How to Bench Test a Suzuki ATV Coil
by Lisa WamplerThe coil on your Suzuki ATV acts as an intermediary between the charging system of your engine and the spark plug. The coil sends the electrical impulse needed to fire the spark plug and to start the ignition process in the combustion chamber. When the coil starts to go bad, your engine will misfire and eventually just stop running altogether. If you have noticed misfires, you can bench test your coil. Fortunately, you can do so without actually removing the coil from the ATV.
Step 1
Locate the spark plug secured to the cylinder head on the engine. You will then locate a black spark plug wire extending from the top of the spark plug. Follow the wire from the spark plug to the coil. This is the easiest way to locate the coil.
Step 2
Pull the black spark plug wire off the coil by hand.
Step 3
Test the primary winding of your ignition coil. Locate the two wires connected to the bottom of the coil. Remove the wires from the coil by loosening the nuts that hold the wires on to the stud with a wrench. Make sure you mark the wires so you know which wire goes where when you reinstall them.
Step 4
Place your multimeter or ohmmeter onto "Ohms" and place the red lead onto one metal stud that you removed the red wire from and then place the black lead onto the other metal stud. The readout on the multimeter must read between 0.5-Ohms and 1.5-Ohms. If not, the unit is defective.
Step 5
Place the black lead of your multimeter into the hole vacated by removing the large black sparkplug wire. Place the red lead of your multimeter onto the stud where you removed the red wire. The readout on the meter must read between 6,000-Ohms and 15,000 Ohms. If not, the unit is defective.
Step 6
Reconnect all of the wires, and start the ATV is possible. Allow the engine to warm up for five-minutes and then repeat the entire process. Be careful though, the engine is hot. In many cases, a coil will work properly with a cooled engine but will fail when the engine is hot.
