There are three BMW Airhead ignition coil configurations:
1. Points and Condensor
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Two, 6-volt 1.5 ohm primary resistance. 6500 - 7000 secondary, single tower coils wired in series, for points ignitions. There were three versions of these original "Black" Bosch coils:
BMW #: 12 13 1 351 584 Bosch part #: 0 221 100 022 (/5)
BMW #: 12 13 1 243 452 Bosch part #: 0 221 101 003 (/6, /7, early 100)
BMW #: 12 13 1 244 142 Bosch part #: 0 221 100 028 (R80RT, R100/T, R100CS, R100RS, R100RT)
Used on all Airheads from September, 1969 through July, 1981.
All /5, /6, R90S, early /7, early 100s (R100, R100S, R100RS, R100RT, R100T), early R80 and early R65
Some people replaced these with the Bosch "blue" coils, 1.4 ohms, single tower, which are no longer available. They have been replaced by: Bosch part #: 0 221 124 001 - 15k secondary (Brazilian "silver").
These two coils could have been replaced by a single Accel 140403S dual tower coil, or single Dyna "green" 3 ohm coil.
Some users added a Dyna DBR-1 points amplifier to the stock points and condensor configuration. Since the DBR-1 also wants to "see" 3.0 ohms, the coils remain the same.
Some users replaced the points with an electronic ignition. Lucas, Gerex, and Silent-Hektek all make (or made) electronic ignitions to replace the stock BMW points, but the most common vendors
are Dynatek with their "Dyna III" D35-1 ignition and Boyer Bransden with their Mark III and Boyer Micro Mark III electronic ignitions. All these systems expect to "see" 3 ohms primary coil resistance, i.e., one 12V 3 ohm coil or two 6V, 1.5 ohm coils wired in series.
Dual plugging points and condensor ignitions was often done originally with Andrews coils (.7 ohms, and unreliable as reported by Oak) and Accel points amplifier (no longer available). The more common setup today is with two Dyna Dynatec DC2-1 (brown) coils. These are 6-volt, 1.5 ohm primary resistance, twin-tower coils.
A Dyna DBR-1 points amplifier can be added to this configuration, with no change in coils.
Dual plugging with stock points and condensor can also be done using two Dyna DBR-1 points amplifiers, each driving a 3 ohm dual tower coil, either two Accel 140403s or two Dyna DC6-1 (green) coils.
A final dual plug option was to use a three wire Dynatek D35-1 electronic ignition feeding two independent dual-tower coils of 3 ohms primary resistance, either two Accel 140403 coils or two Dyna DC6-1 green coils. There coils are not wired in series.
2. Early Electronic Ignition
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Two, 6-volt .7 ohm primary resistance single tower coils wired in series, for old style electronic ignition (white or pink lettering)
BMW # 12 13 1 244 142
Used on late /7, late 100s (R100RS, R100RT, R100T, R100CS), late R80, early R100S. These are the black coils with the yellow lightning bolt icon. These coils were specifically designed for Hall-Effect ignition triggers. Can be replaced with a single Dyna "brown" 1.5 ohm dual-tower coil.
Dual plugging this configuration was often done with two Accel 140404S coils. These are 6-volt, .7 ohm primary resistance, twin-tower coils. The Accel 140404 is the two coils in one kit.
This configuration should not have a points amplifier, single-plugged or dual-plugged.
3. Late Electronic Ignition
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One, 12-volt, 1.2 ohm, twin tower coil for new style electronic ignitions. Used on R100R, R100 Mystic, R80GS, R80ST, R100GS, R100GSPD, late R100RS, late R65, late R100S.
The early gray version BMW #: 12 13 1 243 910 (Bosch # 0 221 500 200) after 1984, problems from cracking and the secondary windings opening; this is seen as early as the 1983 R80ST/GS. (Note from Snowbum). The updated black version BMW #: 12 13 1 244 426 (Bosch # 0 221 500 203) is okay, but BMW says requires a new ECU (with same part #, but with turquiose lettering instead of the previous verion's white or pink lettering).
A failed coil was often replaced with Dyna DC2-1 (brown) coil.
Dual plugging was often done with a pair of ACCEL 140404 coils or a pair of Dyna DC9-1 coils, wired in series.
This configuration should not have a points amplifier, single-plugged or dual-plugged.
One, 12-volt, .6 ohm ohm primary resistance twin tower coil for new style
> electronic ignitions. Used on R100R, R100 Mystic, R80GS, R80ST, R100GS,
> R100GSPD, late R100RS, late R65, late R100S.
> The first single 12 volt two-tower GRAY coil
(I have not put down here the various types of modules, whether or not they have to be used, and so on.)