard as I have to remove a lot to get at them?

[triton28]

use an infrared thermometer to determine which exhaust pipe is colder than the rest.
Dave

[Lucasind]

...As "triton " said... it truly is the fastest way to determine what cylinder that is giving you trouble , but if ya don't have a
"high tech" determining device .....you can do what we have been doing for decades !
Bike COLD....start the engine ....and with your bare hand,just touch each of the four exhaust pipes,
the hot ones are immediately eliminated....... the one that is not as hot as the others is your culprit !
Go from there ..................hope this helps as a starting point ..............Tony

[Rick near Kansas city]

Had the same problem on a 93. I used a crayon on the header pipes to find witch one did not melt. It ended up to be a wire to the coil had rubbed in to.

[Tonyvdb]

Ugh! sometimes its the easy things that you dont even think about. I will try that this evening.

[doug of so fla]

Quick & easy way to find if plug wires are the problem is start the XII in total darkness, unplug headlite and any other lites you can easily do. then look in engine area and see if you can see any spark jump. Take fake tank cover off so you can see all the spark plug caps. It may be just a small blue glow but it will show you where the problem is.

[Mr Jensee]

eliminate the potential problems by replacing the wires on all 4 cylinders. As others have said the cold pipe is the one not firing.

[Tonyvdb]

Ok, how hard is it to replace all the wires? A few have said in another thread that it is hard to do because access to the coils involves removing the pipes in the front?

Ok, so it is the outside right cylinder (when sitting on bike) that is not firing. Now to figure out how to trace the wire back to the coil.

[triton28]

I just went and looked at an '90 I have started to disassemble for maintenance work. As mentioned by others, the coils are one of the first items to be attached to the frame, so as such, they are mounted in the deepest reaches of inaccessibility.
To elaborate, the coils are hidden behind the inner fairing covers which mount to the cowling sub frame and form the inside wall of the wiring harness chase for all it's wiring runs. The coil mounting nuts are accessible once these covers are removed. In order to remove the inner fairing covers it is necessary to remove the upper and lower cowlings and the associated mirrors/windscreen/headlight etc. etc.
The exhaust and radiator can remain in place.
One may find it helpful to also remove the LH, Upper, and RH rubber tipped black plastic radiator covers to gain greater access for the runs of the spark plug wires.
BUT,,,, have you checked the spark plug caps for the required 5K ohm resistance or open circuits? They are relatively inexpensive and may cure the problem.
Perhaps one of them has a burnt resistor inside the cap, or the resistor spring has somehow lost continuity. The caps would be the first easy item I would check as the wire is pretty foolproof, as even 1 or 2 threads of engagement to a good plug cap would work.
Recently out of 12 plug caps I checked, 5 were right on at 5K ohm +/- 70-100 ohms, 7 were out of spec and of those 7, 6 still fired the plug but those 6 were interfering with the radios, and 1 was an open circuit. One can't tell by looking at the caps as there is an unseen electronic circuit inside which can malfunction.
Hope that helps a bit,
Dave

[Lucasind]

....I remember a post,some time ago, by our DEARLY departed webmaster, Ron Riggs....
who had the same ....similar thing going on , he replaced the spark plug wire end caps .... or maybe just trimmed the wires back a quarter inch..... and his XII took off like a rocket again ! Yeah....sometimes ,it is the simple things !...............Tony

[Tonyvdb]

BUT,,,, have you checked the spark plug caps for the required 5K ohm resistance or open circuits? They are relatively inexpensive and may cure the problem.
Perhaps one of them has a burnt resistor inside the cap, or the resistor spring has somehow lost continuity. The caps would be the first easy item I would check as the wire is pretty foolproof, as even 1 or 2 threads of engagement to a good plug cap would work.
Recently out of 12 plug caps I checked, 5 were right on at 5K ohm +/- 70-100 ohms, 7 were out of spec and of those 7, 6 still fired the plug but those 6 were interfering with the radios, and 1 was an open circuit. One can't tell by looking at the caps as there is an unseen electronic circuit inside which can malfunction.
Hope that helps a bit,
Dave

Wow Dave and Tony, you may be a lifesaver if your correct about a faulty cap. Do I have to replace the entire cap? Where do I get them?

Is this the right one?
http://www.amazon.ca/NGK-SD05FP-Resisto ... k+plug+cap" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lucasind]

... Google it...of course... ...or check with Carl Leo....He probably has a set(or 10) looking for a good home !....and a purpose in life ,besides sitting on his shelf !....................Tony

[triton28]

http://www.partsnmore.com/parts/kawasak ... b/?filters" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[page]=7
about halfway down the page.

[triton28]

I see the general catalog showed up, so go to page 7 and yes it is the SD05F cap.
Dave

[Tonyvdb]

thank you

[Tonyvdb]

Update:

The new caps fixed the issue runs as smooth as it did before.

Thanks for all the input to make it happen

[Lucasind]

....So happy to hear of your success .......Nothing better,than to hear your Voyager XII hitting on all 4 cylinders and running as "Maw Kaw" intended it to ! and it probably didn't cost much money ...or take up that much time to get it right ! ...All's well ,that ends well !...Tony

[Tonyvdb]

Just out of curiosity is it recommended to put some dielectric grease in the end of the cap where the wire attaches? It was really hard to get the wire into the cap after cutting it a little shorter because of the thicker part.