Accel Bandit 1200 Confusion

[1200 bandits]

Hi Everyone:

Just saw this recently; http://www.motorcycleadventuremap.com/accel.htm
can't vouch for it's validity but here it is for what it's worth.

Nice to see the site up and running again!

Ride Safe & Ride Often,

1200 Bandits

[ray nielsen]

In my opinion you should go after the three Suzuki delaers who gave you wrong information.  The Suzuki service manual could have answered the question too with the specified resistance for the coil primary.

Accell has NO specific model conversion to coil specification.  Instead they give two ways to determine which coil to use, one with an ohmmeter, the other with a voltmeter.  

See the Dennis Kirk catalog at <www.denniskirk.com> and click on metric bike.  You can then search by keyword or brand to get to that page in their catalog.  You'll see the instructions there.

Had you done that you would have found that the Suzuki uses an inductive discharge system, not a CDI.  

Very few modern motorcycles use CDI or Capacative Discharge Ignition.  In most cases they use a transistor switching arrangement to interrupt the current through the coils to produce the spark.  As the current in interrupted the magnetic field collapses and generates the spart by inductive discharge.

I think you're blaming Accel is unfounded and that you might owe them an apology even.  

A little research would have determined the correct part to use.

[sloper10]

Hey! Ray Neilson...re-read the post and lighten up a bit.....jeez...

[b12gary]

Ray
Was just made aware of your "interesting?" response.

In my humble opinion talking to 4 different dealers was more than "a little research".  

I would say,  one confused dealer and the other 3 out of 3 getting it wrong, is pretty good evidence Accel has a problem with it's application procedures.

Just trying to save other folks from the same grief.

Gary
smma@mindspring.com

[Maniac]

Accel makes two sets of coils. One for CDI and one for Points or Digital Igniter systems.

Whats frightening in this case is that 4 out of 4 dealers were -not sure- which ignition system a Suzuki Bandit 1200 had!

I hope these aren't Suzuki dealers, and if they are, I'd never go there again.

[ray nielsen]

As far as I can tell Accel doen'st have an application sheet for motorcycles.  Rather, they describe how to check either primary resistance or a voltage check to determine what system (CDI or Inductive Discharge) your bike uses.  

The dealers should have been able to tell you that IF they had looked in the Accel catalog or the catalog of any major supplier (Parts Unlimited and Tucky-Rocky catalogs both describe the tests).  

Didn't mean to be sound trite with my original response, but I was trying to lay the blame where it belongs -- on the dealers who gave out false information.

[b12gary]

The confused dealer is a local "fix all brands neighborhood motorcycle repair shop" the three who got it wrong all sell 3 or 4 Japanese brands.

Voltage test accel details in catalogs (Denis Kirt would be one) yeilds a result of .3 (3/10) of a volt on Bandits.  Accel says voltage indicates CDI... no voltage indicates inductive?????? Is .3 (3/10) voltage?

The first time I heard anything about an ohms test was from the accel phone tech, who knew imediately I had the wrong coils and most likely a cooked ignition system.  He was correct on both counts.

I would have no problem sorting this out now...ain't hindsight wonderful.

Gary
smma@mindspring.com

[Red01]

Voltage test accel details in catalogs (Denis Kirt would be one) yeilds a result of .3 (3/10) of a volt on Bandits.  Accel says voltage indicates CDI... no voltage indicates inductive?????? Is .3 (3/10) voltage?

Technically, 0.3 volts is voltage, but for the purposes of most electrical tests, this would be considered "stray voltage" - so 0.3v would normally mean "no voltage."

[ray nielsen]

If you're reading 0.3 volts you might be reading thw wrong coil terminal voltage to ground.  The voltage on the "high" side of the coil primary should be about 12 Volts and on the low side about 0.2 - 0.3 Volts.

The 0.3 volts is the voltage drop across the ignitor module output transistor.  It is the current switch that interrupts the current through the coil to produce a spark.  As you rotate the engine this voltage will rise as the transistor shuts off -- to about 12 Volts as it crosses the point where the ignition is fired.  

The idea is to find out if battery voltage (12 Volts) is present when you turn on the key at the "high" side of the coil.  If so it indicates an inductive discharge ignition.  A CDI system will read zero Volts -- absolutely zero.  

One wire to each coil will be the same color and that is the "high" side.   The other two wires, one to each coil, will be of different color codes -- these are the wires that switch current through the coils.

An ohmmeter can also measure the primary resistance, but you should remove one or both primary connections when using an ohmmeter.  A resistance reading of about 3 - 5 ohms would indicate an inductive discharge system, while a reading nearer an ohm or so usually indicates a Capacitive Discharge Ignition (CDI) system.