Black tar..CDI boxes

tuna boy · Apr 12, 2014

About 2 years ago I was having ignition problems and noticed droplets of black tar like substance on the floor. Log story short I bought a set of CDI off eBay and all was well. I was on the floor today working on my bike and I see what looks like the same tar on the top of my oil filter housing. I have not pulled the tank yet to confirm the CDI box issue but I am 90% sure that is what I will find. I have read that if the bike is running OK you can clean the boxes up and refill with silicone or JB epoxy. Is that the way to go?

joedrum · Apr 12, 2014

yes ..but something is heating it up and doing that ...

tuna boy · Apr 12, 2014

Hmmm..I know that this is a very common thing for 4 cylinder wings to do. If something is heating up the epoxy any idea what it might be. The bike ran fine since I put the second set of Cdi boxes in. Wondering if I should disconnect the battery just in case??

tuna boy · Apr 13, 2014

I am still mulling this over. I have only had the bike out of hibernation for about a week. The battery was on a battery tender over winter and the bike started without too much hassle. I put the battery tender back on while the bike has sat for the last week. The lights-horn-turn signals all seemed to work fine. I think I recall something about removing the hot lead to the battery when charging the battery while the battery was still in the bike. Does anyone recall this? Maybe the CSI boxes only last so long and th epoxy melts out. Confused! Ideas?

joedrum · Apr 13, 2014

like bad spark plug ends or risitors ..wires....on 80-81 yrs they had no ballast resistor on them and seemed to be worst ...i bet the coils might be cracked too

tuna boy · Apr 13, 2014

Would I look for physical cracks on the coil pack? What other symptoms would a cracked coil housing exhibit?

joedrum · Apr 13, 2014

dan filipi · Apr 13, 2014

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=114833#p114833:1c6iwsbh said:
tuna » Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:25 am[/url]":1c6iwsbh]
Would I look for physical cracks on the coil pack? What other symptoms would a cracked coil housing exhibit?

Yes, when you pull the coil pack out you'll see physical cracks.

Typically a cracked ignition coil will arc to ground through the crack but I don't think ours do that.
I had one that was cracked which I replaced with NP08 coils (2 of them from a 1500) but I saw no difference in how it ran.

As for your ignitors getting hot,
In comparing the later 1100 ignitors that do not melt down and the earlier ignitors that do........The only difference I'm aware of is the later 1100 used a ballast resistor. Everything else is the same so I recommend installing a ballast resistor.

tuna boy · Apr 13, 2014

I am terrible with electricity. What does a ballast resistor look like? With the coil pack that include the ballast resistor is it attached to the coils? I started the bike yesterday and all was well. If I had a problem wouldn't the bike miss and backfire?

dan filipi · Apr 13, 2014

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=114852#p114852:95hvr35p said:
tuna » Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:39 am[/url]":95hvr35p]
I am terrible with electricity. What does a ballast resistor look like? With the coil pack that include the ballast resistor is it attached to the coils? I started the bike yesterday and all was well. If I had a problem wouldn't the bike miss and backfire?

Basically what a resistor does is lowers the voltage and current that can pass through to whatever it's connected to inline with it.

This is a stock 1983 coil resistor. It measures 1.5 to 1.7 ohms resistance. I checked 2 of them I have:

What affect it has on the spark units is to lower the current that passes through them.
It will also affect the voltage that goes to the coils by reducing it's spark intensity.

I imagine Honda ran the earlier coils without a resister but later found out the spark units couldn't handle the current passing through them so they added the resistor.

I think most auto parts should be able to come up with an ignition coil resister of 1.5 ohms that would work or you may be able to find a 83 GL resistor online.

What is happening to your spark units is the circuits inside them are running hotter than they or the potting compound can withstand.
Many have refilled the compound with epoxy and continue running but it seems to me the underlying cause for the overheating is still present after doing this. A resister should fix this.
In all honesty I don't think anyone has tried putting a resister inline on the earlier coil pack and actually tested to see if the spark units run cooler.

dan filipi · Apr 13, 2014

Topic moved to General Shop Talk/1100.

mike in idaho · Apr 13, 2014

You could adapt some GM parts: https://home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb ... eiMod.html
Replacement ignition modules are available at just about auto parts place for around $20. They have built-in current regulating circuits,you can toss the ballast resistor. This version uses GM ignition coils for some really hot sparks: https://home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb ... vCoil.html

Ansimp · Apr 13, 2014

Nice link Mike :good:

tuna boy · Apr 14, 2014

So is the general consensus that the lack of a ballast resistor is the reason the ignition system runs hot and eventually weakens the epoxy in the CDI boxes and it drips out? This is my second go round with this problem. The first time I replaced the boxes and replaced the coils with a used OEM coil pack, replaced copper wires and spark plug caps. The bike ran good all last year, about 4,000 miles. I thought I had this problem licked last year. I will pull the tank and look at the cdi boxes and inspect the coils. Thanks for the help, just want to ride, not wrench.

dan filipi · Apr 14, 2014

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=114947#p114947:6awqakv6 said:
tuna » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:31 am[/url]":6awqakv6]
So is the general consensus that the lack of a ballast resistor is the reason the ignition system runs hot and eventually weakens the epoxy in the CDI boxes and it drips out? This is my second go round with this problem. The first time I replaced the boxes and replaced the coils with a used OEM coil pack, replaced copper wires and spark plug caps. The bike ran good all last year, about 4,000 miles. I thought I had this problem licked last year. I will pull the tank and look at the cdi boxes and inspect the coils. Thanks for the help, just want to ride, not wrench.

Well lack of the resister is the only difference so it has to be.

joedrum · Apr 14, 2014

i have a 80 where the cdi is melted totally out ... i agree it one of those deals that was chaned back to having a ballist in 82 ... i havnt look yet but theres probably no bypass wiring in the wiring harness but it seems you could wire it in to the coils ... as long as ie starts under cranking power it should work like 82 yr

sgq700 · Apr 14, 2014

My 80 has been leaking that black goo out for awhile but still run's great! I think i'm just going to turn them upside down, fill them with JB weld and call it good until it won't start.

tuna boy · Apr 17, 2014

I see that there are several options as far as coils. Dodge Neon coils, GM coils and GL 1500 coils. Which are the easiest most straightforward install for a guy not good with electricity?