My baby let me down today...ignition problems?

[NC Steve]

Plus, the Dyna has a much nicer aluminum mounting bracket, and the "brown" coil is actually a lovely brick red color, in metal, as opposed to the factory plastic black & red.

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vs.

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No comparison, really...  

[Ed Miller]

I just bought the updated coil from BMW (a hundred bucks would be a heck of a deal!).  Bolts right on, no problems.  

[Justin B.]

Seems I have read discussions about this "updated" coil also needing a different ignition module, at least according to the guy at the parts counter.  Or, it could just be another way for some parts departments to make their numbers

[msbuck]

Steve,

Mine doesn't look anything like yours...we both have the 1984.  It's all black.  I'll try to post a picture.

[msbuck]

OK, here's a picture of my coil...



I found this little crack in the coil... (along with some others nearby)



AND these little burn holes...



Just thought I'd share...
Steve, is there a part number on your coil?  Mine has the old Bosch number, wonder if yours might be the updated version?

[Bob_Roller]

I replaced my original crack-o-matic grey coil in '94, it just failed about 2 blocks from home, the secondary coil opened. I replaced it with the red upgraded OEM coil, and that coil went bad in '03, primary winding resistance was less than half of what it was supposed to be and caused hard starting below 55 F. I have listened to the reports on the dual output OEM coils from BMW, and the consensus is if you don't have to buy one, don't ! As far as needing to replace the ignition control unit, I didn't do it when I installed the OEM upgraded coil, and that was 13 years ago. I would think that if a problem would have occurred, I think with the environment that I subjected my '81 to ( desert heat of Arizona) should have caused a failure. Here's a tip that may save you some money, if you have to replace the electronic ignition control unit, Motorrad Elektrik has a replacement for about $60. This particular part was also commonly used on European cars in the '70's and '80's, so a store like NAPA or the equivalent may be a more cost efficient way to go.

[NC Steve]

Let me go check for a part #, Aida: I know it's definitely a Bosch part.

Ok, I'm back. Yep, Bosch, part # 0 221 500 203, which doesn't "hit" as a BMW part #.
"Made in Slovenia", it says. Hmmmmm...

This is all on the outer mounting bracket, and looks like the only print on the thing.

Bob, your red upgrade OEM sounds like mine, and exhibited the exact same symptoms too: low primary resistance and (very) hard starting at cooler temps. I never did find a crack, though.
What are you running in your '81 now?

[msbuck]

Steve, that's the upgraded part (Bosch) number, mine ends in 200.  So from what Bob says, it looks like the BMW coils last about 10 years.  Although this is my original, so it is 23 years old.  Can't complain about that!  Bob, did you replace the OEM red upgraded coil with a Dyna?

[NC Steve]

Sorry Bob, but backtracking I see you too installed a Dyna Brown last October.
What did you run between '03 and October '06??

[Bob_Roller]

Steve, I lived with the problem, as the multimeter that I was checking the coil with was out of calibration, it showed the correct 1.5 ohms for the primary coil. I brought a calibrated Flukemeter from work  home , that's when I found out what the problem was. I was blaming the hard starting on the 10% ethanol in the fuel, as this hard starting came on at the same time that ethanol was added to the fuel here in Phoenix. I had my second bike an oilhead, and I rode it during the Phoenix " winter". This hard starting symptom also was present just 6 months before the original grey coil failed.

[NC Steve]

Always nice to have a spare sled, isn't it Bob? I'm kinda slowly working on that myself.

So, Aida, you still never did say what you planned to run in the '84.
You going with Dyna, or sticking with factory Beemer??  :-?

I'm outta here, gotta get some sleep so's I can go work for The Man tomorrow.
Nite all...

[Justin B.]

Steve,

I imagine she probably gets them for about half price   so I would probably use a stocker, too, for that!

[Bob_Roller]

MSBuck, yes I replaced the red upgraded coil with the Dyna 'brown' coil. If you decide to install the Dyna coil, pay particular attention to the caution of installing the 12 volt terminals to towards the frame, if you don't , when you install the fuel tank, you ground out the positive lead on the coil, and the bike won't start. Not that I did that! After installing the Dyna coil, I let my bike sit outside overnight on a 22 F. temp morning ( a record low temp in Phoenix), and the bike started with no problems what so ever.

[msbuck]

Thanks for all the input.  I think I will probably go with the stock coil.  Since the last one lasted so long, I have pretty good faith in it.  I do have a thing about keeping things original...    

[Justin B.]

To each their own.  I, too, like to keep original when it makes sense but I'm not a fanatic about it.  If you can get the stocker cheaper than the Dyna that would make perfect sense to me. But in our case the Dynatek coil is a no-brainer as it's cheaper and more robust.