TT600 coil replacements

[skoron]

First, I love the fact that this site is back up running again.

My question:

Those of you that have replaced Steamer coils with the plug in type from a TT600, do you also have to replace the spark plug wires?  If so, what type?  Also, the center plug has always been a struggle. How does the tall coil fit under the center beam of frame?

Skoron
'97 Steamer

[tigerrider]

Feels wierd to be posting up about Nightrunner just minutes after refering to him in my last post...but he has done that mod...and I keep thinking this is on my menu also.

[nightrunner]

Hey,

Just returned from some travel and saw the PM.  There are no plug wires on the high voltage side; which is another benefit to the mod.   The coil and plug boot are one in the same.   There are two types of Triumph on-the-plug coils and they were used in multiple bikes.  I jumped too fast and bought the wrong ones first so that's how I know.  The ones to get are very skinny and were used on the TT600.   That is a 4 cyl bike so you have a spare as a bonus.    The other type (used on the Daytona and ??? other models) has a distinctive flat top and mounting ears; and the boot is too big to fit down in the Tiger's recessed valve cover.   [so if anyone needs a set of daytona coils, I have a nice used set for sale:-) ]

The TT600 coil is skinny and fits fine on the center plug with minimal wiggling.  They do leave a bit of a donut gap and you can fill that with some sort of rubber ring or whatever.  I have not got 'round to filling that gap yet.  If you do water crossings or get the bike covered with mud, its probably a good idea to find something to use as a grommet to keep the dirt out.  So far I've kept mine on the pavement.

To wire them, you'll have to either cut your connections and run extensions over to the valve cover, or (like I did) get some get some 1/4" spade connectors and extend without cutting.  Either way that end is easy.  The tricky part is that the spade terminal on the coil is not the standard 1/4" automotive type we yanks are used to.  Its much narrower.  You may be able to find some narrow female connectors at Radio Shack.  Or better if you have a real electronics store in your town.   Or, if you are a real purist, you could hit a motorcycle wrecker and try and buy the connectors that go with that type of coil.   That would be slick.  I think I tried ordering them new but was told that its part of the whole loom and cant buy separately (or so I vaguely recall).  

This will all make sense when you have the coil in your front of you to look at.   The first step is to keep your eye on ebay for the coils.  No telling how often they come up.  I may be able to help with the tiny connectors if you run into problems.

Lastly, you can sell your Tiger coils/wires and recover the cost of TT coils.  Many owners want to keep the stock configuration and will be happy to have spares.

Lastly (for real), I have read about some aftermarket Tiger coils that are a direct replacement and don't fail like the stock ones do.  Don't recall the brand but its posted here somewhere.

[BR]

I'm definitely going to go this route.  There are currently a few sets of TT600 coil sets availalbe on ebay as well as some late model Daytona coils set which look identical to the TT600.  These are easy to distinguish from the earlier coils that have a larger coil on top and distinctive mounting "ears" as described by Nightrunner.
I've been fooling with my carbs on and off for what seems like years now but most of this is likely from the lack of riding since the bike just sits in the garage.  However, my OEM coils seemingly test ok but ARE original and are dated late '97.  I think eliminating them from the equation will help me solve my issues.  Btw, my bike runs fine when I ride it regularly but after sitting a bit, I get the stumbling engine, only hitting on two cyl. etc and I'd hate to think it was one of the @#$%@#$ coils all this time (which I had tested early on which led me to focus on carbs).
I'll report back on my progress...

Brendan
'98 BRG Tiger
San Jose, CA

[harre]

Hi.
How can I tell how to connect the TT600 coils? There does not seem to be any +/- signs. Is it possible to measure which connector is the + one?

[JetdocX]

Should not make any difference unless.... there is a diode embedded in it.  Then it's going to take an ohm meter to figure it out.

[BR]

I've got '06 Daytona (?, 4 cyl) stick coils on my '98 Steamer and I had the same question.  But since these sticks are not marked, I just extended the wires from the existing harness and hooked them up all the same.  My bike has never run better.  Getting the stick coil into #2 hole just took a little twisting to get it in... again, no big deal at all.  I also found some rubber rings that I slid over each stick to close the gap between the stick and the valve cover once they were installed.  Now, instead of having a bike that would occasionally run on two, I've got a full time 3 cyl.  Btw, got my sticks from flea-bay for about $40 from some bike salvage yard out East.
Brendan
'98 BRG Steamer