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2011 R1200RT coil test

st1100pilot

New member
Heya,

My 2011 R1200RT has a bucking, misfiring, poor idle problem when it gets properly warm after about 15 minutes of riding and I suspect it's the coils from what I've read. Because it only has the issue when it's hot, unplugging the coils and checking that way would be painful to my hands, and I would also have to remove all the plastic to access the coils (I think). This bike is new to me, under a month of ownership, and has about 50K on the clock. I don't have any service records from the previous owner, but I bought it from a BMW dealer and they gave it a clean bill of health when I bought it.

Is there a way to test the coils with my multimeter while they're cold? I've searched and searched, but haven't come up with a decisive yes or no on the question. I looked in the tech library and didn't see anything that would be helpful either.

Thanks a bunch!
 
The coils are on the spark plugs, no body panels need to be removed. Remove the plastic covers over the coils while the bike is still cold. You can disconnect the coil wire without pulling the coil off the spark plug. Just use a small screwdriver to lift the the connector tab over the retaining lug.

You can see part of what's involved here at about 2:00 mark:

It's poor video, with some sound trouble, but it's the first one I can find with your camhead engine. The guy only talks about the primary plugs and coils and states incorrectly that there are only two plugs. There are secondary plugs are on the bottom of the cylinders. Check out the connections there while the engine is cold, you'll be working closer to the header pipes.

A multimeter cannot tell you if a coil is good or bad. The only definitive test is to swap coils.
 
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I was having the same issues plus some.
I ordered coils online
Saves alot of $$ over getting them at the dealer.
It helped alot but there were still some issues. Waited 3 months for the fuel pump to be replaced and now the bike is running great.
 
When a coil went bad on my 2006 RT it only misfired under load. Idle and cruise were fine but it may have been working better than yours is.

Replacing a coil is a lot of money to invest if the problem turns out to be something else but on the other hand it is very easy to do and the worst case scenario is that you end up with a spare coil that you will probably need eventually anyway.


Heya,

My 2011 R1200RT has a bucking, misfiring, poor idle problem when it gets properly warm after about 15 minutes of riding and I suspect it's the coils from what I've read.
 
Have you ohm'd the coils?

You know it has 4 spark plugs. I think there is three coils though. One coil fires both bottom plugs I think.
 
I haven’t ohm’d the coils, that’s what I’d like to do though if it would help me track down the issue. I’ve heard these bikes have 4 plugs and therefore probably more coils, but it’s not obvious where the other plugs/coils are.

Could someone point me to the procedure of testing the coils (if it exists)?


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I haven’t ohm’d the coils, that’s what I’d like to do though if it would help me track down the issue. I’ve heard these bikes have 4 plugs and therefore probably more coils, but it’s not obvious where the other plugs/coils are.

Could someone point me to the procedure of testing the coils (if it exists)?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The second set of plugs are under the heads. You have to remove the tupperware to get to them. Primary wiring measured between the two leads on the connector and that is the primary should be 1 to 2 ohms typically not sure of exact spec for BMW but that should be close. Then measure between the center spark plug terminal and one of the two primary terminals you just measured. that should be 5k to 1k ohms typically. If your numbers are close to these they are probably ok if they are significantly different then the coil is probably bad, they should all be very similar to each other.
 
I haven’t ohm’d the coils, that’s what I’d like to do though if it would help me track down the issue. I’ve heard these bikes have 4 plugs and therefore probably more coils, but it’s not obvious where the other plugs/coils are.
Could someone point me to the procedure of testing the coils (if it exists)?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I can't help you with testing, but here's a couple images of what the bottom coils look like:
https://www.euromotoelectrics.com/category-s/1754.htm



About minute 1:45 you can see both coils:

MAKE SURE YOU UNPLUG THE COIL BEFORE REMOVAL - THOSE PLASTIC CONNECTORS ARE BRITTLE! (Don't ask me how I know :))
 
I was having intermittent miss on my 2010 RT, lots of searching for solutions and asking questions. Never did find a proven way to test coils besides swapping out with new. I ended up finding a set of used coils on eBay from a 2012 RT with 6K miles that was parted out. Replaced the coils as well as spark plugs since I had coils out and it was about time for replacement of plugs as well. If you want to get coils, this is the place I found that sells OEM coils at a lower price and may be same as OEM manufacturer. Goes a bit against the idea of test first, replace the tested failing part next to avoid throwing money at a repair, but didn't find many alternatives to this and replacing coils has resolved issues for many with these problems.


https://www.euromotoelectrics.com/category-s/1754.htm

https://www.euromotoelectrics.com
 
Thanks a bunch for all the advice and videos, etc.. Based on everything I’ve read, I ordered 4 new coils and 4 spark plugs. The total was $600 for everything. I figure I’d give that to a MC repair shop for them to diagnose just one bad coil and replace it along with new plugs, but I’m gonna have all new coils and have it done in an afternoon, instead of a month. I hope this is the solution to my bike’s problems. If not, I can at least rule coils and plugs out of the possibilities.

Out of three BMW bikes I own, two are currently broken down. Makes me think that BMW bikes are the Land Rover of the motorcycle world. Both brands are beautiful, legendary, wonderfully engineered, the choice of countless expeditions, and also unreliable and expensive to repair and maintain.


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